winter reading list!

My winter reading list is massive and, as usual, I'm failing to make much of a dent. Too much to do and simply not enough time! (And I haven't done any job searching in the last couple of days. Priorities!)

[1] No Logo by Naomi Klein
Continuing my interest in the relationship between consumers & media and anti-corporate messaging
[2] Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood
Dystopian novels are my favorite and I loved The Handmaid's Tale - one review said "Atwood does Orwell one better" so how could I not?
[3] The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
My co-worker raves about Lessing/this book constantly
[4] Caffeine for the Creative Mind
Exercises to get my brain in gear
[5] The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Finished this the other day - a re-telling of Hamlet set in Northern Wisconsin. Didn't care for the ending, but loved the author's beautiful wordplay.
[6] What the Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell
Nick's parents gave me this book for Christmas; I really enjoy Gladwell's take on sociological phenomena.
[7] The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel
I've heard nothing but amazing things about this collection of short stories.
[8] A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
Reading now; it traces the family of a suffragette who starves herself for the cause.
[9] Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
I really loved The Time Traveler's Wife, so was excited for the author to write something new!

Female authors are very well-represented here, which pleases me. Unfortunately my last semester starts up shortly...it really pains me that I'll have to stop reading for fun. I missed it!

AWC: THE REVIVAL

Standing in my kitchen, chopping up a giant apple to be eaten with a little bit of cheese (because, you know, cholesterol and all that), it hit me. The blogging must continue!

Last spring I started this blog to document my "musings and misadventures" in NYC, where I had an internship with a tv/film production company. I hoped to gain a better grip on my goals and career path through that experience.

Now it's 2010. I graduate in May and am no closer to making career decisions than I was last year. The problem? I HAVE TO. I should've been applying Real Person Jobs, um, approximately last November. I think a lot of people my age are in my position. It's a scary world out there!

In this revival of Apples with Cheese, I'll write about my job search--the discoveries, missteps and hopefully, eventually, a happy ending. I can't just live in Madison working part-time jobs forever.

The next few months, I must:
- Update resume/have it professionally reviewed
- NETWORK, network, network ... whatever that means
- Internet job hunt like a fiend
- Vet potential home cities
- Navigate career choice angst
- Decide whether print journalism is dying or waiting to be refreshed
- Build skill sets - Illustrator, Flash, coding/web development... Must. get. better.
- Interview!!!

What's in my arsenal:
- A haircut
- Two part-time jobs
- Giant piles of unread books
- A slowly-improving Young Professional wardrobe
- More than $10k in student loans
- An unhealthy love for Adobe InDesign

Frankly, I'm terrified.

tales of craigslist

When I speak with people about my love for Craigslist, I'm often met with skepticism and an unfounded fear of making deals with strangers. I've been a part of the following exchange more than once:

Q: So, how did you find your place in New York?
A: Craigslist!
Q: REALLY? Isn't that ... dangerous?

Well yes - potentially. But for every Craigslist killer, Craigslist scammer and Craigslist creeper (for lolz, check out the "Casual Encounters" section), there are thousands of other well-intentioned folk. And there are lots of ways to avoid finding yourself in a bad situation.

In Madison I used Craiglist frequently.

• I used it to sell my old Nintendo DS and accompanying games
• I used it to sell the Lollapalooza pass I couldn't use because I had to design the Herald send-home edition. (This is a sore subject - I'm still bummed. Last year's lineup may never be matched)
• I used it to buy a worn-in softball glove for $10
  

I've easily had the most luck with the site through making my own posts. Even if you're looking for a very specific item or a very low price - you'll probably find it. So many people use Craigslist that the odds are good.

Instead of sifting through the thousands of rental posts for Brooklyn and Manhattan, I wrote my own ad. I stated my specifications - the area I'd like to live in, my price range, the dates I'd be in the city. I ended up connecting with a great couple who rent rooms in their brownstone. Its a block from an F stop and Prospect Park. My room is airy and spacious, the neighborhood is (relatively) safe and quiet and my landlords/co-habitators are awesome.

Last week, I posted an ad looking for a large suitcase. I came to New York with just a carry-on; I'd been on vacation in Europe with a big group of friends and had sent three boxes of things ahead. Before flying back to Wisconsin, I needed luggage in a major way.

My post read:

After living in the city for a 5-month unpaid internship, it's time to fly back to Wisconsin. I just... need a suitcase to haul my things there with me.

As my bank account has fallen deeper into the red with each passing day, I don't have much money to spend. If anyone recently cleaned out their attic or closet and has a large-ish rolling suitcase in good condition that they want to get rid of, I'd be thrilled to take it off your hands.

Only email me if you're 1) not a creep and 2) willing to part with a suitcase for under $20. Photos would be very welcome. Thanks!

I was contacted by a handful of people. One prospect seemed best - a woman who lived about a mile away was selling a like-new large suitcase for $25. I made plans to meet up with her after work on Thursday to check out the suitcase.

It was raining, I was a little nervous to meet a stranger (but I'd given her contact info to Nick just in case anything sketchy happened and she seemed legit - I googled her) and I really had to pee. Luckily, the girl was quite cool - she used to be in a rock band and had to traveled to Madison several times. Heck, she even offered me water or beer when she saw my harried state (I turned her down - you never know). But the transaction went smoothly and I got a nearly mint-condition, huge suitcase for $25.

Me with the aforementioned suitcase. Please note that I arrange my clothes by the colors of the rainbow.

These kinds of happy transactions with strangers is exactly why, even though it's killing newspapers, I love Craigslist.

stoops

In Wisconsin, most people have a yard. A lack of the space constraints inherent in big cities allows people to spread out.

There are no brownstones and very few townhouses in the state. In my hometown, new neighborhoods are built atop old farm fields. Development occurs on massive tracts of land.

When people want to get rid of their old and no-longer-needed junk in Wisconsin, they hold yard sales, garage sales and (my favorite) thrift sales.

Advertised through the classified section of the local paper and colorful signs placed strategically around town, these thrift sales can make an impressive amount of money for families with an excess of stuff. My mom has held thrift sales netting thousands of dollars

New York, with its huge population and finite amount of space, breeds a different culture of frugality. Here, there are stoop sales.

That's right. Stoop sales.

Not to be confused with Soupy Sales.

And if people just want their old stuff gone, no money attached, they put it out on their stoop. Usually, the offending items will disappear quickly. In an attempt to lighten my load before heading back to Wisconsin, I've left unwanted clothes and other assorted things on our stoop, and passersby have taken everything.

Stoops are also a common gathering-place for many in this borough. Families sit on their stoops, beer in hands, joking loudly with neighbors on hot nights. Children play shyly with their toys, their stoop and sidewalk substituting for a front yard. My heart, accustomed to a childhood of playing on green grassy lawns, aches for them.

Hey Arnold!, one of my favorite TV shows on Nickelodeon in the 1990s, even had a character based around stoops. Behold: Stoop Kid.

"Stoop Kid's afraid to leave his stoop! Stoop Kid's afraid to leave his stoop!"

Stoop Kid was a nasty older kid who tormented Arnold and his pals. The catch? Just the thought of leaving his stoop sent Stoop Kid into a panicked frenzy.

Me and my stoop: best friends for life.

Though I've seen some strange things from my stoop, (including the hysterical aftermath of the holdup at the deli next door and a man flying a kite with a fishing rod) I'm still not afraid to leave it. There's too much to do and see!

lower manhattan

Weirdly, I hadn't become properly acquainted with Lower Manhattan before this weekend. I'd visited Ground Zero and taken the Staten Island Ferry, but I hadn't walked the distance in between.

What was a mistake! As Emma and I discovered, the area's buildings and parks are gorgeous and historically interesting.

Our sustenance:

Terrace Bagels = NOM NOM. Boiled and baked, as bagels should be. Einstein's will never be the same to me.

Ground Zero: Because it's presently a huge construction site mostly obscured from view, I don't have any photos of Ground Zero, but we started there.

Almost eight years later, the city hasn't forgotten September 11, 2001. FDNY firetrucks list the names of their ladder's fallen, murals visible from the subway announce "Never Forget," I even saw a simple mini-memorial tacked to a tree in Brooklyn.

And New York's mourning was never more palpable than at the giant construction site, a gaping wound in the city's structure.

While standing at the memorial on the side of Ladder Ten next to the WTC site, I saw a firefighter watching from the window. Though none of us could have known what he felt, for a moment we were companions in mourning.

Trinity Church: Built in 1846, Trinity Church sits at one end of Wall Street. Its Gothic architecture contrasts starkly with its finance-house neighbors; seeing the church is stepping into a different era. Alexander Hamilton is buried in its 300-year-old cemetery.


Wall Street: I bet seeing the "world's financial capital" on a weekend is starkly different than on a week day. The empty banks and New York Stock Exchange seemed to symbolize the current financial state. For the future of my unpaid student loans, here's hoping for an upturn!

Emma photographing the New York Stock Exchange. She was so excited to see the buildings she had studied in her classes this semester.

Stone Street: Dating back to the 1600s, Stone Street was supposedly the first paved street in New York. It's closed to traffic and now occupied by a good deal of outdoor restaurant seating. It's rare to see streets like these preserved in the city.

Photo by Complicated, Flickr

Battery Park: The launching-point for the ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the park was hopping on a Memorial Day Weekend Saturday.

Liberty imitators don't mind a little competition?

Staten Island Ferry: The last time I rode the Staten Island Ferry, it was an unseasonably warm day in February, but the wind made it a bit too cold for comfort. This time, the weather was perfect.

Emma and Manhattan. By the amount of souvenirs this girl bought, I think I converted her into a NYC lover! She left earlier today, so sadly there will be no new blog posts from her visit.

Some fun numbers:

4: days of work left at my internship
12: days until I fly back into Minneapolis
2: visitors left to entertain (Sarah and Tracy)
3: thank you gifts I need to buy for my bosses by Friday
8: chocolate chip cookies I've eaten in the last 24 hours (seriously, MAKE THESE)
1: suitcases I own to take my things back to Wisconsin. To do: vehemently troll craigslist in search of a large, cheap-and-or-free rolling suitcase