A Farewell.

Ok what's left of my readers, here's the deal: I've been in New York for a year now and I'm just not diggin' the blogging anymore. I feel like I've had all of my truly interesting adventures, and now I'm just getting on with the process of living. Plus it seems that EVERYONE I know who has moved anywhere recently has a blog about it, and I'm feeling a little blogged out. So this is going to be my final post, possibly ever. Who knows, if I do get caught up in some adventurous situation I'll start it up again. Maybe.

I don't want to leave people hanging, so here's a quick list of updates on our current situation:

- Sam has a job offer from Green Peace (which would be ok) and lots of interviews for other positions (which would be better), but either way he's doing very well! This weekend, to celebrate his 24th birthday, we're attending the Big Apple Comics Convention, which is just as geeky as it sounds. I've been surprised to find that while there are lots of nerdy things that I don't understand, there are also tons of celebrities, great food, and free video games. And GORGEOUS prints for sale everywhere really cheap. I have to keep reminding myself that Wonder Woman is not a good decorating theme for our apartment.

- Sam and I are working with an activist group called The People's Theatre Project in northern manhattan. We met them at a street fair outside our window, it was fate! Our first gig is helping with an off broadway production of a play called Dog and Wolf by the AWESOME playwright Catherine Filloux (For those Harper Joy kids reading this, think Cindy, only french). I'm a general production assistant and sam is the props designer/technician. The show goes up in the 59E59 theatre in February. To see photos of an early reading of the production, including some awkward shots of me, sam, and a certain jacket I always wear, go to the People's Theatre website.

- I have been nannying little Eliza for over 6 months now, and she continues to be a dream baby. At ten months, she has but one tooth, enormous babyfat cheeks, and yet is freakishly tall enough to be wearing all 18 month sized clothing. I secretly think she can say my name, but since she isn't calling mama or dada their proper names yet, I'm keeping that to myself!

- I've been getting some very good writing done, and I have this weird website project I'm working on. I've been getting a lot of extra hours at work, which is great for my budget, but hard on my stress level, so I'm hoping that I'll get some more creative work done over the holidays. My family is coming to Boston for thanksgiving, where we'll be staying with my little brother in his college dorm apartment. I'm sure hilarity will ensue. I'm hoping against hope to be able to fly home for Christmas this year, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

- Leonard is old, smelly, and pees everywhere. He has become much better behaved over the last couple months, and very affectionate which is a great improvement and all... but I'd rather he stopped peeing everywhere.

Ok, I think that brings us up to speed on all the "characters" of the blog and how we're doing. Please do feel free to give me a shout out any old time you feel curious about NYC life! If there are any readers of this who aren't in contact with me in some other way, my email is amy.j.kesler@gmail.com and yes, that is the best way to contact me. Family members especially, you can just email me anytime ya know!

That's it for the next long while, now go find some other funny blogs to read!

Love to all,

Amy

Baseball, etc.

Hello loyal internet followers... um, judging from the last post's "contest," that's just Erin and Joe. Hey guys. Miss you both. So due to a lack of interest from nearly everyone on the planet, I am calling off the contest and keeping the prize for myself.

But I am not glum for lo, I bring you great tidings of awesome adventures! And what better way to start off a blog post full of scintillating tales than with a not-so-scintillating tangent? So yeah, before we get to my cool baseball story, you guys should know that I managed to actually have my parents come visit for nearly a week while maintaining my veneer of adulthood! Yes, on their way back from a ridiculously great vacation in Italy for their 25th wedding anniversary (nice!), I got a nice long visit (that happened to coincide with a week-long Sam absence due to a family reunion so the parentals didn't even need a hotel). Smooth, right? Unfortunately, that smoothness vanished pretty much the instant mom and dad set foot back in the US of A: mom lost her camera with ALL the Italy photos on the cab ride from the airport, Leonard behaved abysmally without his Sam around, I (as previously described) am not the best hostess in the world, and I managed to lose my phone on the bus. However, we rallied and had a great time anyway, and the nicest bus driver in the history of the Metro Transit Authority actually hunted me down through my contacts list so he could return my phone to me! What's that, internet? You'd like to see the paltry few photos I took of this visit? Anything for you, hot stuff (Oh, and I now realize you can make pictures bigger by clicking on them! I feel like such a fool. So you should totally do that from now on):

The weary travelers taking a load off in the new Times Square gimmick: turning closed down city blocks into resting areas with cheap plastic lawn chairs. It's tacky, but a really good idea.

This is how I feel about Times Square pretty much every time I have to go there, which, being a theatre person, is more often than most people.

Dad actually managed to cook us a 4th of July feast in my tiny apartment!

Aaaaaaaaaand that's all I've got. Sorry mom and dad. Anyway, the reason all that is moderately related to the real subject of this post is that the three of us took the Staten Island Ferry in order to see the Statue of Liberty (if any of you ever visit, seriously the best thing in NY. I heart the Staten Island Ferry), and it was on that trip that I discovered the existence of the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George, home of the Staten Island Yankees. Both Dad and I are pretty sure that this might be the most beautiful ballpark ,and the longest name, in minor league baseball. Don't believe me? Check out the official photo:

Yeah, that's the New York harbor and Manhattan in the background. Sorry Aquasox, but you just got served. So ever since mom and dad left I've been dying to go see a game there. I mean, it's cheap, it's beautiful, it's baseball, what's not to love?

Now I realize that my internet readers, who shall be called Erin-and-Joe-Public from now on, or EJP for short, may not be aware of my strange relationship with America's past time. Allow me to explain: growing up an uncoordinated, chubby book-a-holic in a little league family caused me to hide my odd baseball opinions for many years, afraid of the inevitable mockery. While my brothers constructed a whiffle-ball diamond in the backyard (complete with foul poles and backstop) and had summer long tournaments, I had a baseball obsession of a different sort, a more... geeky.... sort. I loved the idea and history of baseball, and left the actual game of it to those more athletically inclined than I. While the family was off at little league games and practices, I would snuggle into the couch and secretly watch my dad's vhs bootlegs of the Ken Burns nine hour documentary Baseball, which he had meticulously taped off of PBS, skipping the commercials. Seriously. I devoured baseball books from the library, particularly ones involving the brief girl's league famously chronicled in A League of Their Own, and anything at all by W.P. Kinsella. His Shoeless Joe is without a doubt my favorite book in the world (I'm not exaggerating, I would not jest about such things) and continues to be the biggest influence on my writing style. I've read it at least once a year since I was 12, so I must be up to 11 to 13 readings now. The first three paragraphs for you, blatantly stolen from googlebooks:

My father said he saw him years later playing in a tenth-rate commercial league in a textile town in Carolina, wearing shoes and an assumed name.

“He’d put on fifty pounds and the spring was gone from his step in the outfield, but he could still hit. Oh, how that man could hit. No one had ever been able to hit like Shoeless Joe.”

Three years ago at dusk on a spring evening, when the sky was a robin’s egg blue and the wind as soft as a day-old chick, I was sitting on the verandah of my farm home in eastern Iowa when a voice very clearly said to me, “If you build it, he will come.”

Um, amazing, right? And yes, that book did eventually become Field of Dreams. You're so smart, EJP. What's that? A little clip? Only for you, EJP:

So yeah, I really really love baseball culture, apparently enough to send me off on my second lengthy tangent of this post... sorry everybody.

Where were we? Ah yes: Staten Island. So yesterday Sam and I head off to the ballpark, for what we assume will be a sunny afternoon of hot dogs, delirious Yankee fans, and baseball. We were mostly right. Our trip begins with another ride on the glorious Staten Island Ferry, and since I remembered my camera this time, here's the obligatory shot of Lady Liberty:

You actually get much closer than that, but all those photos turned out blurry and partially blocked off by an extremely tall Asian man. Grr. We were treated to several large tankers nearly destroying several very stupid sailboats, and all in all it was a most eventful passage. Upon our arrival we discovered that our seats were right next to what is apparently a season long promotion by Wendy's, offering all you can eat hamburgers and a free hat to large groups. A great idea, which I hope to take advantage of soon. Our view, while lovely, was of Brooklyn instead of Manhattan (see below) and Sam and I decided that next time, we would spring the extra three bucks to get the good seats behind home plate. Here's our view:

Yeah, more than enough for a great day at the ballpark. That big black thing is apparently the old scoreboard (there's a fancy high tech one outside of the picture, to the left), and I'm not sure if they've left it there for the batter's benefit or if they have some plan for it. Either way, I was a little sad that there was a pointless black box in the middle of that great view, but I'm picky like that. It had been agreed ahead of time that Sam would root for the home team Staten Island Yankees, as they are a farm team of the real Yankees and thus evil and thus I cannot root for them, while I would be cheering on the Brooklyn Cyclones, a farm team of the Mets. My team managed to get a six run lead in the first inning due to the Yankees having what must be the worst infield in the league. I can't imagine any of those guys getting the call up to the big show after THAT particular game, that's for sure. But Sam and I were having a grand time, drinking cheap beer in the sun with a nice harbor breeze, spying on the locals (highlights: a New Jersey boy scout troop, an embarrassing mother with a hand-painted pink baseball glove, and Mysterious Comb-Over Man), when out of nowhere the heavens open up and drench us. Being Seattleites, we tried to brave it out, but the deluge soon grew to strong and we had to retreat to the one tiny patch of awning not already taken up by the rest of the crowd. We ended up having to retreat two more times, causing over an hour of rain delays. But there was a rainbow! And watching storms over Manhattan is really freakin' cool. And there was cheap beer.

That's the rainbow over that crane-ship-thing (which Sam now tells me is a dredging ship. That's pretty cool. Says Sam: "It's like that book, Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel, only for underwater!"). Alas, just as the rain was letting up I got a text asking me to come into work very early the next day. With all the delays and the lengthy commute we would not have arrived home until about 1 or 2 in the morning if we'd stayed through the end of the game, so we decided to head home while our spirits were so high and there wasn't any lightning on the water. I'm not a big lightning fan, to be honest. (Says Sam: "Yeah, you're worse than Leonard." Don't worry EJP, I punched him for that.) Plus, I managed to get a lovely shot of the Manhattan skyline as the ferry came in:

I suppose if Sam and I were different people, or if we had been in a different mood yesterday, that could have been a "wrecked" afternoon. But we are not those kinds of people, and we were feeling fabulous all day, and thus we had one of our favorite adventures so far. I can't wait to go back with more friends and teach those whiney hippies all about the wonders of a good day at the ballpark.

Love to all

Cute vs. Cute: Rumble in the Concrete Jungle!

That's right. The time you have all been waiting for on the edge of your keyboards has finally arrived. It is time for BATTLE, my minions! I mean, readers! I give you:

LEONARD VS. ELIZA:

In the war of cute, everyone wins.

As you all know, I spend my days entirely surrounded by cute. Boatloads of cute. Nauseatingly intense amounts of cute here, people. I am finally starting to be desensitized to it, but I figured I'd better share the joy with all of you before I lose the ability to see adorableness and instead see only tiny creatures who have little to no control over their bodily functions.

So here's the rules: I took my camera with me to two very typical afternoons, one at work with Eliza (with the boss's permission) and one with Leonard and Sam (who had no say in the matter). If you're feeling up for a little interactive blogging, vote for the winner in the comments, and at some point I will post a photo montage of said winner enjoying a tasty treat and looking lovingly into the camera. Who doesn't wanna see that??!!

(Wrestling announcer voice.... go!)

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aaaand in this corner, weighing in at about 22 pounds, a drooler bruiser, the crawler who's a brawler, iiiiiiiiiiiiiit's Baby Eliza!

Contrary to what this picture implies, Eliza is not actually terrified of me and my horsey smile.

See! She lurvs me. And the shiny, shiny camera.

Eliza, at the time of these photos, had just entered the teething phase. Now she has become a slobbering, chewing beast, and I yearn for the halcyon days when a few minutes of this toy (named "the piglet star" by her mother) was enough to take her mind off things.

"Those bug toys just out of my reach are clearly the BEST TOYS EVER. I wants them!"

"Amy, don't move that round thing, I was talking to my friend! How rude."

This is one of my favorite pictures, because this is Eliza's default expression. She's really that happy of a baby! I could go on and on about how I have the best day job in the world, but after these pictures I don't think anyone would disagree with me. So I won't. On to our other contender!

(again, wrestling voice)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand in THIS corner, weighing in at, um, somewhere under 40 pounds, the whale with no tail, Scary & Hairy, iiiiiiiiiiiiit's Leonard the Dog!

Ok, yes, there is no dog in this picture. Let me explain: this is the park down the street from us, with its awesome wading pool fountain that Sam, Leonard and I were sitting by to cool off on the appointed afternoon. I had the brilliant idea that Sam should take his best buddy Leonard over for a drink, since they were both hot and thirsty. This is what Sam thought of the idea:

Aw, he loves me so much.

Leonard seems up for the idea, though! And yes, he did lick the camera at this point.

After cleaning off the lens slobber, Sam continued to try and talk me out of my apparently crazy idea. I didn't want to hurt their epic bro-mance, but in the name of science I demanded that they sally forth in search of brave new worlds... and cute photo opportunities.

Off they go!

Aaaaaaaand that's as close as they got. Sam thinks he's funny. Don't worry internet, he'll be punished.

After I "scarred poor Leonard for life" by suggesting he slake his thirst, he got some comfort from his one true Sam love. Can't you just see the love?

Oh, and Leonard now loves Sam so much that he lives in Sam's closet. Seriously. We had to clean all of Sam's shoes off the floor and move the dog bed in there, cuz Leonard just kept weaseling his way in and laying down. It's a little disconcerting at night to have those shiny eyes in the depths of the closet, but otherwise its kind of amazing.

Ok, that's the ballgame. Now I do realize that the Leonard portion of this battle is really a tag team of Leonard and Sam, but since they're attached at the hip there wasn't much I could do about that. I think together they make a pretty decent showing, though. Vote for your favorite. Or not. And I shall soon declare the winner. Or not. Either way, I think we can all agree that I have a very cute-filled life at this point, and that I'm going to need to do something very gritty and urban to keep from turning into a carebear or something.

Love to all!

Penance

Here's the dealio, internet followers: I kind of feel guilty for the extreme degree to which I geeked out on y'all last post. It was fairly epic, even for me. So when, on Tuesday, Sam and I decided to have an adventure on my last day of vacation, I vowed to bring the camera along and document it for you, the voracious voyeuristic public. So I did.  And what adventure could possibly be manly enough to make up for musical theatre? Oh, I dunno, how about.... DINOSAURS! ROOOAAAAAAR!

Yep, we went to the American Museum of Natural History aka Dinoland. This is a trip I've wanted to make since the moment we landed in New York because, lowly creature that I am, I have never seen a real dino skeleton. Or an even remotely realistic approximation. Having watched Jurassic Park on a wall-sized television a few nights before had only added to my dinolust. I took waaaaay too many pictures of our adventures, but I've broken them down into simple, easy to follow along categories. I'm sorry the pictures are kind of small, but do you have any idea how long it takes to upload photos to this thing?! Feel lucky you have images at all, lowly readers. 

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

For the first time here at NewCoast, we have a special guest extra special extra post! That's right, see the post below this one for a surprise feature that I guarantee will tickle your funny bone in all the right places. But now, on to the main event! 

DINOLAND

First Stop: Awesome Stuff!

This is a fossil of a tiny flying dinosaur. I think it looks like a cross between an angel and a dragon, and the color is beautiful to boot!

I had to sneak past a security guard to get this picture, since the hall was closed. What security guard, you ask? You know, the teeny-tiny little white dot under the dino's tummy. Lesson we learned: dinosaurs were really freakin' huge.

Best part about this picture? The dino's tail kept going another good five feet over my head, getting thinner and thinner as it went. Also, gotta love artificial footprints. Such authenticity!

The T-Rex speaks for itself. Look at those arms! Oh wait, you can't, they're too tiny! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

I found myself wondering if this guy just carried around whole tree trunks... in case he needed a snack or something.

DEATH FROM ABOVE!

Second Stop: Sam Reactions

"Those jaws perplex me on many levels. But I can't move, or he'll eat that kid!"

"Run, lady with the camera! Save yourself!"

"What a noble and handsome beast.... hmm? What giant elk? What are you talking about?"

Third Stop: I Don't Know What That Is, But It Really Wants To Eat Me

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Nooooooooooooo!

Ok, at least this one is big and ridiculous enough for me to...

Aaaaaaaah, it has a baby! Run for your life!

If.... I don't move.... it'll just.... keep... climbing............................... right?

The whale duck! The whale duck! It can swim, it can walk, it can fly, NOWHERE IS SAFE!!

Fourth Stop: Fun With Signs

Alas, no one remembers Tyrannosaurus's older brother: Albert.

Sam had spent 15 minutes the day before explaining how big dinosaurs had two brains. He found out the hard way that the internet is a dirty, filthy liar.

I mean, when would that NOT be handy???

Ah yes, the noble Patriotus NewEnglandus

Ponies are also dinosaurs! Little girls of the world, boys may no longer make fun of your pony obsession! Take to the streets!

Wow. Bunnysaurus. I want one... don't you?

Last Stop: Random Town

For some reason I had a really strong mental image of these slathered in BBQ sauce. I grossed myself out real good with that one.

Ah, my favorite kind of dinosaur: fill in the blank! I shall name him Imaginosaurus.

Ok, this picture didn't turn out very well. Allow me to explain: the little white piece of paper explains that the actual skeleton that's supposed to be here is on loan to another museum, so the drawing is temporarily replacing it. And what is the drawing of? An eagle. Eating a pony. Let me repeat: An eagle ... eating ... a pony. Science is awesome.

And with that, our adventure drew to a close. We wandered around Central Park for a bit... what's that? Why yes, you can see some lovely photos. Here ya go!

All in all, a most glorious adventure. I wish there was a way to show you pics from the amazing planetarium they have there, but maybe I'll save that for another post. Don't forget to scroll down for the Extra Special Extra Post! You know you wanna. 

Love to all

Sam, Sam, Diorama Man

Here we have the special bonus of today's post: Sam's Diorama Extravaganza! 

Now all of you ought to be aware that Sam and I have been together for quite some time. I mean, when we started dating Pluto was still a planet. So it's not very often that we surprise each other. Today, however, I learned something very new and pretty dang surprising: Sam has a real thing for dioramas. You know, those weird little "nature windows" full of stuffed creatures that are creepily lifelike, but juuuuuuust off enough to constantly remind you "yep, I'm dead. No comin' back to life for me!" I kind of assumed we'd be skimming over that part of the museum, cuz we're wussy wusses who don't like looking at dead things. Well, Sam really really likes them. In diorama form. Apparently. So I decided to hand the camera over to him for awhile, to introduce you all to the wonderful world of dioramas. 

Take it away, Sam!

I never knew that my love of dioramas was an uncommon love.  How could these little vignettes  of nature not be awesome?

This is a kind of vole native to Africa.  It might have been my favorite part of the Museum.  It was hidden in some tall grass right between..

... these defensive Ostrich parents...

... and this group of egg seeking Warthogs.  Does the vole know he is in the path of imminent danger?  Did he happen upon that branch?  Or is he perhaps some kind of peace keeper?  Is he there to make sure the Birds and the Boars Suspend Hostilities?  We will never know, but I salute you, small African Vole.  I salute you.

It doesn't really come through in the picture, but this is a large pack of Wild Dogs staring intently at a heard of Zebra painted on the wall.  They seem to be maybe a mile away, but these guys are ready.

This guy gave me a bad feeling.  He was just sitting there, looking around like that.  I thought that he might be up to no good.  Then I saw his buddy.

Yep, they were definitely bandits of some kind.

This is a falcon nesting in the cliffs on the New Jersey side of the Hudson river as it was one hundred years ago.  They almost left the area entirely, but they are now making a come back.  They are building nests on apartments near Central Park.

The noble turkey.  He was so close to being our national bird.  Oh for the America that could have been...

See Below...

I was disappointed that these were not some kind of flying duck/dog.

These Bald Eagles are fighting over some particularly fake looking King Salmon.  They remind me of home.  Fighting off raptors for my next meal...

(hehehehe... this is amy. I made him keep this one. Sam is apparently running out of things to say.)

Amy has always said that if she were an animals she would be a goose.  I felt obliged to photograph these elegant wonders of the natural kingdom.  Their babies look really funny.

This bird was trying to hide at the very top of the window and I had to photograph it from a funny angle.  Tricky tricky tricky bird.

This is a male impala.  I took the picture because this is exactly how Leonard lays down.  Back legs a little to one side.  One front leg straight out and the other with the paw tucked under.  It's eerie.

Aaaaaaaand now I, Amy, have reclaimed the blog. Hope you all enjoyed the guest star... who knows when that'll happen again?

Love to all