Here's the weirdest sunset I've ever seen outside of my apartment window.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Running Manhattan
Yesterday had a high of 70 degrees in Manhattan. I put on my knee socks and American Apparel shorts and went for a 5 mile run from the Lower East Side all the way to the bottom tip of the island, to Battery Park. People were in thick coats and sweaters. I was dying from the heat and getting a sunburn.
It is so beautiful along the water. I ran under the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges where workers dangled precariously from steel beams welding new parts together, I ran past Chinatown, where Chinese couples and old women strolled the underpass. I ran past the South Street Seaport, where tourists sunned themselves and ate overpriced clams, I ran past the Financial District, where bankers in dull business suits sat broken and sad on their lunch break wishing that they too were running in comfortable workout clothes, I ran past the Staten Island Ferry, where gigantic red multi-level boats took passengers south, to the least visited of boroughs, and finally, I made it all the way to Battery Park, past cabs, and traffic and cars and construction to a surprisingly small patch of green along the shore and I saw the Statue of Liberty for the very first time.
It is so beautiful along the water. I ran under the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges where workers dangled precariously from steel beams welding new parts together, I ran past Chinatown, where Chinese couples and old women strolled the underpass. I ran past the South Street Seaport, where tourists sunned themselves and ate overpriced clams, I ran past the Financial District, where bankers in dull business suits sat broken and sad on their lunch break wishing that they too were running in comfortable workout clothes, I ran past the Staten Island Ferry, where gigantic red multi-level boats took passengers south, to the least visited of boroughs, and finally, I made it all the way to Battery Park, past cabs, and traffic and cars and construction to a surprisingly small patch of green along the shore and I saw the Statue of Liberty for the very first time.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Busted! (By the NYPD)
That's right folks, only 5 days in the city do I have the most ridiculous run in with The Law.
So Dan Bremmer and I are in lovely downtown Williamsburg in matching crocheted hipster hats, walking around being the good kids that we are.
We found some tv news posters on a wall and decided to start tagging them in the middle of the afternoon. We turn some tv newscasters into Freida, Pirate, Jordi from Star Trek. Katie Couric transformed into Toothless Lady. ROCK!
I saw the water at the end of 6th. St. and said to Daniel, "Hey, while we're waiting for your girlfriend Elise, lets go to the shoreline. It looks DELIGHTFUL (asian squeal)!"
We followed a girl through a broken gate, across an abandoned lot with burned vehicles and smashed equipment then through a hole in the fence.
Ahhh, urban paradise AT LAST!
There, we saw some guys with a video camera shooting something artsy, gay lovers cooing into one another's ear, some WASPy college students just chilling out and talking. It was all so ghetto romantic and the Manhattan skyline was mighty pretty on a Sunday afternoon. We sat on the rocks and took pictures.
I was the first to see them. The 5-0, Fuzz, Piggly Wiggly, Po-Po.
I yelled out to everyone, " Oh shit! Cops! Cops are here!"
The female cop rounded us up, took our IDs and badgered us. There was a high security alert she said. We were in a high risk area, and the building next to us is an old MTA center. You look very suspicious with cameras, people, taking pics of the Manhattan skyline. BAD, she said. Y'all shouldn't be here.
We waited for a second cop car to show up. Thats when they checked for warrants and started giving out tickets to each group.
I told the lady cop, we're tourists, got that? We are tourists. Me and the other guy.
Everyone was annoyed, seeing as this was not even worth a detainment, we were just enjoying the quiet rocky shore. There was no trespassing sign, the gates were wide open. It became a little surreal. Elise shows up wondering what was going on.
Dan came up and saw the lady cop writing down a ticket for him and decided it would be a good idea to be confrontational and give lip. To cops. When asked about this, Dan will say this is utterly not true. Whatever. I heard the whole conversation.
The lady cop asked me to come up and talk to her. She gave me some guiltish thing about how they were going to let me go with NO ticket, but since my "friend was mouthing off. You, Yen Dang, are getting a $25 ticket for trespassing. Plus a mandatory appearance in New York City court on December 20."
Oh my, methinks.
I lied, "I'm here for one week. I am not Dan Bremmer, so if you're gonna bust me for guilty by association, then that's your decision. Its totally up to you, I'm cool with whatever. If you want me to fly back here for a $25 ticket and you deem that necessary then okay. I'm going to go stand by the car."
Dan took my Olympus and took photos of the gate and the group and me talking to the police. Apparently, the cops had no problems with us photographing them. Anyways, they'll be used in court to contest the ticket. I'll post them as soon as I can.
So there was 11 of us. 10 got citations. The miracle that is the great Lord Satan, Ms. Cop pulled me aside, gave me back my ID card and told me that I was nice and that's why they gave me a break. Wow, I thought. What a weird turn of events! I stepped in shit and come out smelling like a rose. DAMN.
So Dan Bremmer and I are in lovely downtown Williamsburg in matching crocheted hipster hats, walking around being the good kids that we are.
We found some tv news posters on a wall and decided to start tagging them in the middle of the afternoon. We turn some tv newscasters into Freida, Pirate, Jordi from Star Trek. Katie Couric transformed into Toothless Lady. ROCK!
I saw the water at the end of 6th. St. and said to Daniel, "Hey, while we're waiting for your girlfriend Elise, lets go to the shoreline. It looks DELIGHTFUL (asian squeal)!"
We followed a girl through a broken gate, across an abandoned lot with burned vehicles and smashed equipment then through a hole in the fence.
Ahhh, urban paradise AT LAST!
There, we saw some guys with a video camera shooting something artsy, gay lovers cooing into one another's ear, some WASPy college students just chilling out and talking. It was all so ghetto romantic and the Manhattan skyline was mighty pretty on a Sunday afternoon. We sat on the rocks and took pictures.
I was the first to see them. The 5-0, Fuzz, Piggly Wiggly, Po-Po.
I yelled out to everyone, " Oh shit! Cops! Cops are here!"
The female cop rounded us up, took our IDs and badgered us. There was a high security alert she said. We were in a high risk area, and the building next to us is an old MTA center. You look very suspicious with cameras, people, taking pics of the Manhattan skyline. BAD, she said. Y'all shouldn't be here.
We waited for a second cop car to show up. Thats when they checked for warrants and started giving out tickets to each group.
I told the lady cop, we're tourists, got that? We are tourists. Me and the other guy.
Everyone was annoyed, seeing as this was not even worth a detainment, we were just enjoying the quiet rocky shore. There was no trespassing sign, the gates were wide open. It became a little surreal. Elise shows up wondering what was going on.
Dan came up and saw the lady cop writing down a ticket for him and decided it would be a good idea to be confrontational and give lip. To cops. When asked about this, Dan will say this is utterly not true. Whatever. I heard the whole conversation.
The lady cop asked me to come up and talk to her. She gave me some guiltish thing about how they were going to let me go with NO ticket, but since my "friend was mouthing off. You, Yen Dang, are getting a $25 ticket for trespassing. Plus a mandatory appearance in New York City court on December 20."
Oh my, methinks.
I lied, "I'm here for one week. I am not Dan Bremmer, so if you're gonna bust me for guilty by association, then that's your decision. Its totally up to you, I'm cool with whatever. If you want me to fly back here for a $25 ticket and you deem that necessary then okay. I'm going to go stand by the car."
Dan took my Olympus and took photos of the gate and the group and me talking to the police. Apparently, the cops had no problems with us photographing them. Anyways, they'll be used in court to contest the ticket. I'll post them as soon as I can.
So there was 11 of us. 10 got citations. The miracle that is the great Lord Satan, Ms. Cop pulled me aside, gave me back my ID card and told me that I was nice and that's why they gave me a break. Wow, I thought. What a weird turn of events! I stepped in shit and come out smelling like a rose. DAMN.
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