New York City – Page 19 – Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

First Snow for New York City (Winter 2011)… in October.

October 29, 2011 Bradley Farless10 Comments

It’s looking like a mini-blizzard out there. I didn’t expect to see this in October! I do remember it being so cold we had to bundle up tight for Trick-or-Treating when I was a kid though, back in the 80s, and that was in Maryland. Maybe this isn’t so unusual after all. Maybe it’s more like things going back to the way they were before. Regardless, it’s snowing, and it’s getting me in the Christmas spirit before we’ve even gotten past Halloween.

It’s not supposed to stick, thankfully. I can do without piles of snow on the roads for a few more weeks at least. I’m planning on moving to a new apartment and I have absolutely no experience driving in snow. Hurricanes, yes. Snow, no.

Lazy Postal Workers? East 14th Street “POS” Office

September 16, 2011 Bradley Farless10 Comments

As it’s name implies (see above image), this “POS” office performed poorly today.

Despite the fact that there was more than one person in our apartment all day (excluding the ‘must have been in the bathroom and didn’t hear when I knocked’ excuse), I found a missed delivery notice in the mailbox, stating that I can pick up my package at the post office.

The postal worker never even came up to the apartment to try to deliver the package. The worker was either too lazy to take the elevator and walk a few steps, or didn’t bother to bring the package with them from the post office in the first place. It’s especially ridiculous considering it’s a tube mailer for a poster. It’s not heavy. It’s not something that would be difficult to deliver. It was just laziness.

I asked around and heard that this is a common problem for this post office. The delivery person regularly leaves the ‘missed delivery’ notice without actually trying to deliver the package first. In fact, this post office in particular seems to have a lot of problems, judging from the Google maps reviews page. Is poor service the standard at this post office?

I remember hearing on the news that the USPS is about to start running in the red, presumably because of lack of business and competition from private sector alternatives like FedEX and UPS. Is it any wonder that people are choosing slightly pricier, but more reliable alternatives who will actually deliver the package? The shipping costs I paid for that package was to have it delivered to my door, not for me to have to go pick it up. With me having to go pick it up myself due to lack of proper service, you could even say that the USPS stole money from me, since they haven’t rendered the service I paid for.

The USPS, at least this “POS” office, is one more overpaid and underperforming government office that needs to have the fat trimmed to stay reliable and solvent.

New Semester, New Books

August 27, 2011September 4, 2021 Bradley FarlessLeave a comment

A stack of some of my college books for Fall Semester.

Fall Semester started yesterday. I didn’t have much of a break, since I took courses over the Summer, but two and a half weeks off seemed long enough to me. I spent most of that time rotting my brain with video games. I haven’t sat around playing video games for hours on end in years and it was great! Besides a game called Vindictus (by Nexon) that I’ve been playing casually since around March, I started using ‘Steam’ (My Profile) and played Team Fortress 2, Left For Dead 2, and Borderlands, among others. Hopefully I’ll still have a little time to hack up zombies and make bandits’ heads explode with a shotgun, but considering how thick some of the books are, I’m glad I have one of those nifty book lights that clips on, because I foresee a lot of late night reading.

Some good news is, I finally decided what I want to do and declared my major as History. I still have to figure out what particular area of history I want to focus on, though I’m leaning towards Islamic or Medieval History. I’m also considering doing a double major since a history major only requires 11 courses (33 credit hours) out of the total of 120 credit hours required to get a BA.

This semester I’m going to be taking two history courses that will count towards my major: Middle East Under Islam and Traditional Civilizations of India. The books in the picture above are for those two courses.

I’m also taking a 6 credit course involving English and Writing. It’s called ‘Our City’ and focuses on literary perspectives on New York City. I live here, so why not? It might help me discover some of the history behind New York City. Also, it fills a requirement. I’d rather have taken a course that covers dystopian literature, but it wasn’t available and I want to get that requirement out of the way.

I also wanted to mention that Hurricane Irene is affecting the school systems here in NYC, obviously. I got an SMS, an email and three phone calls from the CUNY alert system letting me know that CCNY will be closed today, tomorrow, and possibly Monday. I don’t really care that the school is closed today or tomorrow. In fact, it might not even be bad if it’s closed on Monday, since the first day of a class is usually a ‘get to know each other’ kind of thing.

Hurricane Irene has New Yorkers panicking. By now, all mass transit will have shut down, including the airports and Amtrak. There are mandatory evacuation zones and they may even cut power to prevent the power grid from being annihilated by salt water inundation. I also looked at a map and discovered that the block my apartment building is on is just inside an evacuation zone. The evacuation zone area cuts inland only for my block. I don’t know how to feel about that, but if the block south of me and the one north of me aren’t in an evacuation zone, then WTF? I can see them from the window and could hit them if I threw a stone. They’re also on the same level as this building, altitude-wise. I think I’ll stay put.

Back to Boka: Delicious Fried Chicken

August 13, 2011 Bradley Farless18 Comments

A half-half plate of spicy and teriyaki wings at Boka: Bon Chon, NYC.

Last May I went to a restaurant called Boka: Bon Chon on St Mark’s place in Manhattan. I wanted to take my mom out for something nice for Mother’s Day and she’d never had Korean food so it seemed like a good choice. We were both very satisfied with the food we ate, and after hearing back from some people that the fried chicken there is really awesome, we decided we’d go back to try it out at some point.

We finally did manage to get back there and try the fried chicken at the end of last month and it is amazing! We only ordered a small plate because we weren’t sure if we’d like it or not. Now I wish we’d just gotten a big plate of the fried chicken and nothing else. Just looking at the picture is making my mouth water. The skin of the chicken was crispy and tasty and the meat wasn’t oily. I could sit down and eat a bucket of the stuff. Well, maybe not the spicy fried chicken. The spicy fried chicken has a real kick to it. I can’t figure out which I like more. I think I actually prefer the spicy kind, but I probably couldn’t eat as much of it as the other.

Fried dumplings from Boka: Bon Chon, NYC.

We also got a plate of fried dumplings. They were crispy and looked nice, but the inside was a bit mushy. Maybe that’s the way they’re supposed to be. I don’t know, but my mom didn’t care for them too much.

A 'box lunch' from Boka: Bon Chon, NYC.

We also ordered this. I don’t recall the name of it now, but it’s a spicy chicken ‘box lunch’. I was surprised when they brought it out, because the tray looks just like trays used at Korean restaurants in Singapore. I’m not sure if it’s still there, but I specifically remember there was a Korean restaurant that used these trays in the basement level of the Cineliesure (?) Mall in the Orchard Road area.

We figured that between the chicken, the dumplings and the ‘box lunch’, we’d have more than enough to eat for two people, and we did wind up bringing some of the chicken and dumplings home as leftovers (which disappeared quickly that same night). It was pretty filling, especially since we were eating it all with white rice.

In the future, when I go to Boka: Bon Chon, the fried chicken will always be one of my choices. Maybe the best option would be to get a large order of the fried chicken and another dish (like a bowl of bibimbap) and then ask for smaller plates and share the meal.

National Night Out (Against Crime) 2011

August 3, 2011 Bradley Farless2 Comments

Well, it happened yesterday so this isn’t so much a post about looking forward to observing it as it is about, “Oh look. Llamas and donkeys. Why are those in Campos Plaza?”

This immediately reminded me of a joke I heard about Singaporeans. A teacher (in Singapore, with Singaporean students) asks her young students (think, 8 years old) to draw pictures of farm animals. So, the students happily sit around drawing for awhile and then present their work to the teacher. One boy walks up and proudly shows her his drawing of a chicken, and it looks really good, except the chicken he draws has no feathers on it. She asks him why he drew the chicken without feathers, and he asks, “Chickens have feathers?”

This is funny, but I completely understand the reality behind the joke. In a place like Singapore, which is highly metropolitan, it would be very rare for kids to see any chickens other than the plucked and cooked ones hanging on hooks at the hawker centers. Even when I lived in Georgia, I would get excited at seeing horses or cows or other farm animals.

Anyway, when I was heading home yesterday, I smelled animals and I saw a lot of people in the square between a set of buildings so I went to investigate and these guys in the photos above were the first thing that pulled my attention. It was fun!

I didn’t investigate all of the booths, but the one to the right in the second picture above had face painting, which is why the line was so long. I imagine the table on the left in the above picture had something to do with distributing literature regarding crime prevention, since it was manned by NYPD officers.

I was, of course, drawn to the set up in the photo above. I was curious to see what the recruiters were up to, having been in the Army myself. I wound up spending about half an hour chatting with Sergeant First Class Chen. He’s a pretty nice guy. We traded a few stories. I told him about my time in service and he talked mostly about the benefits and stability of joining the Army Reserves after leaving Active Duty, but that’s his job after all. We did talk a bit about some of the things that make you say, ‘WTF?’ while you’re in service. It was nice to reminisce for a while, about the time I spent in the military. It wasn’t all good, but it definitely wasn’t all bad either.

It was a pretty nice event overall, and it was good to see something positive taking place in the square for a change. The area is known for violence and drug related shootings. Ironically, the ‘Night Out Against Crime’ booths started shutting down and wrapping up as the sun set.

The Limelight Market

August 3, 2011September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless5 Comments

The Limelight Market, New York City

The Limelight Market, located at the corner of 6th Avenue and 20th Street, is a pretty interesting place, but mostly because of the building it occupies. As you can tell from the exterior, this building used to be a church. When you get inside, you’ll see that the chapel has been converted into a series of small stores.

A yogurt shop, inside the Limelight Market, New York City.

This is a yogurt shop. I didn’t try any, but there was a constant stream of people going to the counter, so it must be pretty good. Around the corner to the right is Jezalin’s, where I got the kopi luwak arabica.

Inside the Limelight Market, New York City.

Turn around the other way and you see one of the boutiques. I didn’t pay much attention to what was being sold in the boutiques. It all looked a little too pricey and useless for my taste. Through the door in the back there I think there was a pizza restaurant.

If, from where I was standing in the previous picture, you were to walk forward and go to the left you’d wind up in this area, which looks like it used to be the main sanctuary. You can walk up onto the second level using stairs hidden away on the sides. There were more display cases up there and what looked to be a coffee bar that had shut down. I have a feeling the rent in this place is pretty high, which might be why Jezalin’s was trying to drum up more business by offering the Groupon discount on their kopi luwak.

I couldn’t get a straight on shot of the stained glass window because the area was blocked off by a register and some merchandise. There were smaller stained glass windows in some of the stairwells, but they weren’t completely viewable. The railing they’d built into the original structure to support the second level and the stairs blocked the windows partially.

Like I said, this isn’t the type of place I’d shop at for myself. I’ll probably go back just to look around again, and maybe to get another cup of that coffee. For me, the real fun was waiting outside:

I love when I see these vehicles, because it’s an opportunity to go inside and play with cats!

I wish I could take them all home…

A 30 Dollar Cup of Pre-Digested Coffee

August 1, 2011 Bradley Farless14 Comments

What you’re looking at is 30 dollars in a cup, believe it or not. This is Kopi Luwak Arabica. Why is it so expensive? Well…

It’s all in the digestion… or production… process. You see, this coffee is made from beans that have been previously digested and crapped out by an Asian palm civet. In the picture above you can see an example of the coffee beans prior to cleaning and roasting, and the finished product on the left. The cost of the animal husbandry and the long process of securing the digested beans is what makes the coffee so expensive.

When I lived in Singapore I’d heard about this coffee. It’s mostly produced in Indonesia. I never did take the time to try it out while I was there, and of course I wasn’t about to spend 30 dollars on a cup of coffee here in the US, so I was happy to see a Groupon pop up for a 20 dollar discount at Jezalin’s, which is where I had my first kopi luwak experience.

Like the rest of the Limelight Market (corner of 6th Avenue and 20th Street in Manhattan), Jezalin’s has a really nice, classy atmosphere. When I got my cup of coffee, the girl behind the counter (also visible in the picture above) came over and showed me the display and explained the process. I was already familiar with where the coffee comes from, but it was fun to listen to her talk about it.

So, was it worth it? It was definitely worth the 10 bucks I wound up paying. The kopi luwak tastes like coffee, but it has a thicker taste to it. It’s not as strong as coffee. It has a more mellow, earthy (poopy?) taste to it. Oddly enough, I felt like taking a nap after finishing it off. At 30 bucks a cup, it’s not going to replace my morning cup of coffee, but it was a pleasant experience overall, and I’ll definitely convince my wife to try some.

I am now a stalker, says the crazy neighbor.

July 20, 2011 Bradley Farless5 Comments

After getting off the bus, I turned the corner and started walking up the street towards my mom’s apartment building. Just after turning the corner, I saw the woman that lives next door to my mom. She stopped for some reason and turned around and when she saw me she threw up her hands and made a weird noise. She’s deaf and doesn’t speak, at least not intelligibly, so I went past her and kept going. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I just didn’t know what she wanted or if she was even attempting to communicate with me. She suddenly rushed past me and kept looking over her shoulders, making a ‘no no no’ gesture with her finger in front of her face while mumbling. She rushed off at full speed to the building where my mom’s apartment building is. Some of the people in my mom’s apartment building are disabled, so I didn’t think much of it.

I entered the lobby just in time to see the elevator door close. The door on the second elevator was opening though, so I got on and rode up to my mom’s floor. When I stepped out into the hallway I could hear her making a lot of noise. I looked, and my mom’s apartment door was open. She was gesturing wildly and making plenty of loud noises that neither my mom or I could understand. I walked down the hallway and when she saw me she got even more agitated. So, I stood there with my mom trying to figure out what her issue is.

Through a combination of hand gestures and her very strained attempt to say the word “following”, we finally concluded that she is freaking out because she thinks I’m always following her. The fact that there is only one way to get to my mom’s apartment from the bus stop, only one set of elevators and only one hallway that goes to my mom’s apartment, which is right next to hers, seems to have totally gone over her head. The fact that we’re bound to run into each other in those areas, seeing as how we’re typically going to be heading for that same floor and two adjacent doors in the hallway, well that seems to have gone over her head too. She’s outright convinced that I’m stalking her and that I’m out to get her.

I’d noticed previously that she would always rush into the elevator and close the door before I could get to it, or if I got in the elevator she would wait for another one rather than ride in the elevator car with me. I never really put it together, but the idea that I’m following her around intentionally is ludicrous. It never ceases to amaze me, the kind of fantasies people can create for themselves and live in. Of all of the women in the street, why would I choose to, as she seems to be implying, stalk a late 40s, overweight, deaf woman that lives next door to my mom? Besides the fact that I’m married, I’m really not interested in old disabled women. Even if I were a stalker, as she seems to think I am, well, it’s summer in NYC. There are plenty of better looking women to be following around.

I just hope that this woman doesn’t completely flip out, because there’s no way this will be the last time she’ll see me going in and out of the building.

Trail of Faces and a Chalk Dust Flower

July 18, 2011 Bradley Farless3 Comments

There were plenty of people at Union Square yesterday with tables set up, trying to make a buck off of their artwork. Two artists were using a method of making art that you can’t really buy and take home, though. One guy was making a trail of faces on the pavement and another made a flower pattern out of chalk dust.

I had seen Felix Morelo’s artwork before, last Fall I think. I’d almost forgotten about it and I don’t know why I didn’t take any photos of the faces, because the work he did then was a lot better than what I saw yesterday.

What he does is he gets himself a bag of chalk and a crate to sit on. He draws a face, moves back, draws another face, etc. etc. What he winds up with is a Trail of Faces, with each face a bit different from the others. It doesn’t sound like much, until you look down the long line of faces and realize the sheer quantity of his work. Quantity isn’t the same as quality, but overall I think it was worthwhile to stop and admire.

Right next to the Trail of Faces I saw a flower design made out of chalk dust. I don’t know the story behind this. I’d never seen it before, but there was a pail sitting nearby for money donations. The bags on the ground around the design are full of chalk dust of different colors.

It’s nice to see something going on in the park. After a quick burst of activity in the Spring, things have really died off, but I’m not really surprised. It’s getting hot out there!

First Trip to the Bronx and Meeting Extended Family Again After 25 Years

July 4, 2011 Bradley Farless5 Comments

Outside the Dyer Avenue station in the Bronx.

Yesterday I went to a part of New York City that I’ve never seen before to see family members that I’d never met before (that I remember anyway). I imagine most people in the US are in the same situation. They know they have relatives in another part of the city, state or country, but they’ve never met them and may not ever meet them. For me, these relatives are living in the Bronx. Well, most of them anyway. Some actually live just a few blocks from where I live in Manhattan, but I don’t know who they are. For all I know, I’ve passed them in the street. It’s weird to think about it that way right?

Outside the Dyer Avenue station in the Bronx.

A neighborhood in the Bronx.

The whole trip to the Bronx was a really interesting experience. Like I said, I’d never been there. I saw a side of the city I didn’t know existed. It was sort of city and sort of not. It’s more like suburbs, but not quite. I can’t quite reconcile it to the impression I have of suburbs from cities like Atlanta. It did remind me of some of the old, run down towns I’ve passed through in the South though.

Photos of a Southern town I drove through in 2008:

A small town in Alabama somewhere.

The overall impression I got of the area is that it’s mostly run down and dangerous, though I only saw a small part of the Bronx so that’s a generalization. I’ve stricken it off my list of potential boroughs to live in. Besides the fact that the area looks dangerous, it also requires a personal vehicle and all the expenses that come with one. Who the hell would want to deal with the train problems between the Bronx and Manhattan if they had a choice?

Yeah, I have to just take a moment here to complain about the train problem. There’s ongoing construction on the train lines heading into the Bronx. When we went up there yesterday, we had to get off the train at 149th street, Grand Concourse (which isn’t very grand), and take a shuttle bus to 180th street, where we could get back on the train. I’ve never taken a train straight to the Bronx, so I have no way of calculating exactly how much time we lost by having to take a shuttle bus, but let me just say that to get from 14th street and Avenue B to our relatives’ house in the Bronx took 2 hours and 45 minutes. That’s absurd. It wasn’t quite as bad on the way back, because there wasn’t as much traffic, but it still took just under 2 hours. I’m sure it won’t be as bad when they finish the construction, but after having lived here for 9 months, I can reasonably assume that the construction will never stop. There are always reroutes and delays. It makes me long for the fast, safe and reliable train system in Singapore.

So, meeting extended and previously unknown family wasn’t as strange as I’d thought it would be. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the barbecue wound up having the same atmosphere as some I’ve attended in the Philippines. I suppose that shouldn’t have been surprising, since my relatives on that side are all of Filipino descent. Some of them remember seeing me as a kid, when I was about 5, but that was 25 years ago, so all of them were unfamiliar to me. I couldn’t tell relative from friend of the family, so I did the best I could and mostly kept to myself, with the exception of a little socializing with my 2nd (or 3rd?) cousins to try to determine how exactly we were related. The food was awesome and everyone was having a pretty good time, despite the heat and mosquitos. In a way, it’s kind of nice to know that the family I have in the city extends beyond just the few relatives I previously knew about. It gave me more of a sense of belonging and security. I’m looking forward to going to future barbecues, with my wife in tow. I have a feeling she’ll have a good time there. Oh, I just remembered, there was no karaoke, so it wasn’t quite a Filipino barbecue!