monday, november 8.

Yeah, so people call my house in all kinds of languages. One of my roomies is from Amsterdam, and the other works with Central Americal groups, so, while i can usually tell generally whether someone's speaking flemmish or spanish, sometimes, i end up leaving a "hey, someone called in some other language. check the machine" message for both of em after listening to the answering machine. i just got home from work a couple minutes ago, and answered the phone to someone with broken sentences through a very thick accent who asked me if i speak Chech or Slovakian. i said no, to which a long pause came, after which he replied with a genuinely startled and quite clear "You speak NO Slovak?" Well, er, uh... no. LET IT BE KNOWN: I SPEAK NO SLOVAK! and, you know, im pretty ok with that.

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Doot de doo. Earlier on, i was taking the subway back from 42nd Street on my way home from work. It's a big stop there -- yknow, kinda like their Grand Central Station. Oh, that's actually what it's called. i'm a mess of disjointed and randomly placed larger city information these days. Yeah, so when i entered the GCS building, i could hear this pained screech cry out every 15 seconds or so that echoed down the marbled hallways for a good coupla minutes before i actually crossed the sender's path. It was coming from a guy who was on the ground with his legs bent out from under him in these weird contortions. He was obviously messed up on sumthin, but didn't seem in pain, and was just looking around, putting effort into holding his head up, and issuing periodic screams. The shopkeepers in the food stands and book shops looked down the hallway to him a couple of times as i approached, but no one went to him, or called anyone. Everyone went about their business. People walking to their trains rounded the corner breezing past him, some glancing a look at him, most, not. Eyes turned ahead, they all walked on. Yeah, me too. Why? Well, honestly, he was beyond any help i coulda offered, but, still, that's what you do, you know? Not just here, but everywhere. But it's just that, here, there's so much stuff going on everywhere, tons of input. So much beautiful, amazing, awful, emotive, painful, exciting stuff everywhere. im guessing that a bunch of things just need to get deemed "too much to deal with" and get tuned out in order to keep clicking along. And what's that end up doing, i wonder? i've seen some good in it forcing choice making. If you can't say what you want, don't even leave the apt, missey. This is no place for the wishy-washy or the easily thrown. Too many options. Too brisque of a current flowing around you to stay still too long deliberatin. Helps focus in on doing whachu wanna do. But, you know, i wonder about the casualities. We'll check back in on that.

Lastly, even earlier today -- check this out -- i met the dude from Super Size Me. i was like George Bush getting to meet John Wayne. i was giddy. My first star sighting, and zow it was a good one! Woulda sucked to have had it been Leonardo or Britney or stupid brow-furrowed Hugh Grant or that mean idiot Donald Trump or sumone like that. Went back to my office and wrote about it. Herezit:

Eeee! I just met that Morgan guy who did the Super Size Me movie out on the street while walking around on lunchbreak. Trailed him for a about a half block down the street trying to get a look at him from the side to no avail (with the theme to mission impossible playing in my head. "Dum dum dumdum, Dum dum DAdum, Dum... actually, That's the Way Love Is from 80s dance club fame was in my head. Damn drugstores!). Yeah, so catching up was hard. He’s pretty svelte and quick these days without the mickeydees weighing him down, it seems. So i jaywalked thru midtown traffic with him, all the while checking him out. “It’s him… nah, it’s not him… no, its him… no, uh, is it him?..” until I dropped back a bit and saw the buttons on his backpack – one with a pic of W with a red ‘no’ line thru it, and the other, a mcdonald’s logo with OBESITY in the box where it normally says “over a billion sold” or whateva. That was the kicker. (im sure, by that point, he was thinking that i was gonna try to knock him down and steal his wallet or sumthin.) So i went “scuse me, but are you the person who did Supersize Me?” he stopped and said yeah, he was. He was totally nice, and was like “Yeah. i'm Morgan whateverhislastnameis" (i blanked it out cause i was starstruck i think). i introduced myself, and told him the film was sooooooh awesome, and thanked him for his work, that it was great great great. Then i lied and said i do a zine (i have been starting one so not a huge lie and i have done em in the past. i know, it's still a lie. i duncare.), and asked if i could interview him for it, maybe over email. He said “sure. i’d love to.” i'm sure it was his nice way of being like, “yeah yeah, wacko. Just lemme get on with my day, crazy lady,” but whocares!? im gonna email him. i was pretty much a huge dork, but how cool is that?? Tres tres cool. i was like on drugs afterwards.

Chalk one more up for “NY rocks.” It's winning big so far.

Didn't see any of the marathon yesterday. Was working. Got a new nickname there from a coworker: Eli. Doesn't mean nothin, but nicknames, you know, they could be worse.

Been listening to that new Saturday Looks Good to Me album thanks to Darin who gave me an extra copy he had (thanks Darin). First listen thru was nothin great, but luckily the stereo in the common room has this nonstop replay action, so i got to give it another chance without even having to be generous. Glad i did. Some good stuff. Lovin that last song. The whole album's reminiscent of the Partridge Family, the Beach Boys, culottes, Belle and Sebastian, 69 Love Songs, and beach blanket bingo-esque movies, with a mighty spash of beehived underaged women at cocktail parties, muttonchopped boys in wood-paneled basements, and the starry clear autumn skies of the deep woods. It's refreshingly light! Also been hooked on Fugazi's The Argument that Spence gave to me (thanks, Spence). Crazy good. So different that otha Fugazis. Beautiful. With harmonies even. Crazy. Lovin on Supergrass' I Would Coco, Cat Power, Unwound, Geoff Farina, old old dancehall Ray Charles my bro and law gave me a while back that i've been hopelessly addicted to since getting here (thanks, Bill!), and, you know, lots of 80s dancepop. Yum. Oh! and i finished that Our Band Could Be your Life book. So, so, so good. im totally proud of myself for finishing books these days. Was always splitting my attention between a few and never finishing nuthin. It's a new trend im digging. Reading kicks ass these days. i could totally just wander around town reading and writing all day now. What a weird place to start settling down some. Hey -- i said "some."

So, yeah. That's about it for now. Still fighting the cold. But its getting more, uh, productive, and im getting less worn out by it. Gonna go downstairs to listen to the bartender dj tonite, and meet up with a new friend for a coupla drinks. S'been a fine Monday. Yaa, there's the phone ringing now. Gonna go get it. I SAID I SPEAK NO SLOVAK! Ok. Over and out for now, lovies.

xo