No matter the cliche, I still remember that day like it was yesterday.
I was a department manager at Wal-Mart in Lebanon. All the department managers got to work an hour early and sat around the break room until 7:00 am. I clocked in and went about my day.
A little after 8, one of the managers called over the walkie-talkie to tell me that a plane had just hit the WTC - didn't my boyfriend work in the North Tower?
At first it almost sounded like a joke. I answered back and asked where he had heard about the plane, and he said the lady in receiving had heard it on the radio.
I tried to call my boyfriend Edward, who worked on the 78th floor of the North Tower. The cell phones were already down, and I started to get worried.
I went to the back to see if there was anymore info, and that's when the second plane hit. Now I was freaking out, desperately calling everyone I knew in NY, trying to see if anyone knew where Ed was.
We all sat in the receiving office and listened, first as the South Tower collapsed and then the North. When the North Tower fell, I crumbled. I was convinced that Edward was dead.
My friend Alicia drove me home. I just left my car at Wal-Mart. I remember looking out the car window and thinking it was such a beautiful day as well.
When I got home I stuck a tape in the VCR and just hit record. I still have that tape somewhere...no VCR anymore though.
I finally talked to Ed late that night. He had been late for work that morning, and hadn't made it into the Tower yet when the first plane hit.
Even today, I can't watch Tv or movies from pre-9/11 - it just gives me chills.
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The New Twenty
The New Twenty (2009) Starring Bill Sage, Terry Serpico, Nicole Bilderback, Colin Fickes, Andrew Wei Lin, Ryan Locke, Thomas Sadoski – Directed by Chris Mason Johnson
The New Twenty tells the story of five college friends that are approaching thirty and questioning the bonds they once shared. In a post 9-11 world where ‘text is the new sex, gay is the new straight, and friends are the new family’ Chris Mason Johnson has given us the most dysfunctional ‘family’ ever. There’s Julie (Nicole Bilderback – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bring It On, Clueless) an over-achiever, and her aggressive fiancé Andrew (model Ryan Locke from Beyonce’s If I Were a Boy video). Then there’s Julie’s gay brother Tony (Andrew Wei Lin) and his addict roommate Felix (soap star Thomas Sadoski). Tony is dating the HIV+ teacher Robert (Bill Sage – Sex & the City, Mysterious Skin, Boy Wonder). Then there’s woof-y Colin Fickes as Ben Barr, a bearish geeky guy that spends most of the movie trying unsuccessfully to hook up online. Julie is incredibly successful at her job which threatens Andrew. He becomes fixated on his own success and partners with a stereotypical money-grubbing investment banker. He also tries to bring in Tony who refuses after her overhears the banker verbally gay bash him. Tony and Robert are having problems as well – although there’s only one real scene that conveys that – and eventually they break up. All the tension (I know, *what* tension?) builds until the climactic finale at Andrew’s bachelor party. This is a movie that gets everything and nothing right. The performances are top caliber from this ensemble of back-players, but that can’t help a talk-y script that confuses, ignores, and generally falls flat. There’s so much importance plot-wise on the careers of the two leads – and yet you’re never quite sure what *anyone* in the story does for a living. For example, Andrew’s job apparently consisted of yelling obscenities and scarring his staff of two. And there was also some confusion on my part about Felix’s addict status; we see him meet up with some girl and they go back to her apartment. Next we see a baggie with something inside and a glass pipe – I’m thinking pot, right? Also, cue ‘girl-with-a-guitar’ music. But the movie treats it like he’s addicted to heroin. Now, it may have been heroin in the baggie, but there’s really nothing else in the movie that would indicate *what* the guy is addicted to. And the tacked-on fifth wheel Ben is completely pointless and spends the entire movie maybe hating his body, smoking, and being incredibly needy. At the end of the movie I felt like if thirty is the new twenty then I feel sixty. Killer soundtrack though. The New Twenty will be available on DVD on July 21st.
The New Twenty tells the story of five college friends that are approaching thirty and questioning the bonds they once shared. In a post 9-11 world where ‘text is the new sex, gay is the new straight, and friends are the new family’ Chris Mason Johnson has given us the most dysfunctional ‘family’ ever. There’s Julie (Nicole Bilderback – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bring It On, Clueless) an over-achiever, and her aggressive fiancé Andrew (model Ryan Locke from Beyonce’s If I Were a Boy video). Then there’s Julie’s gay brother Tony (Andrew Wei Lin) and his addict roommate Felix (soap star Thomas Sadoski). Tony is dating the HIV+ teacher Robert (Bill Sage – Sex & the City, Mysterious Skin, Boy Wonder). Then there’s woof-y Colin Fickes as Ben Barr, a bearish geeky guy that spends most of the movie trying unsuccessfully to hook up online. Julie is incredibly successful at her job which threatens Andrew. He becomes fixated on his own success and partners with a stereotypical money-grubbing investment banker. He also tries to bring in Tony who refuses after her overhears the banker verbally gay bash him. Tony and Robert are having problems as well – although there’s only one real scene that conveys that – and eventually they break up. All the tension (I know, *what* tension?) builds until the climactic finale at Andrew’s bachelor party. This is a movie that gets everything and nothing right. The performances are top caliber from this ensemble of back-players, but that can’t help a talk-y script that confuses, ignores, and generally falls flat. There’s so much importance plot-wise on the careers of the two leads – and yet you’re never quite sure what *anyone* in the story does for a living. For example, Andrew’s job apparently consisted of yelling obscenities and scarring his staff of two. And there was also some confusion on my part about Felix’s addict status; we see him meet up with some girl and they go back to her apartment. Next we see a baggie with something inside and a glass pipe – I’m thinking pot, right? Also, cue ‘girl-with-a-guitar’ music. But the movie treats it like he’s addicted to heroin. Now, it may have been heroin in the baggie, but there’s really nothing else in the movie that would indicate *what* the guy is addicted to. And the tacked-on fifth wheel Ben is completely pointless and spends the entire movie maybe hating his body, smoking, and being incredibly needy. At the end of the movie I felt like if thirty is the new twenty then I feel sixty. Killer soundtrack though. The New Twenty will be available on DVD on July 21st.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
After Months of Nothing - NY goes into Overdrive!
I've been frustrated for months now.
While I've managed to put aside a nice little bundle of NY moolah, I haven't made any other progress towards the BIG MOVE.
Well, that drought is over.
We've been asked to vacate our current property. Not evicted - but the landlord is anxious to bulldoze the area and build nice condos. So we have till the end of the month to be out.
How does this affect my NYC plans?
Simple: instead of looking for a new apartment, a new lease, a new 12 month contract to sign, I'm looking for a short term room only. So next year, instead of looking for another short term room, I'll be packing up and heading for the Big Apple.
Ah, life is good....
While I've managed to put aside a nice little bundle of NY moolah, I haven't made any other progress towards the BIG MOVE.
Well, that drought is over.
We've been asked to vacate our current property. Not evicted - but the landlord is anxious to bulldoze the area and build nice condos. So we have till the end of the month to be out.
How does this affect my NYC plans?
Simple: instead of looking for a new apartment, a new lease, a new 12 month contract to sign, I'm looking for a short term room only. So next year, instead of looking for another short term room, I'll be packing up and heading for the Big Apple.
Ah, life is good....
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Progress!
So I keep getting very irritated recently. I'm not savong money as fast as I would like. I feel like my progress to New York is stunted at the moment.
Then I try to remember that I've already come a long way. For example, I've been walking back and forth to work every day for the past few weeks. Now the bus only costs $1.60 for a one way trip, so it seems silly to avoid the bus to save money...until:
Cost of one bus ride: $1.60
Cost of trip (to and from work): $3.20
Cost of bus trips to work, one week: $16.00
Cost of bus trips, to work only, for one year: $832!!!
That's a chunk of change!
I also have quit smoking. This for me is a big shock. I didn't think I've ever be able to do it. And yet my last cigarette was Sunday. So let's see what I'm saving with quitting:
Average cigs smoked in one day: One pack
Average cost of pack: $4.50
Cost of smoking for one week: $31.50
Cost of smoking for one year: $1638.00
And that's low balling how much I spend - not counting lighters.
So I'm actually saving $2500 bucks a year this way, money that will go towards New York City.
I like that total a whole lot better.
Then I try to remember that I've already come a long way. For example, I've been walking back and forth to work every day for the past few weeks. Now the bus only costs $1.60 for a one way trip, so it seems silly to avoid the bus to save money...until:
Cost of one bus ride: $1.60
Cost of trip (to and from work): $3.20
Cost of bus trips to work, one week: $16.00
Cost of bus trips, to work only, for one year: $832!!!
That's a chunk of change!
I also have quit smoking. This for me is a big shock. I didn't think I've ever be able to do it. And yet my last cigarette was Sunday. So let's see what I'm saving with quitting:
Average cigs smoked in one day: One pack
Average cost of pack: $4.50
Cost of smoking for one week: $31.50
Cost of smoking for one year: $1638.00
And that's low balling how much I spend - not counting lighters.
So I'm actually saving $2500 bucks a year this way, money that will go towards New York City.
I like that total a whole lot better.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
7 Years Tribulation: 9117YL
Track listing:
1. Hunting for Witches - Bloc Party
2. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins
3. My City of Ruins - Bruce Springsteen
4. Give Me Tired, Your Poor - James Horner
5. I Can't See New York - Tori Amos
6. Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
7. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen - Louis Armstrong
8. I Love New York - Madonna
9. The Long Road - Eddie Vedder
10. Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
11. Baby Won't You Please Come Home - Bessie Smith
12. Self Evident - Ani Difranco
13. Leaving On a Jet Plane - Peter, Paul, and Mary
14. See You In September - The Happenings
15. Fragile - Sting
16. Lost - Annie Lennox
17. Song For the Lonely - Cher
18. We'll Meet Again - Johnny Cash
http://rapidshare.com/files/141071681/7_Years_Tribulation-_9117YL.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/141076075/7_Years_Tribulation-_9117YL.part2.rar
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
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Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Ben Popken's Guide to Moving to NYC
First, ask yourself...
DO I REALLY NEED TO MOVE TO NEW YORK? Answering no to this is the easiest way to avoid the inevitable hassle and heartache of. New York City is a glittering emerald slut, full of potential and promise, but it can also be a total bitch. Nightlife is down ever since they enacted that cabaret law. The city's conduits of power are increasingly rusty and incestuous. Parts of the city are becoming, or already are, Disney versions of themselves, like the Lower East Side and Times Square, respectively. There's lots of other great cities in the world. The Bay Area has nicer weather. Philadelphia has dirt cheap rents. Even so, New York is awesome and is still the capital of the world for many a human endeavor. Let's move!
TAP PERSONAL CONTACTS. The easiest way to move to NYC is to have a friend, or a friend of a friend, who will let you crash in their apartment until you get your shit together. Be cool and offer to help out with rent as much as you can. If you're broke, maybe offer to clean up the apartment really nice all the time.
SCOPE OUT THE RENTAL MARKET. Determine where you would like to live and how much you can pay. Personal finance gurus recommend spending no more than 25% of your expected salary on rent. Realistically, you may have to spend up to 50%. But if you lock yourself into a high rent so you can live in "the cool spot" you may end up spending all your time inside your stupid little apartment cause you can never afford to go out. Think smaller and cheaper.
On this note, Brooklyn is a nice, cheaper-than-Manhattan place. Fort Greene and Carrol Gardens are good spots to look at in Brooklyn. Rents are relatively affordable, amenities are there, it's not too far from Manhattan, and they're fairly safe. Living near but not next to housing projects is a sure way to get more apartment for your money.
If you must live in Manhattan, Upper Upper West Side (past the 100's) has become affordable. There's places to be found on the more easternly points of the Lower East Side.
Cruise Craiglist for the going rates in your desired area(s) for 2+ roomies. Hone in what rent you think you're going to be paying each month. This number will rule your life.
SAVE Five times your expected monthly rent. To move into a lease, you will probably have to put up two month's rent + security deposit (usually another month's rent). There may even be a broker's fee, which is at least another month's rent. You will need the rest of the money to feed yourself and not feel like a loser. Stuff it in a high-yield online savings account, like HSBC or INGDirect.
DUMP YOUR JUNK. You probably don't need about 90% off what you own. Hold a yard sale. Donate. Digitize everything you don't need a real-world copy of. Put stuff in local storage. Throw it away. Whatever you do, just get rid of it. A good goal is reducing your belongings to an essential wardrobe, books, and your "tools of the trade." For most people this means a computer. For you it may be a welding torch. Shipping costs. Space in NYC is at a premium. Less stuff means less stuff you don't have room for.
LINE UP JOB PROSPECTS. Send out feelers and resumes before you arrive. Tap those personal connections. Let people know you're coming. If you went to college, call up the alumni office and see if they can hook you up with former students in New York. Monster.com has never done anything for us. Craigslist has. Don't get discouraged if people don't initially seem that interested in you. Tons of people say they're going to move to New York but never do, so NYC veterans learn to take a policy of, "I'll see it when I see it." That's okay, just start cranking the wheel on getting a cash flow going as early as possible.
MOVE. Go Greyhound. Fly coach. Drive yourself. U-Hauls and the like can be expensive over long distances, so its cheaper to ship your stuff freight with a trucking company like ROADWAY and then get to NYC by other means. If you've already reduced everything to two pieces of luggage, bonus.
Once you're here...
DO MASLOW. Take care of your pyramid of needs, working from the bottom up. If you have a choice between doing something at the top of this pyramid, versus something at the bottom, do the thing at the bottom. Not taking care of your needs at the bottom will thwart your attempts to do the ones at the top.
At the same time, maybe you will have to eat only one box of pasta a day so you can afford to go out for social drinks. That's fine, just don't make it a habit, or you may end up begging for quarters in Union Square.
GET A JOB. Even if it sucks. You need to make money just to tread water. Our first job was as a bike messenger. In winter. Saner folk go the temping route. Atrium is a fantastic temping agency. Tell them Ben Popken sent you. If you refer people to them who stay on for a few months, you get a small finder's fee.
LEARN TO ENJOY SOLITUDE. It's easy to feel lonely in a city of a gazillion people. That's because you are alone and no one wants to talk to you. Be prepared to have no new friends for at least a year. Be prepared for people who say, "Oh, we'll totally hang out once you're here," and then stand you up even after you set a date. Everyone's got crazy schedules here so "hang out with the new guy" may rank pretty low. Be glad people do this, so you can scratch 'em off your list before they have time to really disappoint you.
BECOME AWESOME. Whatever your deal is, be it your job or your hobby, get really good at it. You will have lots of free time to work on this because you have no friends. Socializing is often centered around people who have "your thing" in common, so it helps to be dedicated and skilled in it. This is for both personal satisfaction, and that other people will take you seriously if you're taking your thing seriously.
TUNNEL. Use the resources of your current crappy job to get you your next, better job. With the money from bike messengering, we bought clothes that made us look presentable for the temp agency. Between directing phone calls at the temp job, we blasted out hundreds of resumes that eventually landed us a job at an online marketing firm. While at the online marketing firm, we started an advertising blog on the company's behalf that ended up getting us a job with Gawker. Now we're tunneling towards building a six-month emergency cushion and doing more personal creative projects.
DON'T MOVE BACK. A lot of people quit New York less than a year after moving. That's a personal choice, but if you're trying to be in New York, obviously leaving it is not a viable solution. If things get so hard you want to move back, ask for help from family and friends. Evaluate the choices you're making, the things you're buying, and see where you can cut back. Realize you're not going to get that super-star job right off the bat (see: BECOME AWESOME). Stiffen that upper lip. Or cry. Whatever you need to do, just don't move back. Life is hard. Welcome to it.
— BEN POPKEN
DO I REALLY NEED TO MOVE TO NEW YORK? Answering no to this is the easiest way to avoid the inevitable hassle and heartache of. New York City is a glittering emerald slut, full of potential and promise, but it can also be a total bitch. Nightlife is down ever since they enacted that cabaret law. The city's conduits of power are increasingly rusty and incestuous. Parts of the city are becoming, or already are, Disney versions of themselves, like the Lower East Side and Times Square, respectively. There's lots of other great cities in the world. The Bay Area has nicer weather. Philadelphia has dirt cheap rents. Even so, New York is awesome and is still the capital of the world for many a human endeavor. Let's move!
TAP PERSONAL CONTACTS. The easiest way to move to NYC is to have a friend, or a friend of a friend, who will let you crash in their apartment until you get your shit together. Be cool and offer to help out with rent as much as you can. If you're broke, maybe offer to clean up the apartment really nice all the time.
SCOPE OUT THE RENTAL MARKET. Determine where you would like to live and how much you can pay. Personal finance gurus recommend spending no more than 25% of your expected salary on rent. Realistically, you may have to spend up to 50%. But if you lock yourself into a high rent so you can live in "the cool spot" you may end up spending all your time inside your stupid little apartment cause you can never afford to go out. Think smaller and cheaper.
On this note, Brooklyn is a nice, cheaper-than-Manhattan place. Fort Greene and Carrol Gardens are good spots to look at in Brooklyn. Rents are relatively affordable, amenities are there, it's not too far from Manhattan, and they're fairly safe. Living near but not next to housing projects is a sure way to get more apartment for your money.
If you must live in Manhattan, Upper Upper West Side (past the 100's) has become affordable. There's places to be found on the more easternly points of the Lower East Side.
Cruise Craiglist for the going rates in your desired area(s) for 2+ roomies. Hone in what rent you think you're going to be paying each month. This number will rule your life.
SAVE Five times your expected monthly rent. To move into a lease, you will probably have to put up two month's rent + security deposit (usually another month's rent). There may even be a broker's fee, which is at least another month's rent. You will need the rest of the money to feed yourself and not feel like a loser. Stuff it in a high-yield online savings account, like HSBC or INGDirect.
DUMP YOUR JUNK. You probably don't need about 90% off what you own. Hold a yard sale. Donate. Digitize everything you don't need a real-world copy of. Put stuff in local storage. Throw it away. Whatever you do, just get rid of it. A good goal is reducing your belongings to an essential wardrobe, books, and your "tools of the trade." For most people this means a computer. For you it may be a welding torch. Shipping costs. Space in NYC is at a premium. Less stuff means less stuff you don't have room for.
LINE UP JOB PROSPECTS. Send out feelers and resumes before you arrive. Tap those personal connections. Let people know you're coming. If you went to college, call up the alumni office and see if they can hook you up with former students in New York. Monster.com has never done anything for us. Craigslist has. Don't get discouraged if people don't initially seem that interested in you. Tons of people say they're going to move to New York but never do, so NYC veterans learn to take a policy of, "I'll see it when I see it." That's okay, just start cranking the wheel on getting a cash flow going as early as possible.
MOVE. Go Greyhound. Fly coach. Drive yourself. U-Hauls and the like can be expensive over long distances, so its cheaper to ship your stuff freight with a trucking company like ROADWAY and then get to NYC by other means. If you've already reduced everything to two pieces of luggage, bonus.
Once you're here...
DO MASLOW. Take care of your pyramid of needs, working from the bottom up. If you have a choice between doing something at the top of this pyramid, versus something at the bottom, do the thing at the bottom. Not taking care of your needs at the bottom will thwart your attempts to do the ones at the top.
At the same time, maybe you will have to eat only one box of pasta a day so you can afford to go out for social drinks. That's fine, just don't make it a habit, or you may end up begging for quarters in Union Square.
GET A JOB. Even if it sucks. You need to make money just to tread water. Our first job was as a bike messenger. In winter. Saner folk go the temping route. Atrium is a fantastic temping agency. Tell them Ben Popken sent you. If you refer people to them who stay on for a few months, you get a small finder's fee.
LEARN TO ENJOY SOLITUDE. It's easy to feel lonely in a city of a gazillion people. That's because you are alone and no one wants to talk to you. Be prepared to have no new friends for at least a year. Be prepared for people who say, "Oh, we'll totally hang out once you're here," and then stand you up even after you set a date. Everyone's got crazy schedules here so "hang out with the new guy" may rank pretty low. Be glad people do this, so you can scratch 'em off your list before they have time to really disappoint you.
BECOME AWESOME. Whatever your deal is, be it your job or your hobby, get really good at it. You will have lots of free time to work on this because you have no friends. Socializing is often centered around people who have "your thing" in common, so it helps to be dedicated and skilled in it. This is for both personal satisfaction, and that other people will take you seriously if you're taking your thing seriously.
TUNNEL. Use the resources of your current crappy job to get you your next, better job. With the money from bike messengering, we bought clothes that made us look presentable for the temp agency. Between directing phone calls at the temp job, we blasted out hundreds of resumes that eventually landed us a job at an online marketing firm. While at the online marketing firm, we started an advertising blog on the company's behalf that ended up getting us a job with Gawker. Now we're tunneling towards building a six-month emergency cushion and doing more personal creative projects.
DON'T MOVE BACK. A lot of people quit New York less than a year after moving. That's a personal choice, but if you're trying to be in New York, obviously leaving it is not a viable solution. If things get so hard you want to move back, ask for help from family and friends. Evaluate the choices you're making, the things you're buying, and see where you can cut back. Realize you're not going to get that super-star job right off the bat (see: BECOME AWESOME). Stiffen that upper lip. Or cry. Whatever you need to do, just don't move back. Life is hard. Welcome to it.
— BEN POPKEN
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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