The New York Chronicles

I find myself on an airplane. I'm sitting in the aisle and the two seats beside me are free in theory, but a bearded hipster has got there before me and is stretched out, his woolly socks almost touching me and thick rimmed glasses digging into the side of his face as he sleeps. I curl awkwardly away from him. I'm watching Dublin disappear rapidly beneath me. I'm watching Beastly and sleeping and then I'm walking through two sliding doors into a thick wall of heat and fumes and in the distance I see it.



New York City.

The taxi's leather seats are hot and I wind down the window. After spending every summer in Ireland for as long as I can remember, I am completely baffled by the unrelenting heat. The wind is hot. The air is hot. The sun is very, very hot. That night I fall asleep ridiculously early beside the open window,the warm air blowing in chattering voices from the trendy bars along the street below.

Since then its been a crazy few weeks of trying to find somewhere to live and starting CUNY. When I went to my first class at the Graduate Centre I had to stop and stare at the building for a few minutes.


I finally went inside, got a student card and voila: student again, complete with library access and homework. My fellow classmates are all much older than me but they are welcoming and nice. They say nice things about my writing.

I wander around a lot. In the sun New York has a sweet smell like dusty leather.


The humid nights make for terrible sleeping but great exploring. Last night I was on my way home from dinner with some friends on the Upper West Side on a subway line I didn't know. I suddenly had this urge to get lost so I jumped off the train at a stop I didn't know and wandered through downtown New York in the vague direction of home. I'd turn one corner and get this great view of the Empire State Building all lit up against the night sky, and then turn another corner and be on a quiet street completely surrounded by darkened buildings, alone except for a tall black transvestite in towering red heels who smiles at me as we pass.

I spent a really great weekend in Rhinebeck.



The house we were staying in was part of a Barn Tour so we got to go with them and see some cool barns and attend a cocktail party in the fanciest barn/poolhouse I've ever seen. I was wandering around taking photos when I noticed a caterpillar floating in the pool, wriggling wildly. I don't know why but seeing it made me incredibly sad. I almost fell in trying to rescue him but eventually was successful and deposited him safely on some nearby grass. I got some weird looks, but I was happy. Early the next morning we went riding through the fields and forests and it was completely great. Afterwards, the woman we were staying with brought us to visit Rokeby (here's a cool article in the NY Times about it).

It's a beautiful old mansion and estate, and after borrowing a flashlight from the eccentric owner Ricky, we wandered around the barns, climbing up rickety wooden steps to find ourselves in an attic full of monsters. Literally.


They build the floats for the East Village Halloween Parade there. They invited me to come and help out this year which is definitely something I am hoping to do.

Other than all of the amazing things above I have been drinking a lot of hot chocolate (and iced chai), reading, watching Buffy, lusting after bikes, walking dogs, falling in love with dogs, and taking up Power Yoga which is both awesome and painful. I have been brought to some really cool places by Kate, who has been a life-savingly cool guide/friend/general person. My favourite place was a hardware store on Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn that have a pet miniature pot bellied pig called Franklin who made me so happy about just the fact that he existed.

I really need to go and read for class today, so I will wrap up this rambling post of ramblyness with the song I have been listening to on repeat.

April

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

March/April are flying by quicker than I can get a handle on, and its hard to describe what's been happening other than working/writing/going to the zoo/hanging out with old and new friends/feeling mixed up goodandbad/writing some more.

Here are some pictures:







I feel like my past few months have been full of beautiful things.
And sunshine.

Here is my current Youtube playlist (Pop is what I crave when I'm writing, like energy drink bubble gum poetry for the brain):









this is a great remix by Jamie XX of Adele's Rolling In The Deep



I've also been listening to Spies, who are both a friends band and a band I love, which is rarer than you would think. They recently got a great review in Hotpress and their single Barricade was Single Of the Fortnight, and no-one deserves it more. Weaker Body is my personal favourite.

I went to see the Werner Herzog 3D documentary 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' about the cave drawings in Chauvet, and it was incredible. I'm so glad I got to see it on the big screen in its full 3D glory. The drawings inside the caves were so beautiful; they were full of movement and detail and felt so incredibly human that it rattles you to the core. It makes me think art is a very pure human action rather than something created by society, which is a strangely comforting thought.

I've been doing a lot of research lately into the nature of truth (or Truth) and the wonderful Oisin Byrne of www.origasmi.tumblr.com sent me this snippet interview of Werner Herzog talking about The Ecstatic Truth which is very, very good. I will leave you with his wise words.

Fashion-ation

I don't often write about fashion because a) its incredibly intimidating and a bit too easy to sound like a twat when postulating about the beauty of a shoe and b) paul says he won't read my blog if I do. But, I don't think he does anyway and I have a fashion crush.
His name is Bernhard Willhelm, and we first met on Camden street on a rainy Monday afternoon in January (I can't remember if it really was a Monday, but dramatic effect etc). I was rifling through the contents of Debra, the new charity shop, when I found myself holding a new-looking dress I did not understand one bit and therefore instantly adored. It had a hood! Non sensical ribbons hanging off the back! Sold.
When I got home I spent ages trying to figure out how its supposed to be worn, and finally decided to google the designer to see if there was maybe a picture somewhere. I came across http://www.bernhard-willhelm.com/ and after looking through various collections decided it was true love. Sadly, when I came to the prices section it became clear I would need to write several bestsellers before I can fill my wardrobe with delightfully confusing dresses and demented nun outfits




For now though I am very happy with my new favourite dress/puzzle and can't wait to wear it to breakfast in New York.

Just to reassure that I have not changed my fashion radar from 'shiny!/black' to 'label', my other current favourite dress is from Penneys. I bought a second one yesterday just in case the first one falls apart, which it is threatening to do all ready, and had a brief moment of panic that I was, in fact, a sensible old person. However, I then talked to my friend who I consider to be very cool and not sensible (compliment!) and she said she does the same thing. Phew.

Now all I need is some Jeffrey Cambell shoes. I mean, the curve of the sole really speaks of bygone days, yet the tough leather is a nod to futuristic styles...
Time to stop apparently.

Its a new dawn, its a new day...its a new year.

And so far, my strange feeling that its going to be a good one has proven itself...not so strange.
After lots of playing in the snow with my far-flung friends home for Christmas, photo stories about my cats, missing of New York and reading of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, something truly great happened; I got an email from the director of the CUNY Writers Institute to say he loved my work and was awarding me this years Fiction scholarship. I actually nearly fell of the chair with shock and couldn't sleep for 2 nights afterwards. Then they made the announcement on their website and it suddenly became real.
Other than being very very happy to go back to New York, it was incredible to have someone who is under no obligation towards you whatsoever say great things about your work. I had been having kind of a insecure moment about my abilities and what it actually means to be a writer but once I stopped dithering and sat down at my computer I felt a lot better and now with the scholarship I'm starting to believe that this might be something I can actually do.

Other than getting great news and not sleeping (I have some kind of weird morning insomnia where I wake up ridiculously early and get an adrenaline shot accompanied by twelve million insistent thoughts) I've been going to the cinema a lot which keeps me feeling sane (unexplainable) and brain-fed. I also went on a Dogme 95 binge and watched The Idiots and The Celebration, which left me feeling utterly disturbed in a good way. Dogme films have a way of grabbing you by the throat and making you feel incredibly uncomfortable, which is in turn strangely enjoyable in a film. I went to see Howl 2 days after I watched The Celebration and although it was good and I enjoyed it, it felt so polished and strange in comparison.

There was an election, which I chose not to involve myself in too much other than feeling grumpy with Enda Kenny for staring at me whilst I ate breakfast every day.

I've been trying to spend as much time outside the city as possible, and climbed Killiney Hill on a grey day to sit in the middle of a cloud.


Other than reading 9 Sookie Stackhouse novels in the space of a month (who can resist a vampire viking warlord with a sense of humour?), I picked up this book will save your life by A.M. Homes at the last flea market and think its great. She is very funny in a dark, satirical way and manages to create incredibly human characters. This book will save your life is about a forty something bussiness man in LA who has isolated himself from everyone except his housekeeper, personal trainer, nutritionist and Rothko and De Kooning paintings. And I swear I don't just like it because it features a horse at some stage.

And right now the sun is shining, the junkies are drinking cans by the canal and the trendy kids are sweating in their pleather as they walk-of-shame towards Rathmines. All is as it should be.

I will leave you with todays note of wisdom:
Is there anything that can't be made better by the playing of Rihanna's S&M?

As my time in New York draws to a close...

...I feel very sad.
I dread the day when I wake up and won't be able to execute my perfected morning routine of:

• wake up
• dance to The White Stripes 'Elephant' in my pyjamas
  
• climb onto the fire escape to check weather/take in amazingness of East Village
  
• get dressed in some variety of 'out there' clothing
• go to the cafe for hot chocolate, facebook and neighborly 'good mornings' with all the peeps from the area who I've got to know.
  

I'll be crying every time I hear Empire State of Mind again. This happens whenever I leave New York and is a clear indicator that I should NOT leave New York. But there's the little problem of a Visa, money and my life back home.

People have been asking me what's been the highlight of my stay in New York and I honestly don't know. One of them is definitely the trip I took to Rheinbeck with Lisa, who kindly has let me have her sofa bed for the duration of my New York stay and brought me to a vast array of events and places which I never would have seen otherwise. Taking Amtrak was an experience in itself, so comfortable and the views were great. When I stepped off the train at Rhinecliff and my lungs filled up with cold clean air that smelled vaguely of woodsmoke I knew I was going to love it there. Their house was beautiful, a white wood haven of warmth in the midst of rolling fields and forests which I explored shortly after arriving in my absolute favourite way; on horseback. Holly the Welsh pony took great care of me as we cantered through the yellow/gold/green of upstate New York, her breath and mine like clouds in the cold air.




I spent the rest of my trip eating amazing food, watching Harry Potter movies and exploring the lovely towns of Tivoli and Rheinbeck. It was pretty close to my idea of heaven.

Back in the city I've had some great days too; walking through the almost empty New York streets on Thanksgiving, followed by the true American dinner experience in Brooklyn; going to see a friends friend play in bar Williamsburg for the true indie experience and sitting in MoMa staring at my faves Pollock and 'smudgy squares' Rothko.



It blew my mind when I read that when MoMa bought their first Rothko in 1952 a trustee board member was so outraged he resigned.

My last week here is packed with internship stuff, seeing friends who I haven't seen yet, some parties and probably some Christmas shopping, and I'm terrified its gonna fly by and I'll be on a plane watching the Statue Of Liberty wave goodbye before I know it. I'd better find some time to sit in the Bean writing and people watching, which has for realz become my favourite thing to do in New York.

I got quite excited when I saw some snowflakes float by this morning. I finally have a chance to wear my sheepskin lined Docs that I got in T.K. Maxx during the summer! Though by the sounds of it I'll be living in them to conquer an Ireland covered in snow.

Until then...I'm gonna go take a lovely dog for a walk to distract me from the thoughts of leaving and maybe bottle some NY snow to bring home.

New York, New York

It's a beautiful sunny morning in New York City and its hard to believe that in Ireland its currently raining and economically imploding.

I've been in New York for almost 3 weeks now and am truly in love. I totally understand what that T-shirt is trying to say.

New York is beautiful and weird and there's a million different worlds depending on where you get off the subway, you can be whoever you want whenever you want , you can have have breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast, you can find your dream job or make a job of dreaming. Sometimes when I'm walking down the street, looking around me, this sense of happiness washer over me in a way I've never felt anywhere else. The sun shines almost every day, even when its cold, and I can spend whole days in cafe's reading and people watching to my hearts content. I eat breakfast on the fire escape watching the autumn leaves blow around the street and it feels like I'm in a film but in a great way. I wear whatever I want without being judged or put in a box, and even if I am its ok because the rest of the people in here are really cool and I don't mind being like them. I accesorize pretentiously with a hot chocolate and a book and take the subway in a nonchalant fashion. And in amongst all these people and buildings, I feel more alive than I ever have before.




Obviously, its not all cinematic moments of perfection. I find myself more alone than I have ever been before and though I'm enjoying the freedom it brings, New York can be a lonely place. When I'm feeling really lonely I go across the street to the animal shelter and take a dog for a long walk around the area.

I've got to know some lovely dogs and had some great chats with random people on the street. I fell a bit hopelessly in love with a pit bull puppy and even looked into how hard it would be to get her home but it would have been way too complicated and expensive. It all came about because I went in one day and there were no dogs to walk but the guy asked me to play with the puppy because it was sad about being away from its mother so I happily obliged and sat there for an hour happily cuddling and petting her. She's gone now (heartbreak) but he said there's were more puppies coming in today, so hopefully some of them will need cuddling too.

There's always something to do in this city, so when I'm not staying in to watch Mad Men or read I have been to some interesting stuff, including a back-room reading and the preview of Tiny Furniture in the Museum of Modern Art. Tiny Furniture is a film by a new up and coming writer/director/actress called Lena Durham.

She stars in the film, alongside her mum and her sister, and does a really good job of portraying whats its like to be released into the world after finishing a B.A. in Nothing Useful For a Job and feel lost. It's rare that I see something I find genuinely funny, and this was also clever and depressing in equal enjoyable measures.

Another interesting thing I went to was, you know *nonchalant*...Florence and The Machine!! Flo played up an absolute storm; it was the best show of hers that I've seen yet. Her voice sounded amazing soaring through the rafters of Terminal 5 and she twirled and danced around the stage like a leaf caught in a whirlwind of excitement. I always think seeing her play is like taking a Florence drug; you experience highs and lows and you get goosebumps and dance like crazy and afterwards you're exhausted but incredibly happy. She also looked like the High Priestess of Awesome.



As far as reading is concerned, I am lucky enough to be living close to The Strand which is only the best bookshop In The World.

I've just finished reading Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (which was great if even just for the fact that the whole book takes place within a 2 block radius of my apartment) and The Graduate, which was good at first but kind of degenerated into a farcical screen play meets Catcher In The Rye vibe in the end. I also read Clockwork Angel on the plane over, the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series I wrote about before. As someone who has never read Sci-Fi before and is slightly sceptical (I try not to lean towards scornful like most) about it, I really enjoy the whole vampires/demons/angelic descendant fighter world created in them.

Ok, I have been sitting here nursing a hot chocolate for about 3 hours now and the sound of the rustling leaves blowing along the pavement outisde in the sun is distracting me and making me want to go out for a wander. I'm always secretly hoping to bump into Garance Dore and Scott 'The Sartorialist' Schuman and become BFF's...but for now I'll have to make do with my ipod and some adventures.

NaNoWriMo

'Thirty days and nights of literary abandon'
November is officially National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) so I decided to take the plunge and signed up to www.nanowrimo.org . Basically the idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, which breaks down as about 1500 words a day. Some of the novels have been sold and published successfully, like NY Times Bestseller 'Water for Elephants'. Signing up means you make a profile and they send you encouraging emails with pep talks from the likes of Dave Eggers, as well as info about events going on near you where other NaNoWriMo people get together to write and probably give out about hard it is. Nothing like a bit of communal complaining. I'll be in New York for all of November so I'll have to find a nice local cafe to write in every day, and it would be nice to meet other people who are doing it too because I need NY friends! Preferably nice cool ones. If you're successful you get a CERTIFICATE. Thats right, a certificate with your name on it saying how awesome you are. Everyone likes those.

Only a few days to go now until I jet off to JFK, and I'm busy freaking out about flying, trying to find adaptors, figuring out what the weather in New York is like, filling in forms for the United States government, reading about Tea Partiers, and practising (or should I say 'practicing') my american by listening to The Notorious XX, specially this:



Its all about the Benjamins baby.