We have the Internet!

I wrote this over the weekend, but couldn't post it. But now George the Time Warner tech came and hooked us up, so now we have internet! Via ethernet, at least...wireless should be coming soo

Anyway, here goes...

And happy birthday to me!

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Yesterday = perfect definition of a Saturday.

It was also the first day when I really felt like everything would be okay, that this city is fun, our neighborhood is fun, and there’s so much out there for the taking, but you have to get off your butt and go look for it.

Jocelin, Jenny’s roommate, said something to me at the Duck the other night (the first night I met her) that made me realize I had to redefine my approach to the city. She said, “New York is the best city in the world--they say if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, and it’s true. But New York is not going to help you. You have to help yourself.”

So today, we helped ourselves to FREE BAGELS at the Brooklyn Ale House.

(picture was taken from a blog: http://nyportraits.blogspot.com)

The Brooklyn Ale House on Berry Street is so cool because it is so old. It reminds me a lot of Omaha in that way. I can imagine 19th century immigrants with handlebar mustaches coming in after a long day and gulping down a beer, sitting at the long wooden bar counter worn smooth from years of elbows resting. The ceiling is the original tin (but painted over) and there are big windows that open out onto the sidewalk. And on the weekends at noon they have a free brunch. Bagels, baskets of bagels, with all the fixings -- 4 kinds of cream cheese (HOMEMADE, REAL cream cheese, not Philadelphia tubs), cucumbers, onions, tomato slices, red pepper flakes, salt, fresh dill and basil standing in an inch of water in Mason jars -- just amazing! [ed. note: it is now Tuesday and I am still drooling over those bagels. I can't wait for Saturday!]

And let me just say that nobody makes bagels like New York makes bagels. The birthplace of bagels!

Tyler and I rode our bikes there and were the first customers in the door -- and good thing, too, because we got our choice of bagels. Of course we both had to have an Everything bagel -- they really are the best kind of bagel. Why, you ask? Because they have EVERYTHING! The best of ALL worlds!

Fresh baked, fluffy, and covered in delicious sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, garlic, coarse sea salt, and whatever else is on an everything bagel, this bagel was the best bagel I’ve ever had, complete with a veggie cream cheese that had MEDITERRANEAN OLIVES in it (if you know me, you know I love me some olives). I got a little overexcited with the cream cheese but added freshly chopped dill, tomato, and cucumber and it was just…I can’t believe I’m salivating and going into so much detail about this bagel.

Maybe it tasted so much better because it was free.

We did order some Bloody Marys though, because you can’t just waltz in somewhere, eat their free food, and leave without having a guilty conscience. Plus I love a Bloody. Did you know a Bloody Mary was the first (legal) drink I had on my 21st birthday?

For the first hour, the bar was totally empty except for us and the bartender. And it was great. We read the Village Voice, ate our bagels with relish, and watched CNN. Then we watched Wipeout and laughed at people falling.

Besides having wonderful brunches and Bloody Marys, New York bars are also very dog friendly. Four cute dogs walked in with their owners later in the morning, and the bartender put out a bowl of water for them and gave them little doggie treats. It made me miss my doggies at home -- Sammy, Sophie, and baby Oliver. Without them I have no creatures to shower my animal love on (or, as Aunt Deb would prefer, I have no creatures upon which to shower my love, since she abhors preposition-final sentences!), so I have to bestow it on other peoples’ pets that walk by. Or come into the bar. I met Watson the beagle and Pablo the pit bull.

Are you wondering why I can’t just revert all my animal-loving love to Niles?

Well, because cats want to be loved on their terms. When you try to pet them when they don’t want to be touched, you get this look:

Y'all remember that.

Anyway, after Bagels and Bloodies we walked around Williamsburg and ended up on the East River waterfront at the park.

When I say “park” I mean it very loosely. The park is mostly cement (there are concerts here) and dead grass, with giant new condos surrounding it. When you get to the water -- well, it’s the East River. And as Tyler put when we walked to the edge of the water, “it smells like the inside of a shoe.” It is breathtaking though to see the skyline. Sometimes when I see it, I think, This isn’t one of the bazillion pictures I’ve seen of the New York City skyline -- it’s right in front of me! I live here!

I know there are a million pictures of the NY skyline, but allow me to show you one more. At least I took it myself. At the park:

Then we walked around some more, meandered into a bookstore that was hotter inside than it was outside, and then rode our bikes home.

I love that we get to ride our bikes or walk everywhere. It makes me feel better about eating overly-cream-cheesed bagels. And platters of hummus and fried falafel croquettes. Or, you know, all the sushi and unlimited sake we had at Sapporo-something Sushi in Greenpoint last night. And the spoonful of Nutella I eat at home for my post-dinner dessert (or an afternoon snack…or my post-lunch dessert…). When you have to walk 15 blocks home after sushi or have to ride your bike 20 minutes back to your apartment, you are never as full.

Gosh, I think I’ve mentioned that in almost every post. But what can I say? I just love food. I don’t understand how skinny models live here and don’t feast on all the amazing cuisine that can be found on every single block

And I haven’t been shopping yet because I have no income, so food is all I have to excite my senses. For now.

Bagels...

P.S. Sorry the font is all messed up. I am really not great with formatting.