Every day for the past year, as I’ve walked into City Centre, this has loomed before me: Winking at me, teasing me; the great big black and yellow sign. Thesis. Thesis. Thesis. Stop looking at me, Thesis. I’ve got a workshop/lecture/travel article/pastie/book launch to get to and… yes, fine; you’re what I came here to […]
Living Overseas
Photo Friday: Cats and Roman Ruins
Cat, always to be/ found prowling Rome’s ancient stones/ You and all your ilk. This post has been brought to you by Delicious Baby Photo Friday.
Life in Two Suitcases Under 40kg
Flight to Italy tomorrow morning, early. Taxi called for 5 a.m. Passports, e-ticket, wallet, and dollars to exchange. A small plastic egg stuffed with a plastic bag from Ryan Air, just in case. Mini umbrella. Keys that you won’t be needing for over a month. Life, scattered throughout the bedsit, separated into several piles: clothing, […]
The Long Island Railroad Montauk Line Travel Guide
Gia and I are headed to Islip for the wedding of Jeremy and Ellie. We’re going together, but I’m boarding the train at Penn Station and she’s boarding it at Atlantic Avenue. It is our plan to meet when the train hits Atlantic Avenue, which we figure will be the first stop after Penn Station. […]
The Things I’ve Carried
While I was in Florida last month, my mother watched me pull out my wallet to pay for something – probably candy. “Geez,” she said. “Your wallet is huge.” She was right. My purse has been weighing down my shoulders for weeks and the wallet – stuffed with heaps of euro coins – is the […]
To the Expats, I Salute You
It’s the Fourth of July and – hooray! – I’m home in New York City to celebrate it. Prodigal expat WIN. There is a rooftop picnic at Gia’s apartment in Fort Greene and the menu follows thus: Popeye’s fried chicken, (real) biscuits, homemade red beans and rice, corn on the cob, and lychee, blueberry, and […]
Lemonade
From the 15 bus window, on the Upper East Side, an enterprising New York City youth selling lemonade on the sidewalk. No coins on the table. A wrinkled brow. No customers. It’s always the little guy that gets hurt. Sorry, friend. If I weren’t on this bus right now, I’d buy a cup. This post […]
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In a New York State of Mind
Dinner with Diego at Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village. Four arepas – the Playera (white fish with onions, peppers, and herbs), the Guasacaca (guacamole with paisa cheese), the De Pabellón (beef, black beans, white salty cheese and plantains), and the Los Muchachos (chorizo, spicy white cheese, jalapeños and peppers). Pacifico beer for him, […]
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Let Them Eat Cereal
Nothing tells you what the people want like browsing their country’s supermarkets. Japan: every single part of the fish. Ireland: industrial-size burlap sacks of potatoes. And America? Sugar-coated goodness as far as the eye can see.
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Got Crabs?
Ladies and gentlemen, the following collage of photos illustrates why I continue to return to Florida after all these years*. Florida seafood – there ain’t nothin’ like it. Git yerself to a crab shack, sit yerself down, and git dirty. Last night, my parents took me to a crab shack on the side of the […]