Coney Island

We went to Coney Island today - it wasn't really hot enough to get in the water, but we hung out on the beach for a while, then rode the Wonder Wheel and ate funnel cake on the boardwalk. It's not a place I have any desire to visit often, but definitely worth a trip down there once a year or so. I wish I could have seen it back in the day...





On a completely different note, tonight I made mock tuna salad with the left over carrot pulp from my juicer (mixed with mayo, onion, celery, garlic, salt and pepper) not bad - although a little dry - I put it on an english muffin with cheese and toasted it.

On Saturday, Kristen and I had a little housewarming party. After running some errands Saturday morning, Kristen needed to do some studying. I however had nothing to do but wait around for the fun, so I decided to make sangria and tofu/veg sushi. Both were a great success, but I forgot to take photos!

I had alot of leftover sushi filling, so yesterday I made some more rice, and made it again to eat while watching the Oscars. I remembered my camera this time)

i'd like you to meet my new friend...William S Burg

billyburg for short.

a week ago i moved to a 6 floor walkup, practically under the williamsburg bridge. it was a stressful day, and poor sarah came all the way from London only to spend the day before our b-day carrying boxes, but we got moved in, gave our lungs and legs a workout, and I'm am finally unpacked. (and even got internet today - although i still plan on heading to the coffeeshop with my laptop to pass the time and check out the locals). now someone just needs to come visit!

sarah requested pics so here's a few:
my bedroom



the view from my bed



Brooklyn, from my window



our living room (that's right! my kitchen is no longer in my living room)

snowed in

Facebook has become the new blog, which is a shame, because I like writing this blog, and reading others. It just sometimes seems futile to post things twice. I suppose the blog seems a little more permanent, and more intimate since I'm pretty sure I don't have 500 followers so... a copy and paste of my FB status about my adventure getting home last night. I was really hoping I'd missed the snow by being out of town for the 2010 Boxing Day Blizzard, but apparently this artic front isn't going anyway. Maybe I'll actually write the blog about my recent trip to London, before I forget what I did there.


"walk from times square, to the grand central local 4 train, transfer at canal to brooklyn bound J. at essex, conductor says the train will be heading back to manhattan to broad street, then back towards brooklyn.
at broad street, conductor says no J trains to brooklyn - get off at fulton and transfer to the A, headed to broadway junction.
at broadway junction, the J train is discharged...everyone kicked off. no taxis.
take L train towards manhattan. get off at L dekalb.
walk a mile home with 3 other people...one of whom is a homeless squatter kid and his muppet looking dog. i give the kid my fingerless gloves. 2.5 hours later, I'm home."

Camping in PA

amity invited me to camping with her and some coworkers this weekend, so we drove 4 hours out of NYC to Glen Ricketts State Park. the drive there was beautiful, and once we arrived, we hiked around, built fires, ate hot dogs, drank beer and froze our butts off! the hikes were really nice. it had just rained a ton, so the 21 waterfalls were at their best, and the leaves were all changing color. not bad for a bunch of city girls.

moving!

i moved from my quiet street in clinton hill to bushwick where everyone hangs out on their stoops, and hip hop blasts from car windows. i think i'll like it once i get used to it.

my new apt is small, but really cute. sarah and i spent all last weekend moving and painting and starting to unpack. here's a picture of the crazy color my room was when i moved in. it's now painted over, but for a moment i considered leaving it, so i could rent my room out to indie films as a green screen stage.

hard at work...

Costa Rica

on a whim I went to Costa Rica last week. even though it was rainy season - hence the cheap tickets - we didn't get rained on (although the rainforest we tried to go to was closed due to a big storm ealier in the week). I had a lovely time, although I did get a little burned out on mexican food.

sunken inns, full moons and long exposures

i'm working in Long Island for the next few weeks on a reality tv show. most of my time is spent at work, but we do occasionally get some time to explore. when i first arrived, on the ride to the corporate housing that the crew is staying in, I noticed an abandoned building that looked like it's either sunk into the lake, or been flooded. i'd wanted to check it out, so the other night, inspired by the full moon, we headed over there. of course as soon as we arrived i chickened out about trying to go inside, however i did take a few cool pics outside.






On a completely different note, today I went to a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. I found it to be incredibly boring and left before the 5th inning, but I'm glad I went. Now I can say I've been to a Yankees game.

Sarah and I saw Iglu & Hartley for our birthday. I tested out my $88 digital camera's video mode.... not to shabby.

hiphopsters from SDS on Vimeo.

the holidays

sarah and i spent xmas day in london by ourselves. the streets were pretty quiet so we went for a bike ride around london. we saw all the sights for the umpteenth time. Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral... When it got dark we headed home and made christmas dinner. It was a nice day.



For the 1st day of 2010, we got over our hangovers, took the bus to Camden, braved the cold and walked up Primrose Hill - it's got a great view of London.

london so far

first night in sarah's room...


we went to Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. It's a contemporary version of the ballet that's known for the swans being all men instead of women. we had obstructed view nosebleed seats, but it was still pretty great. awesome costumes, and hooray for not falling asleep!


we tried to go shopping but it sucked... too many people this time of year, and the brits are rude and ruthless when it comes to shopping. then it started snowing which would have been fine, except the London MTA cancelled their bus service so Sarah and I had to walk home in the snow.

i was wearing canvas shoes, which were soaked thru and by the time I got home I was sure my toes had frostbite. They seem to be ok now tho. we didn't win at the pub quiz night... i guess someone has to lose. and in the spirit of a crappy day, someone else got the job that i was hoping to get in february. on the bright side, we made some awesome chili.

sarah and took a walk along the canal yesterday - thought about walking all the way to my old place in Mile End but it was too cold. it was cool seeing all the houseboats docked for winter. afterwards we met friends at the pub for pints and dart playing. i'm no good at darts but sarah might be a natural.

random photos of things i do

being unemployed gives me lots of time to either sit in front of my computer, or make things... I try to make things. and then i take pictures... why take pictures unless i'm gonna show them to someone.


i made x-mas cards... it took several days. it's the Thames and the East River combined into one.... clever eh? (sarah in london, me in brooklyn... get it?)


delish veggie pizza - vegan chorizo makes everything taste better

i hate waste

I made banana bread, it tastes great! And I didn't have to throw away the banana I never got around to eating.



And speaking of not wasting stuff, I felt bad throwing away the left over blood from halloween, so i dumped it over my head and took a picture.

god speed wilson.

this is wilson. i won him at a carnival. he rode around in my pocket all night long. i kept forgetting he was there, and then i would hear the sound of swishing water and think "oh shit! is wilson still alive?" now he's swimming around in my coffeepot. it was the largest glass container I had, and felt like he needed fresh water. I hope he makes it til morning. God speed Wilson.

ps. ignore my facepaint... i had a lapse in judgement.

Is today Wednesday? The days are blurring...

"hey maggie, what are you doing with yourself all day. I mean you're unemployed, broke (not really mom), and literally bored to tears. No matter how many free shows and open bars you find, you won't go alone, and these days it seems all your friends actually have things to do"

"well, besides having conversations with myself and watching lots of TV online, tonight i spent the evening drinking jim beam & diet coke icecream floats and making a shitty animation - if you're wondering what the sweet soundtrack is, it's Motherhen, circa 1995."

Banjos Need Love Too from SDS on Vimeo.

more old video

so, as always i'm trying to learn FCP... but I figured I should finish up the still unfinished projects from iMovie. I started this one in 2007... It was supposed to be a montage of video/pics from that year, but I only got as far as Ireland.
(the music is Stars of Track and Field)

I think I'll post it on Vimeo as well. (and sorry about the sideways footage... i hadn't realized my camera only shoots horizontal, and iMovie can't rotate the frame.)

east to west to east

I went to LA for almost a month to work for Sarah on Solitary. I had a good time. Sarah, our friend Marsha, 2 crazy dogs and I all crammed into Sylvia's little apartment. We worked alot, got to practice German, met some cool peeps, went sailing and to the beach.




Now I'm back in NYC. It's cold.