A New York City Tradition.

35 floors = multiple stops, awkward moments in the elevator and silence, piercing and echoing off the reflective walls. I am now able to start small talk in the elevator of my building. “Isn’t is starting to feel like December?” People here smile and nod. Most respond. Engage in conversation. Much appreciated human interaction.

“Finally- winter has arrived.”

And with its arrival of cold winds and rain I arrive at my office at 9AM most days now, disheveled and breathing like I just ran a race.

Here in the office we are starting to receive baked goods, candy, fruit, and cheeses. Everyday the office manager puts out the holiday treats in the kitchen and within five minutes the entire office has meandered into the common space with an inconspicuous attempt to get a little piece of the holiday calories.

On Thursday a new friend of mine suggested that her and I go to George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center the next evening for a classic night out in New York City.

I was immediately excited to participate in an annual New York tradition, since I failed at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting.

The New York City Ballet has performed The Nutcracker every Christmas season since 1954, with more than 1700 performances.  I was so excited to see the David Koch Theater, experience the music of Peter Tschaikovsky and the exquisite sets of Rouben Ter-Arutunian.

The evening began with picking up the tickets and walking across the street to P.J. Clarke’s at Lincoln Square for a cocktail and conversation. Walking around Lincoln Center was like falling into my architecture textbooks. Being able to walk around, experience and see the interaction of the people solidifies my happiness and confirms my choice of profession.

Transforming Lincoln Center

Once inside, I hear my high heels across the marble floors. I look at the people filtering into the theater dressed up and ready for the weekend, ready for the ballet.

The ballet is beyond words. Seeing the iconic moments like a on-stage snow storm, a Christmas tree that grows from twelve feet to forty feet in seconds, a giant mice battle, candy canes jumping through hula hoops, the Sugarplum Fairy with her million pirouettes, and a “flying sleigh” that carries Marie and her prince twenty feet in the air.

I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite.

This morning I joined ten of my friends at 8 AM at Father’s Heart Ministries to give a little back to the community this holiday season. We volunteered at a local food pantry and soup kitchen. One of the best experiences so far in New York City.

Side Note: SantaCon 2011 was also today. 50,000 white-bearded Santas walking around New York for a very popular pub-crawl. Probably one the funniest sites in New York City so far.

I am a cotton-headed ninnymoggins!

Like Crazy.

This evening I decided that I needed to get out of my apartment and out into the city. My great idea- See a movie by myself.

I usually do not like to review films, so my few comments will include…

The film was very realistic. The quick cut editing and the series of jump cuts which progress time is beautifully done. The scenes are full of love, awkwardness and tension and become very powerful, leaving the viewer loosing themselves in the characters possibilities.   There are no easy answers to love, so one’s ultimate understanding and perhaps satisfaction of the film truly depends on viewer’s outlook on love and how much you believe in it.

The Works.

This afternoon my co-worker pulls out a hardbound book titled, The Works: Anatomy of a City. He handed the book to me and said it might be interesting to check out the diagrams. He continued insisting that I read some of it and that it might be helpful as to understanding the interconnected systems of New York and what makes this city so unique.

I stumbled upon the Subway section, where the diagrams depicted the subway network and the scheduled minutes between trains during the morning rush hour. I quickly found the 6 Train, (my morning commute train) to be accurately shown as arriving every 3 minutes. However, she forgets to put in a disclaimer about nature of the system- it is always late.

As I flipped through the pages of the book I realized what an amazing reference guide and resource I was looking at. I continued to read that the subway network in New York is truly one of a kind. It hosts the integration of both the local and express tracks into one network. New York was the first world city to construct this “two-tiered” system.

Wow. I am a geek. I am now just more excited about Kate Ascher’s new book titled The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper.

Happy Reading| Diagramming.  

Words to Inspire.

In this city. I need this reminder.

Saturday Night.

An interesting turn of events. And by interesting, I mean boring.

Mad Men. Take out Chinese food. Haribo Gummy Bears. Facebook?

Glasslands Gallery.

Gauntlet Hair, Parenthetical Girls, Dinowalrus, Erass

Steven Holl > Christmas Lights + Crowds.

I know I should have probably been in Rockefeller Center for the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony but instead I had reservations at the Storefront for Art and Architecture.

The performance, Pharmacophore: Architectural Placebo, is the newest installation of Harrison Atelier collaborations. The piece attempts to bridge design with performance, mainly by the interaction with the architecture itself.

Designed by Steven Holl, the façade renovation for the gallery was completed in 1993. The Storefront hosts multiple exhibits, film screenings and artists talks each month with the sole focus of generating cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration.

Seeking to introduce the main concept into the architecture itself, Holl designed a series of hinged panels which, when open allow the building to blur the lines between interior and exterior space. Ultimately increasing awareness and interest between the public and private, the gallery and the sidewalk.

I am still not exactly responsive of the “art” and what it truly intended to engender: bridge design with performance. But overall was excited to view the Architectural Placebo- and enjoy a shot of vodka.

 

Important Stuff.

Today I thought I lost my keys. Life flashed before my eyes.

But I just needed to dig in my purse. Mary Poppins Style.

Dream.