Opinion Polls & Market Research
Why does everyone think New Yorkers are rude? I beg to differ. We just tell it like it is. If we want something, we ask for it. We don’t stand around like schmucks waiting for it to happen.I get frustrated after spending time down in the city and then returning upstate. Especially when I’m driving. People don’t know how to drive in Beacon! Hey, if someone is in your way, you need to honk, goddammit!When I visit the in-laws in Ireland, they think I’m a nuts. This is a country full of alcoholics and people with ulcers because they keep things to themselves. They would prefer to suffer through an uncomfortable existence rather than hurt someone’s feelings. Screw that! I’m not gonna freeze my ass off because you think 50 degrees is comfortable.So, no, I don’t think New Yorkers are rude. I think we’re the only normal ones on the planet. Everybody else sucks.
My husband purposely gives me bad massages when I beg him for one just so I can beg him to stop. Oh, I do the same to him, so kudos to him for picking up on my ingenious idea.
Sometimes I wonder “What’s a person gotta do to get a good massage around here?” My BFF is a massage therapist, but she’s not around at the drop of a hat.
So I think I need the Auto Healther Reiz DZ-270 from Dainichi. It can sit in the center of my living room since we never invite people over. Cost? 8500€. That’s like $2 million these days.
The thing is, I’m willing to wait a few months. FYI, my birthday is in August.
I’ve been seeing lists of items people can do the one day of the year (today) that we recognize Earth. First of all, one day per year isn’t gonna cut it. Secondly, although planting a tree is great, it’s not something everyone can readily do.
So here’s my own list. In no specific order. Many are included in other, more official lists.
1. Get those reusable shopping bags. Don’t leave them at home when you go shopping.
2. Don’t leave your windows open when using heat or air conditioning. Seems like the most simple thing in the world, but I’ve seen so many people do it. Usually they are my tenants.
3. Spay/neuter your pets.
4. Spay/neuter yourself. Seriously, what’s wrong with adoption? You could be just like Brangelina!
5. Unplug appliances when not in use. I’m too lazy to do this, but my husband does.
6. Get your fat ass out of the car and walk alittle!
7. Instead of throwing away used building materials and furniture consider the fact that one person’s junk is another’s treasure. Do a curb alert.
8. That not only goes for building materials. If you have a bunch of “garbage”, perhaps an artist can use it for a project? Craig before trash!
9. Switch to CFL bulbs. Get a rain barrel. Buy energy star appliances. Use cloth diapers (or see #4). Yada yada.
10. Go vegetarian! Hey, there are only a handful of times during the year that I can get preachy on this subject and today is one of them. Save the cows! Save the pigs! Save the chickens! And little fishies too!
Take advantage of Home Depot. Remember that new zero VOC paint we told you about? Well, for a limited time you can order 3 free samples. Here’s how.
Well, it didn’t rain. But the sun doesn’t like Sundays lately. What did Sunday ever do to The Sun to deserve this? Anyhoo, the market wasn’t jam packed this week, what with Passover and the Pope in town, there were only a bunch of heathens like myself lurking about. Still, I only managed to get down 2 aisles.
Finally got to Lewis Jaffe’s booth after 2 weeks. He comes from Philadelphia with Victorian hardware from demolished buildings in the area. He’s also a “book plate junkie” hence the name of his blog. Not something I’d consider myself interested in, but it is actually fascinating stuff. It’s an art form that many people (or just me) forget about. Lew Jaffe is in space L8.
Shoprico is a chi chi design firm on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. They represent various furniture and lighting designers alongside the work of founder Rico Espinet. But what grabbed my attention at the market were their big molds. They sell huge sand molds that are ready to display. How cool are these things? Space L14
Mod House Range: Materialicious
How To Build A Rain Garden: Low Impact Living
Poll: Do You Cook? BushwickBk
Finding Your First Apartment: NY Times
Dog Found Around Smith & 9th: OTBKB
My completely unscientific research has led me to conclude that Queens is the most affordable borough. Here are some coops under $200k. I don’t know what some of these neighborhoods are like or if they are the slightest bit desirable, but they are cheap.
Looks like crappy weather Sunday for the third week in a row. These flea market organizers have some bad weather karma they need to deal with. It hasn’t rained on us yet (Yeah, I just jinxed it), but the sun hasn’t been around either. Cleanse your auras or something, guys.
So this week I hit the mother load of tacky thrift store paintings. Check it out…the Native American chick against the dark background: velvet. It just doesn’t get any better than that! Unless it’s Elvis. Look at the clown. Classic. I run a high end racket for people with exquisite taste.
I picked up the horse from the same guy. It’s the one I had as a kid. He came back to me! This one is pretty scary, with dark eyes and fuzzy “hair”. I might not be able to part with him.
GuyIBuyStuffFrom tells me he’s cleaning out a house next week that has tons of 50′s toys in the attic. What does this have to do with “homes”? Who cares? Toys are more fun! How does “Reclaimed Toys” sound?
I never understood why someone would want to live in the country and not have land around them. I’d pass homes close to the road, townhouses and condos and say “WTF”? Well, I’m much older and wiser now and I kind of get it.
Weekend homes are a hassle. The cleaning each time you come and go, the heat and water during the winter. Plowing snow. Garbage removal. Maintenance. It’s a part time job and you don’t really get to relax and enjoy the house if you’re just going for a weekend. At least that was our scenario.
So how about those country condos? Some of them offer amenities that would be too pricey for a single homeowner. Pools, tennis, lakes. No guilt that the home is sitting empty if you don’t use it too often. And let someone else worry about the maintenance!
Are condos the way to go or are the fees too high for a part time place? Plus it’s nowhere near as romantic as a cabin the in the woods.
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Hahahahahaha! My mother and I were just talking about this the other day. We’re both die-hard NY’ers and she’s lived out here in Phoenix since ’81, and she mentioned that one of her co-workers at the architecture firm where she works half-jokingly told here everyone in the office is afraid of her. Mom’s a tiny little thing, but she’s got a VERY direct, big, way of speaking. When she speaks, EVERYONE listens. Mom also has a mug on her desk that says “Everyone’s entitled to my opinion”. So apt. Swears like a sailor, too…. ‘but in the nicest way’.
Comment by Justin — April 23, 2008 @ 10:51 am
OMG, are you my brother? My mom has the same thing. I believe it’s a refrigerator magnet.
Comment by RH — April 23, 2008 @ 12:56 pm