Day 181 tells a story through pictures

I pass this post every day on the way to work. It houses a rotating series of stickers and today's selection caught my eye. Here's what I put together this morning (pre-coffee):

This man with the moustache is Doug Bennett. He is running for "Councilor-at-Large" on a platform of doing away with tow zones. He leaves secret codes for his constituents like "DKAE". He gets his hair done by Jose.

A classic American story if ever I heard one.

day 180: i love cheesecake

i love any place that loves cheesecake and soho loves cheesecake.

I don't love the calories that come with cheesecake, but I'll make that sacrifice in the name of the cheesecake. Lucky (unlucky) for me, there's a delicious cheesecake store about 5 minutes from work. This is a problem. Its actually going to be a bigger problem once the warm weather really arrives and i'm more likely to enjoy walks outside during my lunch and its really a high possibility that those walks will take me right here.... to the door of the cheesecake store. i'm both angry and thrilled about this.


(number of times I wrote "cheesecake" in this post: 7)

Day 180 is a techie at heart

My "office" ("cage") at the Opera House is right next to the scene shop in the basement. Strewn about are all kinds of old props, half pieces of old sets, and old cyc or two, etc. This is three racks of lighting instruments that I think are pretty nifty. These are old school, no motors or crystal refractors in these puppies. Yeah, I'm a theatre nerd. So what?

Day 179 does it all in the name of art

This is a man in a pig mask. This is an Asian man with a camera filming him. These are two men acting like there is nothing strange about one filming the other in a pig mask in public in the middle of the afternoon. Any questions?

Day 178 and straight on 'til morning

Boston is so weird. Cool, historical, interesting. But weird. Why is this in the middle of the sidewalk? What's it from? Who is wondering which direction Radio Shack is facing? These are the important questions I can just hear the founding fathers debating.

day 179: this is awkward....

sometimes the graffiti that people add to subway posters is better than the posters themselves. other times.... its just not right. today there were cops standing around this poster "investigating" and assessing the situation. is it wrong of me that i wanted to yell at them "hey! get out my way, fools!". good thing i held that thought in....

this one caught my eye because if it wasn't for the cops (and having seen this un-graffiti'd version the morning before) i would have thought it was part of the poster. but it is not, so....


gnight!

day 178: but i saw my shadow!?

here is my desperate plea to, ya know, earth.... where the warm weather at??! I am loving how this picture came out seeing as it started as an accidental capture as I was trying to fix my wonky phone. thank you wonky phone. thank you for this picture.

(i still want warm weather ASAP)

gnight!

Day 177 will take the free advice

Driving back to Boston today was exciting and new and different and fun. And boring. I was so desperate for something to look at besides trees that I actually laughed out loud when I saw this truck. So much is happening! First off, I think they're wise words: "Be Kind, Be Careful, Be Yourself". So much wisdom. Secondly, get it??! "Kane is able!" Punny!

Day 176 likes a different vantage point

I thought I'd dealt with most of New York issues. Until I drove in the city. Boy oh boy. It's a whole universe unto itself. I will say that I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite spots in a whole new way. CPW looking downtown always gives me a thrill and the higher the better. While waiting for the light to turn (you can see that it has in the shot) I snapped this and intentionally got the dashboard in the frame. It feels different seeing these familiar places from the driver's seat and, although I'm glad I don't have to do it all the time, I liked it for a brief moment.

Day 175 makes a triumphant return

Let it be known that on this, Day 175, AVH made her return to selling merch. She wasn't happy, the customers weren't happy, it was like deja vue all over again!

Day 174 can see for miles and miles

Top of the Hub: not an easy place to find, but an awesome spot to experience. The restaurant/bar sits 52 floors above the Prudential Center and it's pretty amazing. Definitely worth checking out (assuming you have a map of the Center).

Day 173 is an observer

Sometimes I find things in my day that are just weird and beautiful and different and inexplicable and cool and interesting. This is one of those days. There's a lot of shattered glass on the pavement outside the stage door and it catches my eye every time I walk by. I finally snapped a picture of it and I really like how it came out.

Day 172 likes a good bargain

Right across the street from our stage door is this tiny book store that has carts of discount books set up outside every day. The empty lot is right next to their actual store and there are always people searching through the piles and piles of cheap books. I haven't had a spare moment to go over and look through myself yet, but it's one of my favorite spots in Boston so far.

Day 171l likes the view (x3)

So far I've taken a shot out of every window since I've been on tour. Though this one is less exciting than some of the others, I thought it was time to continue the tradition. So I present to you... that building I can see out my window.

Day 170 sees beauty beyond the surface

Driving from New York always trips me out. This was a particularly frenetic day but I snuck in a trip to my two favorite grocery stores in the world. TJ's is the greatest place on earth and I'd gladly shop there every day if it were possible. It is not. Whole Foods is an acceptable second choice. I will say that, to their benefit, WF has better produce. Including this... Ugli. I don't know what it is but it lives up to its name.

Day 169 will live in infamy

I'm not happy about this. My rockin-stellar-awesome-tastic-bomb-diggity photo is gone. I've done the unthinkable and left this day blank until my pic comes home. Believe you me. I'm more upset about this than you. One day, that camera will be returned to me, its rightful owner, and this picture will be posted in all its 169th glory. This blows...

Day 168 sees the obvious

Okay, here's the thing. My camera jumped ship. It's just gone. Do you have it?? Give it back. Seriously. I can't find it anywhere. I have taken a picture for every day since last week when it went missing (including and especially the one I took ON it) and I've been trying to find it for more than a week now. I'm pretty upset that my CAD175 camera (that's Canadian Dollars, for anyone who remembers when I bought it) is gone, but more upset that my awesome pic for day 169 is MIA! I've mourned, I've accepted, I'm moving on. Here goes...

Last Sunday was a CRAZY day. Sales at the show have been way up which is very exciting but it means more work for a certain manager... I was rushing to get out of the show that night so I could run home, pack my stuff and hop a bus to New York. I saw this on the way home and realized I hadn't taken a picture yet. "Pet Bird" is all it says. Obvious. Blunt. To the point. And yet... what does it mean??

day 177: stop to smell the flowers

I don't think I've ever received flowers in my life. what a treat!! my sister bought me these beautiful flowers for my birthday (!) and i was distracted by them all day. i just kept glancing over and staring at them and enjoying my desk smelling like nature for once and not office supplies.

i think we should all give and receive little gifts like this more often!

gnight!

day 176: explore some exotic cuisine, won't you?

todays menu features some delicious "lime flavor with shrimp". not to be confused with shrimp that is lime flavored. also, please take a moment to take in the beautiful graphic in the lower left corner for "Limon Flavor", clearly another fantastic flavor that really makes this a perfect meal to delight the senses. Next time I go back to this deli I will be sure to buy and sample this treat and let you all know how it tastes...

gnight!

day 175: if the shoe fits

i really like how this picture came out. I also wish I could pull of shoes like this, but I think very few people can. I think this store is in Downtown crossing, Boston...? I don't know if thats right. I have no idea where I am in Boston but I know how to get from EBs apartment to the theater, from the theater to food across the street and from the food to where they keep the coffee. Street names? Nope. Shoe stores? Apparently.

(ps. EB will be posting soon. His camera has been lost and we're on a mission to find it. Once this happens, you'll get a couple days of spectacular posting to make up for lost time!)

day 174: a big theater blur

its pretty safe to say that i've spent far too much time in general in theaters, wearing show shirts and talking about merchandise. I don't know how I fell into theater but it happened and I find myself back in a theater and feeling comfortable and at ease. Today was a big old blur of drunks customers and merchandise sales. I had quite a few, "ah, memories" moments. good times!

my weekend of Boston theater continues tomorrow. stay tuned...

day 173: all of these look so delicious

the worst thing that ever happened was me discovering there was a delicious Crumbs cupcake store 10 minutes from my office. why? why would anyone do that to me? Today at work i took a trip to said cupcake store and spent more money than anyone should on cupcakes. but it was so worth it. That rasberry swirl cupcake didn't even have a chance. The cookie dough one has yet to be eaten, but it will be equally delicious. you're all so jealous....

gnight!

day 172: creative abbreviations

bleeker street station. i think the use of an apostrophe here is quite creative. I kind of like it. I think I like it.... I don't have any reason not to like it. Is it possible the MTA did something.... cool? I'm afraid to admit such a thing!

day 171: a wide range

i love that new york has the calorie law (restaurants with more than 3 locations have to post the calories for any and all menu items). its simply brilliant. It seems however, that some stores are offering broad generalizations in place of listing the actual calories. So is my coffee going to be 600 calories?? God, I hope not.

day 170: not recession appropriate

here's the thing... using the failing economy as an analogy for lung cancer somehow seems inappopriate. this can't be just me?

Also, the 3 exclamation points? are we in 7th grade? omg, wtf, lol, brb?

i'm really trying hard to imagine the design process for this ad and all the people sitting in the meeting then one guy getting up and saying "WAIT! I've got it!" then this happening. i can't be the only one who just isn't loving this, right?

day 169: if you give a mouse a cookie....

so this one time, my sister tried to bake and this is what happened. awkward..... (love you sister!!)

anyway, the big point was that she took the delicious non-burnt cookie and left me with this (not delicious) gem. ahh, family.

day 168: closin' out

today my mom lost her phone. we were in the movies, we had it.... then it was gone. i snapped this picture of the empty food court at the mall when we went back in search of said phone. it was weird seeing this place completely quiet when not more than 2 hours ago it was hopping with people. they really know how to shut it down in MD...


gnight!

Day 167 be causin' a commotion

Now, some might think this is an unintelligible blurred mess of a photo. But let me tell you what's also true. Gin, shooters, skipping dinner and uncontrollable dancing bring about photos like this one. All I'm saying.

Ps. I actually think it's cool. Sue me.

Day 166 missed a day in first grade

Um... hello? Anyone? Do we need a lesson in plurals?

day 167: right on target

you can always count on crazy super stores to find the most awkward (crazy) crap. right before we left Target to get starbucks where my cup smelled like perfume and the croissant smelled like lemons (??), I ran into this. i love it. i want it. i'm confused by it and yet, find it oddly beautiful. (not really). i wonder if this horse comes with every purchase of gum? probably....

gnight!

day 166: this is high fashion?

lizard shoes..... awkward. oh those sexy italian men with their ostrich boots, they really know what turns a woman on, huh?

day 165: bangle bangle bangle

today was the second time i did my most favorite assignment ever at work. the assignment being go out into the city and take pictures. i love playing photographer for a day and could truly spend everyday of my life taking pictures and looking at things in fun, quirky angles and capturing moments.... if it paid the rent. today i got to put on my photographer hat and i could not have been happier. if i could make a slideshow of some of the shots i got, i would.

here's a preview. its a set of bracelets from this really awesome jewelry store in nolita called Dinosaur Designs. very awesome.

gnight!

Day 165 is a little hyperbolic

I passed this on the street today. "Boston's Best Burritos" is what it says. Really? On the street? I think it's a stretch...

day 164: move on by

you've been waiting for a train. you see the lights of an approaching train, you get all excited and if you're like me you start calculating what time it will be when you get home and how long till you can go to bed based on the amount of dishes to do, clothes to put away, etc... but every now and then the MTA likes to play some mind fuck games on you. what a tease. what a freaking tease! they got me! they got me! (hotels.com commercial, anyone? anyone?)


gnight!

Day 164 is... wait, what?

I'm pretty sure this is fake. It simply cannot be an accredited university. Maybe it's like clown college, or a school or fish or "Marymount Manhattan University"... Definitely fake.

Day 163 tries the native cuisine

As I walked to work yesterday I passed this native man, selling produce indigenous to this strange land. He had all kinds of rare fruits I'd never seen before. It was a fascinating study in the culture of this place. I'm not sure how to pronounce this one (pin-eeple? pine-APE-le? pinny-appeal?) but it looks mysterious. Hazardous, almost. I wasn't ready to sample it right off the bat (I'm no Bourdain, after all...) but I'll let you know how it goes when I get up the courage. "Boss-town". Such a magical place...

day 163: is it? or isn't it?

remember this? i'm now going to call this the window of surprise. I think one day i'll have to actually stop to see what it is that goes on in this random building. i thought it was under construction but unless there are some uber crafty and artistic (not entirely impossible) construction workers, i think there is something else happening there. I can't promise my exploring of the building will be soon, but I will get around to it.

gnight!

day 162: emphasis on the 'xxx'

i walk by this on my way home every night and never think twice about it. I actually thought for a couple weeks that it said "practice safer sexism" which i kind of wish it said, but alas!

Its funny and random and everything soho/nolita/lolita/chinatown is about. (also, thank you to the guest appearance of my finger in the picture, top right corner. fantastic!).

gnight!

Day ???: Special Two-Disc Edition DVD

At some point, AVH and I got out of sync with the blog. It was some time before we left on the cruise and we're not sure what happened. I ended up posting one fewer picture than her (we think) but our Day numbers match up. Weird... In an effort to try and correct this, I'm posting this extra special one-time only bonus double pic. And it's a doozy!



The bathroom door here in said Borders has a coin receptacle on the door. Hello? Also this sign that says it's unnecessary to insert a token. Pardon? And that "if the alarm sounds" (why would an alarm sound??!) "go to the music information desk" (specifically) "for assistance." WHAT???!! "Thank you." You're welcome?

Day 162 is a bookworm

I've been sitting in Borders for most of the day doing work (and now blogging) and I have to say, it's the most incredible Borders I've ever seen. It's absolutely enormous. You know how much I love big glass windows and exposed infrastructure and this building makes me very happy. I see many hours of sitting in this cafe in my future...

Day 161 is doing it all over again

I thought touring life was going to be awful. I'm not good with change, I've moved too much in my life, I hate packing more than most things... It hasn't been easy but I've learned a lot (about so many, many things) and I'm not hating it nearly as much as I thought. Plus, getting to live in these other places for a little while really is pretty cool. Chicago has its ups and downs and I'm not running back there any time soon but it's a great city overall. I've had nothing but great experiences with Boston in my life (all of both times I was here...) and it's been a blur this week but I'm definitely enjoying it so far. My resolution is to get out and explore and see more of the city than I did in Chicago. It's a totally different feel than any other place I've ever been and I'm learning to really love the way the city (or the ten blocks I've seen) is laid out. I pass this to and from the theatre every day and the new and old buildings together screams Boston for me. I think I'll like it here.

Day 160: Real Life Scary

The other morning as I stumbled back to the theatre trying to down as much coffee as I could before the workday actually started, I came upon a huge crowd of people staring and taking pictures, several emergency vehicles and lots of Caution tape. In case you didn't hear, a crane had fallen here in Boston early that morning. Last I heard no one was killed but several people were in critical condition. It's one of those "oh shit" moments that snaps you right back into reality. Suddenly being tired, cranky, overworked, not sufficiently caffeinated... none of it mattered. I call those moments "real life scary."

Day 159 is a dull boy

In case you haven't figured it out by now, all I ever do is work. Ever. And if you thought it was bad in Chicago... welcome to Boston! (Oh yeah, I'm in Boston now.) We arrived on Wednesday and of the last 120 hours, I've spent almost 50 hours at the theatre. Seriously. This pretty well sums up my life at the moment: too much pink, folding shirts, a slight blurry look at the (rather beautiful) Boston Opera House as I run around the place like a crazy person. Merch is so fun!!

Day 158 will have some McTLC

This box was left on the sidewalk a few blocks from my new apartment. I don't think anything has ever said "food" less than this cardboard box, stamped with "PACKED FOR INSTITUTIONAL USE", with a picture of (not chicken the animal or even the food) McChicken, and thrown out on the sidewalk. Have fun with your fast food, Goys.

Day 157 hates to fly, loves the scenery

The new JetBlue terminal at JFk is awesome! Table service anywhere in the building, free wifi, really good very cheap restaurants, actual shopping, clean, streamlined, easy, empty... A beautiful way to fly. The men's room had this (mural? artwork? poster?) on the wall and I thought it was nifty. Yeah, that's right, I said it. I take pictures in the bathroom. What of it?

Day 156 broke the seal

Oh hey! Remember this blog? I don't. I barely know what day of the week it is and which time zone I'm in, let alone what day of the blog we're on. But fret not, gentle readers. I've been taking my pictures diligently and now that there's constant internet access in my life once again I promise to get back into the swing of things. Here goes!



This is a toilet. It was on the street. In Astoria. Near my old apartment. It had a plastic bad stuffed inside with a very unfortunate yellow tint. Word up to Carl. He and I were setting out one morning (3pm) last week (I mean... "today, Day 156"...) when he spotted this and said "that should totes be your pic of the day". Good catch, Carl.

day 161: an odd comfort

i think i've grown to strangely enjoy this site. mass transit is not something i enjoy but its systematic and the stations are always there and the people are always there. even at 11pm on a sunday night, there is always some other person just making their way home, just like you. perhaps this person is homeless and crazy and sings much too loud, but at least you're not by yourself. (note: do not talk to said crazy people at night. you've been warned.)

gnight!

day 160: "Lift Plow"

this is a FAIL. i don't really know how things get built in this city as fast as though do or even built at all. it seems i'm always passing construction sites that are basically giant safety hazards and construction workers who are more concerned with cat calling women than, idk, building a safe building.

fascinating. and also, unsettling.

gnight!

day 159: culture of avoidance

i'm very tired. here's my pic. more later!

gnight!

day 158: i have the same pants in a different color

waiting for my morning coffee at the conveniently located dunkin donuts i discovered this man. i just liked that he brought all his supplies to dunkin to get his coffee. will he need the masking tape to order? you never know, i guess but he wasn't taking any chances!!

anyway, i just thought it was interesting. it was also 9am and i was un-caffeinated.

gnight!

day 157: as long as the logic is clear...

To be clear, the points being made in the above work of art are:

1. "Billion dollar surplus is illegal"
2. "Lying to say you're broke, then finding $1 billion dollar surplus is illegal"
3. "Merry Christmas from the MTA!"


I agree with all of these things. I also need to find this angry new yorker, give them a hug then we'll laugh and skip to our mutual hatred over the MTA and all that it stands for. (i'm not really this bitter).

gnight!