mosex

i had a damn good weekend
i normally do anyway,
but this one was extra awesome
and i'll tell you why, in three words:
museum. of. sex.
[parents, since i know you read this,
consider yourselves forewarned]

i'd never heard of the place before coming here,
and it actually got recommended to me by a professor at cuny
[shows how liberal new yorkers can be, i guess]
so, anyway, i went with one of my friends who was visiting
and we spent a few hours wandering around
and yes, there are photos,
you can find them here

first off, when you go in,
the lobby is filled with sexy shit to buy
they have tons of sex books, sex position guides,
calendars, trial sizes of lube, condoms, the works
the even had a wall of sex toys
some of them were funny [rubber ducky vibrator]
some were weird [pocket penis sleeves]
and some were downright terrifying
i think faye from q/c sums it up best:
'it doesn't look WEIRD, it's a lovecraftian HORROR!
it has non–euclidean geometry!
it TOUCHES PLACES THAT DON'T EXIST!'

so anyway,
the first floor we go through is all film
showing the history of sex in the cinema
it shows stag films, early nudies, 40s/50s euphemisms,
celebrity sex tapes, warhol films, you get the point

the second floor is all alternative artwork depicting sex, 'n stuff
the 'iron hole' photos were up there,
along with the rubber tit suit
there were a bunch of exhibits portraying sexuality
they even had realdolls
two of them, actually
and two partial ones you could grope
[i wished i'd taken photos of them]

the third floor is also artwork,
but this is stuff on a specific topic: condoms and stds
they had old pamphlets showing servicemen how to avoid disease,
newer pamphlets explaining how to protect yourself during sex,
and lots of art made inspired by/made of condoms
[hence the condom statuette and condom–grater]
there was a group of high school students on this floor with us,
and boy were they having fun
i can only imagine what their parents thought of the trip

the fourth and last floor was dedicated to science
SCIENCE!
they had a decent–sized display about human biology
explaining where we get our instincts and urges from
and a large display on sexual behavior in animals
they had a big wall of queer animal sex,
they had an area specifically devoted to monkeys
and then, my favorite area
the humping room
[that's where the panda statue was]
it's kinda hard to tell in that photo,
but back behind where the pandas were
there was a statue of an elk threesome
yes, you heard it hear first:
even elk want to get freaky sometimes

on the bottom floor of the museum,
they had the 'oralfix aphrodisiac café'
basically, it was an over–priced non–alcoholic drink bar
laden with herbs/spices/ingredients to boost certain traits
you know: endurance, seduction, virility, longevity, euphoria, &c
i forget which drink i had, but it wasn't that great
and like i said, over–priced
but hey, it was there, and i might as well


this place was fun, but kinda expensive
then again, everything in this fucking city is
so in that context, it was probly a steal
it's on the corner of 27th/5th if you ever want to go

n.y. state of mind

you know,
for a city of people as pissed and in a rush as new york is,
there sure are a lot nonchalantly slow motherfuckers
SERYUSLY
i thought having a quick walking pace would be a boon here
but no, of course not
there's just a metric shit–tonne more slow people to dodge
i just can't win on that front

in other fun new york news
i walked down eighth ave tonight from columbus circle
[i was heading towards the port authority building]
and the whole thing was closed between 42nd and 60th
it was cordoned off by cops,
and there were street sweepers and trucks everywhere
the best part?
there was garbage everywhere
lining both sidewalks, on both sidewalks,
piled up on the corners, and strewn in the street
it was a true trashpocalypse
i'm not sure if that's a normal sunday night thing,
or if this was a particularly bad night
either way, it was certainly a sight

i don't remember if i described in depth where i work or not,
so i will now [since i've been doing it for almost two months]
i work at the education/development department of 1199seiu
so i've been doing a lot with delegate training and upgrading curriculums
[delegates are elected by members to represent them at union meetings,
and they serve as a go–between for the members and management]
i also did some work on the rally we went to last weekend,
along with some other projects including grievance handling,
organizing, and actual delegate training
i work on 42nd st right next to the port authority bus terminal in hell's kitchen
it's a pretty nice building, and it's a great neighborhood
[though too close to times square for my taste]
best part? i work in a corner office [see here and here]
that's right: i'm a BAMF with an awesome office that's bigger than my boss's
can you say upward mobility?


also, as a parting thought
you know what just feels right?
riding the train through brooklyn late at night listening to notorious b.i.g.
it doesn't get much better than that

rallies 'n shit

hokay, so, here's the deal:
i spent the weekend in d/c
and it was awesome
i'd never been before, so it was nice to finally see it
i got to hang out with a friend from american university
[and, after meeting them, a massive amount of her friends]
and yes, i did see most of the requisite d/c sights
washington memorial, lincoln memorial, smithsonian,
white house, capital building, 50 states memorial,
and ben's chili bowl
i also found a really cool jazz club on u street called 'café nema'
i'm definitely heading back there if i'm ever in d/c again

i did actually go to d/c for a reason
there was a big rally being held at the lincoln memorial
you probly haven't heard of it:
[i'm not saying that to be pretentious or elitist;
there was almost no marketing or advertising for it]
one nation's 10.2.10 rally
it was basically a liberal, working class answer to glenn beck's rally
and the union i intern with was one of the sponsors
[my union's prez was actually the guy who created the rally]
it was certainly an experience
i have plenty of stories/opinions about it
if anybody actually wants to hear them

also?
i can't wait until the weather starts cooling off
i'm tired of sweating my tits off at work/walking around
nothing better than a sweat stain from wearing backpack
let me tell you: it exudes classyness

productivity and galavanting

i was actually productive this weekend
i did all the reading for my classes
i did a little bit of work stuff
and i redid the russian club website [again]
i don't know what i've done with myself,
but i'm not sure i like it

i went up to the bronx today
which means i've now been to the four boroughs that matter
[sorry staten island, no one cares bout chu]
i didn't plan to go there today
but events and books conspired to make me go
goddamn cuny library system doesn't want to work for me
so instead of waiting for the book transfer system,
i just went and got the books myself
i have to say, lehman college has a pretty nice campus
it's actually got trees and grass and shit
go figure

we've finally stumbled upon a place that's open all night
[since nothing else in manhattan seems to be]
granted, it's al all–night starbucks,
but it's better than nothing
and there certainly are some interesting characters there
gotta love people who get coffee at 2 a/m

it rained again today [big surprise, yeah?]
but this time, i just happened to be outside and looking for distraction
so, instead of sitting in bryant park under the trees and reading,
i decided to go for a walk in it
i am happy to report that even in the midst of urban sprawl,
surrounded by douchebags in suits and tourists
[and THOUSANDS of umbrellas]
rain–soaked walks are still as cathartic as ever
though drying off in the hot/humid subway tunnels was a bitch

getting along

i have to say,
the more i wander around the lower east side,
the less impressed i am with it
though that seems to be a more general east–side thing
i've generally liked the upper west, hell's kitchen, chelsea, and greenwich better
more than upper east, alphabet city, lower east,
and whatever the fuck the call the neighborhood east of midtown
i think i'm going to call it 'pretentious–as–shitville'

my classes are really shaping up well
they're all taught by awesome professors,
and even though they all run two–three hours a piece,
i can't say i mind it that much
[i'm also saying that not having to work eight hours before hand yet,
so that might change here in about two weeks]
so far, all the reading has been really interesting,
and we've even taken a field trip
[we went to the african burial ground near city hall]
certainly shaping up to be more exciting than another semester at msu

also, what with this weekend being labor day weekend,
there's a huge west indian parade in crown heights on monday
which i am definitely going to go see
it's supposed to be the best parade in new york,
though i suppose i'll have to wait and see it for myself

i think i had something else i was gonna say
but i'll be damned if i can remember what it was
so i guess that'll have to be it for now

food poverty

i am gonna go so goddamn broke eating in this city
there's way too much good food for my own good
from the awesome falafel/schawarma place in greenwich village
to the halal and mexican carts everywhere
shit's gonna drive me to the poor house
[at least i'm taking the most delicious way there]

i'm currently on a quest to get all my semester books from the city libraries
cuz, as interesting as some of these might be,
i'm not spending any money to get ahold of them
i got about half of them from the nypl
and, i gotta say this,
the main building [the one with the lions] is kinda underwhelming
i was expecting a bit more pomp and stuff in it
don't get me wrong, it's an awesome building with great architecture
[it'd be better if the façade wasn't hidden by scaffolding]
i was just expecting a main hall more like the nyu library
but damn, do they have a good selection of books
i could get used to a place with a library that isn't smaller than my house

in other social news,
i seem to to actually be making some friends out here
which, trust me, is a shock to you and me both
there are some pretty chill people in this program
[chill meaning when we're not in class, we talk about things besides labor]
we've all hung out and had some pretty good times
so at least i've got that to look forward to this semester
better than living out in brooklyn/queens by myself,
and not seeing anyone besides maureen on the off chance she's home

also?
there's a hurricane a–comin'
how it makes me miss the good ol' days

work to do

this was a long week, for sure
our orientation was certainly interesting
and we met a lot of really smart and engaging people,
but damn did we have some long days
[though i'll really need to get used to that]
most of what we did was intro activities and some guest speakers
but they even sent us out on a 'scavenger hunt'
[basically just walking around manhattan seeing the sights and shit]
it was actually kinda cool,
since no one in our group was intent on winning,
so we basically just spent our day walking around the lower east side/west village

i also got my internship assignment this week
i'll be working with seiu, the service employees international union
my local, 1199, is comprised of health care workers
[fun fact? 1199 is the largest union local in the country]
i'm gonna be working in the education and development department,
so i'm gonna be doing a lot of hands–on work with the members
cool, yeah?
the office i'll be at is in hell's kitchen,
which is close to where i take classes
gotta love convenience

ever–present italian food

my first few days here,
i did what every schmuck in the world does when they're in manhattan:
i went to times square
i've been before, it's nice but way too crowded and overhyped
anyway, i was walking around there, and i was hungry
so i stopped in to a place on the corner, not even thinking
what was it?
sbarro's

i'm not really sure when this trend started,
but as i thought about,
a really weird reality struck me:
in every major city i've ever been to
[in multiple countries and continents]
i've eaten at a sbarro's there
all the major american cities have them everywhere
but even amsterdam and russia had some
and i, like a fool, ate there

i dunno why sbarro's has become my de facto tourist meal,
and i dunno how it started,
but i don't think it's something to be proud of
some people buy certain trinkets,
some people eat at a certain type of restaurent,
hell, i ran into some guy in d/c on my layover
he takes photos of his water bottle in front of major monuments he goes to
and what do i, highly cultured person i like to think i am, do?
i eat shitty pizza from sbarro's
sometimes i even amaze myself

layovers and arrivals

i had a good time at my layover in chicago
nothing i love more than walking around by myself
especially unintended awesome discoveries
[i got to hear the chicago symphony in millenium park;
apparently they hold public, outdoor rehearsals in the summer]
walked around downtown for the better part of four hours
went back to the john hancock building for the cheesecake
then realized i looked like a fucking tourist:
i was wearing a hat i bought at the john hancock building five years ago,
emblazoned with 'big john'
despite that, i still enjoyed myself
even saw a coffee shop called 'café descartes' on michigan ave,
and i had to fight the urge not to walk in and order a non–euclidian latte
[it was later suggested to me that i should ask for it in a klein bottle]
then i had sbarro's, and it was good

i'm pretty sure the apartment i'm in used to belong to hipsters
cuz even though most of it's been painted over,
there's still little sayings and shit written all over the place
for your reading pleasure, a small sample:

–'YOU ARE SPECIAL. YOU ARE UNIQUE. YOU ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE WHOLE'
–'I interrupt this moment to inform you that i have ASPERGERS and it is not a disorder! DO YOU KNOW HOW COOL IT IS, How AWESOME, inspiring and enthralling it is to be just a little bit Autistic?'
–'2, 763'
–'hair extensions'
–'BLESS YOU!'
–'Peace Love And Understanding'
–'Dream of paradise'
–'Aspie PRIDE'
–'WHERE DOES THIS LEAD TO?'
–'Knowledge is possessed only by sharing: is it safeguarded by wisdom and socialized by love'
–'CONCORD COCKGROACHES'
–'From the point of light'
–'Fuck yo' couch :('
–'Kill yourself! Love – Jesus'
–'I Howt Left'
–'WATER THE ROOT AND ENJOY THE FRUIT'
–'Heat resistant to 400ºF'
–'LIFE IS A RIVER WITH MANY RAPIDS
–'You are my SUNSHINE'
–Serena <3 Rashida, Rashida <3 Serena, Your playground is my soul!'
–'Adjust to the dust'
–'SAY IT ISN'T SO'

news?

hey blogosphere, guess what?
i actually have something to say today
nice a change of pace, isn't it?
i would've shared a few days ago,
but i figured i'd let finals finish before i did


i got good news about three days ago
first good news i'd gotten in a while, actually
turns out, i got accepted for the internship i applied for
but, that in and of itself isn't a huge deal
the big deal is that it's a semester long
and it's not at msu
this fall, i'm gonna be studying at cuny on scholarship,
[city university of new york]
taking classes in labor history
and interning with a union organization
[plus, i get a weekly stipend]
i'm pretty fuckin stoked about it

i figured i should probly make this public knowledge
especially since i'll have to cancel on some commitments,
but it's still kinda cool, yeah?
i've been lookin to take a break from school for a while
msu's great, don't get me wrong,
but the novelty starts to wear off after a while
and, nothing like new york for a change of pace,
hopefully my dislike for it will wear off quickly

also, since i'm sure some of you would jump at the opportunity,
consider this an open invitation to come visit
i'm sure i could use the company at some point