Christmas Dance Moves

Happy Holidays all! I'm getting ready to head home tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with the family. Enjoy the below video - it'll help you come up with some bitchin' dance moves for the various holiday parties.

The One-Two Punch

New York City is a coy mistress. This is certainly not a profound statement - realistically, it probably lands somewhere between old New York adage and screenwriter's cliche (which is worse? You decide). But while I'm aware of this, it still surprises me when she hits.

I spent the week in a very "over New York" slump. I finally succumbed to a stomach bug this weekend, spending nearly the whole of Saturday and Sunday in bed. Also, my parents' Christmas card - harmless and honest - which summarized my year succinctly, stating: "she’s in a different apartment now with one roommate, and she’s still working the restaurant job" led me to question what exactly I was doing here. I felt tired of the city and ready to head home.

Then came the one-two punch. And yes, I can use sports analogies, thankyouverymuch.

First came New York Magazine's year-end "Reasons to Love New York" issue. The article was littered with reasons why I do love living here. And why I feel at home in a big city. Second, as I sat in my favorite coffee shop in Williamsburg this morning, writing Christmas cards and waiting for my laundry, mammoth-sized snow flakes began to fall. Everyone in the small cafe became giddy and several employees and patrons went outside to capture the giant flakes on their tongues and look up at the sky. There is nothing like snow to make you love a city again.

Briefly going back to the "Reasons to Love New York" issue - the reason that stuck out most to me was one a reader had emailed in. Eric Greer wrote that he loves New York "because I moved to LA almost two years ago, and I've read six books in the time since. In New York, I'd read on the subway and finish a book in a week (at least!). There are millions of reasons to move back, but I'd do it just for the books."

Amen.

I have expounded to friends, family and, um, strangers, on multiple occasions about the amazing partnership between public transportation and literacy here in New York. Living in Bed-Stuy, especially, where my daily commutes were at least 45 minutes each way, I was never behind on a New Yorker subscription. It's so refreshing to have that forced separation from technology (excepting, of course, the equally transit-friendly ipod) for that bit of time each day. It was also always so reassuring to see people from all walks of life reading. And reading all types of newspapers, books and magazines. It's so apparent what a strong correlation there is between public transportation and literacy. Clearly, stronger public transportation systems are the answer to nearly all of societies woes, right? Literacy, the fall of print media, the environment - um, those are all of societies woes, correct? But absolutely without any irony or cheekiness, I really do believe that it could solve so much. So someone needs to start digging out there on the West Coast.

Discuss.

My penchant for ordering take-out Thai has been duly noted here (although to be fair, I think it's just that I mention what I'm eating when it's Thai - today I ate a Waldorf-esque salad and kept mum about it because it wasn't all that inspiring). However, equally high on my "things Alice adores" list is New York Magazine. I read this magazine nearly cover to cover every week and, of course, complete its' crossword puzzle. I know it's crazy from a financial standpoint, but I don't actually subscribe to this magazine. Every Monday, on my way to the bank to make the deposits for work, I plunk down the $3.99 for my copy. The articles provide a good distraction while Narissa at Chase bank counts the tens of thousands of dollars spent at Vento and Level V over the weekend. I think that magazine does a beautiful job of matching the "intellectual" with the light and fun. I find the writing to be some of the best, because it's rarely lofty and pedantic (which, you really can't say without sounding lofty and pedantic - ah, irony); opting for honesty and even employing the use of first person. Anyway, longest intro ever. The moral is: read New York Magazine.

That whole big windup was for an article that I'm not entirely sure how to respond to. I will say it evoked an extremely strong emotional and intellectual reaction for me. The article is called "Gender Bender" with the stirring subhead: "More women are drinking, and the women who drink are drinking more, in some cases matching their male peers. This is the kind of equality nobody was fighting for."

This is an article that was written about my peer group of women - or at least the peer group I'm growing into: Young, educated, professionals. The woman who wrote the article is herself a part of this group:

"Most of [my female friends] do drink - and not just in a glass-of-wine-with-dinner way. Drinking is our go-to activity. Meeting a friend implies going to a bar. Having a meal implies a round of cocktails beforehand. A party implies a serious hangover. Drinking feels like our prerogative - if we want to get blasted at the company Christmas party or nurse a bottle of scotch through the holidays, no one should, or can, stop us."

What the article incited in me, besides a lot of terrifying self-reflection, was a desire to discuss its' contents. Perhaps this is the true indication of a great article. So, here it is: my feeble attempt to turn the naval-gazing of my blog into a discussion board. I would love it if people read this article and could share their thoughts, if any, here. This may be wholly unsuccessful, but here's my attempt. If nothing else, I really encourage everyone to read the article.

(Photo stolen, without permission, from Stephanie Layton. Check out more of her work here.)

A Blank Sheet of Paper

New York Times guest columnist today, Timothy Egan, wrote about Joe the Plumber publishing a book this month. Egan is, justifiably, incensed by the mere prospect of JTP (like Jonathan Taylor Thomas!) being paid to write. "I have a question for Joe:" he writes, "Do you want me to fix your leaky toilet? I didn’t think so. And I don’t want you writing books. Not when too many good novelists remain unpublished."

I am not quite as outraged by JTP's book deal as Egan; when I read about it, my first reaction was to laugh and shake my head - similarly to when I found out Brody Jenner has a show, "Bromance," airing on national television. But when I read this column, I did find myself saying "yeah! so true!" outloud and shaking my head, although this time more angrily. Although I fully understand we live in an era of celebrity, it's still frustrating to be a struggling writer - watching those who aren't even really interested in writing take a book deal for granted. Just as struggling actors, I'm sure, are frustrated to see celebrities floundering through a leading role in a Broadway show. We're living in a time when Tila Tequila will star as Roxie Hart in Chicago and publish a popular-but-panned memoir before qualified individuals. But I don't think that means the rest of us should give up on the pursuit.

P.S. Photo credit for the picture in Wednesday's post goes to Michael Gacetta. Check out his daily photography, along with Stephanie Layton's at http://365.nickgaswirth.com/

Who wants to ride the subway alone?

On the ride home from drinks with Stephanie tonight, I finally opened my much-neglected New York Magazine from last week. There was an article in it about the myth of loneliness in New York that I had been interested in reading. I know about the cliches of being alone in a city of millions - but for me, I rarely feel lonely here. In stark contrast, when I lived in the small town of San Juan Bautista,with a population of just over 1000, I often felt much more isolated. Perhaps this was because despite the fact that it was one of those places where "everyone knows everyone," I didn't know everyone.

The article talked about new research indicating that people are actually less lonely in large, urban areas. Although many New Yorkers live alone (1 in 2), they go out, socialize, and establish complex networks of mere acquaintances. The article has multiple grafs talking about the importance of these so called "weak ties." I, for one, have always found these daily interactions invigorating and humanizing. While having a deep conversation with a close friend is incomparably wonderful, the "hi, how-are-yous" with the bank teller and "what-are-you-doing-for-the-holidays" with the barista aren't vapid small talk, they also help you feel a basic human connection.

"There is even evidence that weak ties simply make us feel better...the advice your mother gives you when you’re depressed—Get out of the damn house, would you?—turns out to be right. For most people, being in the simple presence of a friendly person helps us reregulate our behavior if we’re feeling depressed in our isolation. We are naturally wired not just to connect with them but to imitate them—which might be a good idea, if our impulses at that moment are self-destructive."

It was nice to read the article as I rode home from hanging out with a good friend. Although they are scattered around the U.S., I know I'm very lucky to have as many close friends and family members I do (according to the article, on average Americans feel they have 2 people they can discuss important matters with). But I also feel lucky to be living in such an invigorating city. I've always loved the subway, because it gives a sense of togetherness. In the movie "Crash" they discuss how LA is inherently lonely because it's a city where people live in their cars. They are constantly encased behind glass and metal. It's a metaphor, get it? Juxtapose that with New York, a city where we are consistently shoved together creating a shared community - whether we want it or not.

"{Living in New York] shows us, in trillions of invisible ways every day, that people are essentially nothing without one another. We may sometimes want to throttle our fellow travelers on the F train. We may on occasion curse our neighbors for playing music so loud it splits the floor. But living cheek-by-jowl is the necessary price we pay for our well-being. And anyway, who wants to ride the subway alone?"