Rantings from the bonfire
The Great City.
Needs better Chinatown bus service that doesn't lose your luggage.
It's still The Great City.
Forever it will be The Great City. This is Why
FRIDAY: I am trying to get to work early but with a bum foot due to autumn blisters, I can only limp to the bus stop, thus missing bus after bus. Then the Metro runs far slower than normal, causing me to literally be 2 hours late for work. Great day to start the day when I need to leave early. At least I still accumulated overtime hours to make sure I justified applying for it in advance. But still..
I make it to Chinatown later on just in time to catch an earlier bus (the earlier the much MUCH better!!) to the Great City, and arrive there I did!
I found out the F line is a straight shot to the Jackson Heights stop where I can catch the Q33 to LaGuardia, from LaGuardia I catch the hotel shuttle to my hotel.. however, did I mention that while the F line is a straight shot, that I have to limp to the stop, limp down the stairs (give the DC Metro kudos for escalators, the NYC Subway has virtually none) and limp to the train - provided that it arrives on time, which as you NYC veterans know that after hours it arrives centuries later? THEN I am sitting at Jackson Heights (ay caramba es muy frio) for the Q33 bus to arrive, and then it does, centuries later and then takes this very very long trek across the universe (gothic exaggerative effect, get used to it) to the airport, which being in Astoria is not next to Jackson Heights (or anything else), but arrive I do, then you have to call for a shuttle, but oh guess what? No shuttle after 1am, conveniently, I arrive at the airport around 1:15am! Oh the joyousness.. So I get a cab to take me there and I'm there.
They have vending machines that take credit cards.. but no Internet kiosks.. the HUH?
SATURDAY:
The glorious day of the Grand Chrono'nauts Tea has begun. I get onto the shuttle (yes, before 1am this time, snark snark) and arrive at the airport (please stop asking me which airline, world), to catch the Q33 back to Jackson Heights Subway stop for the F train , which it happens to also be the same line..
..one small problem with all of this: it didn't happen.. I got up on time but of course, being the GAWTH that I am, took far longer to get dressed than it should (I didn't think an hour was too long) and did I mention that I lost all of my printouts for directions to Grand Chrono'nauts Tea, my return bus pass, and the directions to NYCI on Sunday? And that they had no Internet at the hotel? So of course I am forced to take the bus to the stop to take the F and transfer over to get to West 14th and 6th Avenue, not realizing the Kinko's I wanted was at West 19th and 6th Avenue. Yes, limping 5 blocks because you got the directions wrong to print out directions you lost..
Please tell me you do this too. Else I'm really a freak :(
You will be pleased to know I eventually make it to the Tea. It's in Brooklyn in an area called Carroll Gardens, a very artsy place full of cafes and The Zombie Hut. The Tea is being held in the Brooklyn Indie Hut tent, and despite the rain, it was at complete capacity. I had to fight my way in to see.. to see...
..the most fantastic arrays of Steampunk I have ever seen!!!!!!!! Austin and Brit pulled this one off in grand and elegant style! I was completely blown away by the fabulous vendors including Purevile (and yes, fortyhumans, I sent him your regards), and even Shien and Lucas of Dances of Vice were there as well, in their elegance, of course. Donald whom I know from The Asylum Tent was also there, and Dave who was part of my initial Dances of Vice experience (and part of the Victorian Rescue Squad.. ask fortyhumans or Gaby). and so many more.. I actually arrived in time for the second half of the fashion show, which if I had not seen would have missed one of the most spectacular visions of clothing since Dances of Vice.. the absolute WOW..
I stayed around, explored Carroll Gardens (as best as I physically could), and came back to hear a saw and accordion duo play some nice (and twisted) tunes, including the infamous Nearer My God to Thee (people in The Scene have to know what that was), and then I left to go grab NYC diner food back at West 14th and 6th Avenue called the Hollywood Diner, a great place for getting enormous amounts of food for cheap and feeling like you swallowed a whale and feeling sleepy, sluggish and completely useless for the rest of the night.. though my hotel is out on Alpha Centauri somewhere thus can't go back there..
So let's see, wandered about Lower Manhattan and ran into a guy who loved my infamous ring (you all who know me know which one) and so we had a conversation. Yes, I ran literally into a gay circuit boi muscle dancer who happens to be a Victorian goth. Top that one.
So then I knew what I must now do: Salvation.. and soon for it is 2AM and I am missing most of it!
(for those of you who did not know, clubs in NYC stay open well past 2AM, well past 3AM, yes, even sometimes past 4AM.. top that DC), met some cool people but had the really awesome chat with DJ Patrick for quite a while (what a very nice guy!!!) and then having to cab it all the way back to the hotel to collapse at last..
SUNDAY:
Ugh to get up so horrifically early. Churches need to revolutionize. They really do. Part of the Revolution will consist of the abolishing of morning services and the reestablishment of the night services; the way it should be.
And on that note, off I go to NYCI, my home church when I used to work in the greater NYC area years ago. Of course, I didn't tell anyone, just shocked the daylights out Philippa, Rob, Patrick and Liz (who at one time was a backup dancer for the Cruxshadows for their tour), and Pastor Deryck and Cathy (yay for South Africans who know of the Revolution!). And after an awesome message we all went downstairs for coffee (!!!!) and stuff and conversations, and coffee (!!!!).. Did I mention coffee? Worth limping to..
I left early and tried to make it up to Washington Heights to see The Cloisters, one of my most favorite places in the world to be, but I went to the wrong Dyckman St. stop (instead of A/C I got on 1/2), too late for me to tarry back and check it out (took over 2 hours to get up there with weekend Subway fun). So next time to NYC meet me up there..
I did make it back down to Chinatown to have a delightful dinner of slightly-less-faux-Chinese fare (ok, twas Americanized but still it's tasty), the biggest egg drop soup I've had in a while from any place, and the most nickpickety German family next to me complaining about everything (Abend ich liebe Liederhosen! no I didn't actually say that but I oh so wanted to)..
Then off to walk, er, limp but not as badly to the bus stop to catch the bus back to DC..
..in time for them to lose my luggage.
Yeah sorry that's about it. Other than talking to Nate and dmcindc about losing my luggage. Oh and texts from John and Facebook chat with Luke.. what else do you want to know?
Steampunk. The Wow. Chinatown buses. The Not-So-Wow-Anymore.
Needs better Chinatown bus service that doesn't lose your luggage.
It's still The Great City.
Forever it will be The Great City. This is Why
FRIDAY: I am trying to get to work early but with a bum foot due to autumn blisters, I can only limp to the bus stop, thus missing bus after bus. Then the Metro runs far slower than normal, causing me to literally be 2 hours late for work. Great day to start the day when I need to leave early. At least I still accumulated overtime hours to make sure I justified applying for it in advance. But still..
I make it to Chinatown later on just in time to catch an earlier bus (the earlier the much MUCH better!!) to the Great City, and arrive there I did!
I found out the F line is a straight shot to the Jackson Heights stop where I can catch the Q33 to LaGuardia, from LaGuardia I catch the hotel shuttle to my hotel.. however, did I mention that while the F line is a straight shot, that I have to limp to the stop, limp down the stairs (give the DC Metro kudos for escalators, the NYC Subway has virtually none) and limp to the train - provided that it arrives on time, which as you NYC veterans know that after hours it arrives centuries later? THEN I am sitting at Jackson Heights (ay caramba es muy frio) for the Q33 bus to arrive, and then it does, centuries later and then takes this very very long trek across the universe (gothic exaggerative effect, get used to it) to the airport, which being in Astoria is not next to Jackson Heights (or anything else), but arrive I do, then you have to call for a shuttle, but oh guess what? No shuttle after 1am, conveniently, I arrive at the airport around 1:15am! Oh the joyousness.. So I get a cab to take me there and I'm there.
They have vending machines that take credit cards.. but no Internet kiosks.. the HUH?
SATURDAY:
The glorious day of the Grand Chrono'nauts Tea has begun. I get onto the shuttle (yes, before 1am this time, snark snark) and arrive at the airport (please stop asking me which airline, world), to catch the Q33 back to Jackson Heights Subway stop for the F train , which it happens to also be the same line..
..one small problem with all of this: it didn't happen.. I got up on time but of course, being the GAWTH that I am, took far longer to get dressed than it should (I didn't think an hour was too long) and did I mention that I lost all of my printouts for directions to Grand Chrono'nauts Tea, my return bus pass, and the directions to NYCI on Sunday? And that they had no Internet at the hotel? So of course I am forced to take the bus to the stop to take the F and transfer over to get to West 14th and 6th Avenue, not realizing the Kinko's I wanted was at West 19th and 6th Avenue. Yes, limping 5 blocks because you got the directions wrong to print out directions you lost..
Please tell me you do this too. Else I'm really a freak :(
You will be pleased to know I eventually make it to the Tea. It's in Brooklyn in an area called Carroll Gardens, a very artsy place full of cafes and The Zombie Hut. The Tea is being held in the Brooklyn Indie Hut tent, and despite the rain, it was at complete capacity. I had to fight my way in to see.. to see...
..the most fantastic arrays of Steampunk I have ever seen!!!!!!!! Austin and Brit pulled this one off in grand and elegant style! I was completely blown away by the fabulous vendors including Purevile (and yes, fortyhumans, I sent him your regards), and even Shien and Lucas of Dances of Vice were there as well, in their elegance, of course. Donald whom I know from The Asylum Tent was also there, and Dave who was part of my initial Dances of Vice experience (and part of the Victorian Rescue Squad.. ask fortyhumans or Gaby). and so many more.. I actually arrived in time for the second half of the fashion show, which if I had not seen would have missed one of the most spectacular visions of clothing since Dances of Vice.. the absolute WOW..
I stayed around, explored Carroll Gardens (as best as I physically could), and came back to hear a saw and accordion duo play some nice (and twisted) tunes, including the infamous Nearer My God to Thee (people in The Scene have to know what that was), and then I left to go grab NYC diner food back at West 14th and 6th Avenue called the Hollywood Diner, a great place for getting enormous amounts of food for cheap and feeling like you swallowed a whale and feeling sleepy, sluggish and completely useless for the rest of the night.. though my hotel is out on Alpha Centauri somewhere thus can't go back there..
So let's see, wandered about Lower Manhattan and ran into a guy who loved my infamous ring (you all who know me know which one) and so we had a conversation. Yes, I ran literally into a gay circuit boi muscle dancer who happens to be a Victorian goth. Top that one.
So then I knew what I must now do: Salvation.. and soon for it is 2AM and I am missing most of it!
(for those of you who did not know, clubs in NYC stay open well past 2AM, well past 3AM, yes, even sometimes past 4AM.. top that DC), met some cool people but had the really awesome chat with DJ Patrick for quite a while (what a very nice guy!!!) and then having to cab it all the way back to the hotel to collapse at last..
SUNDAY:
Ugh to get up so horrifically early. Churches need to revolutionize. They really do. Part of the Revolution will consist of the abolishing of morning services and the reestablishment of the night services; the way it should be.
And on that note, off I go to NYCI, my home church when I used to work in the greater NYC area years ago. Of course, I didn't tell anyone, just shocked the daylights out Philippa, Rob, Patrick and Liz (who at one time was a backup dancer for the Cruxshadows for their tour), and Pastor Deryck and Cathy (yay for South Africans who know of the Revolution!). And after an awesome message we all went downstairs for coffee (!!!!) and stuff and conversations, and coffee (!!!!).. Did I mention coffee? Worth limping to..
I left early and tried to make it up to Washington Heights to see The Cloisters, one of my most favorite places in the world to be, but I went to the wrong Dyckman St. stop (instead of A/C I got on 1/2), too late for me to tarry back and check it out (took over 2 hours to get up there with weekend Subway fun). So next time to NYC meet me up there..
I did make it back down to Chinatown to have a delightful dinner of slightly-less-faux-Chinese fare (ok, twas Americanized but still it's tasty), the biggest egg drop soup I've had in a while from any place, and the most nickpickety German family next to me complaining about everything (Abend ich liebe Liederhosen! no I didn't actually say that but I oh so wanted to)..
Then off to walk, er, limp but not as badly to the bus stop to catch the bus back to DC..
..in time for them to lose my luggage.
Yeah sorry that's about it. Other than talking to Nate and dmcindc about losing my luggage. Oh and texts from John and Facebook chat with Luke.. what else do you want to know?
Steampunk. The Wow. Chinatown buses. The Not-So-Wow-Anymore.