The Hunt

If you have talked to me in the last few months, you know I am looking for an apartment. It turns out that looking on one's own is exhausting, especially since I'm working five days a week and commuting from the 'burbs. It also doesn't help that I'm a) super picky and b) horribly lazy.

All this searching can't help but remind me of one of my favorite New York Times features in the Real Estate section: "The Hunt." I read it every week. It follows someone and their search for the perfect home, whether that be a brownstone in Park Slope or a co-op in Flushing or a penthouse on Central Park West or a shared apartment in Williamsburg. Everyone's stories and needs are different and it makes for a good read. I half-jokingly said I would e-mail The Hunt and see if they would follow me on my journey, but I figured it would be easier to document my Goldilocks-type search on the blog. So here goes, for the realty-minded.

1.
Two-bedroom apartment in Prospect Heights
Pros: It had high ceilings and one wall was painted a funky color. One of the bedrooms was huge. Decent location.
Cons: Pretty expensive for such a small space. The other bedroom was teeny-tiny: the current resident was only using it for storage. The kitchen was weird and facing the bedrooms. And to tip it off, the broker said the apartment complex's management company might reject me for not having a roommate yet, and not having a higher salary.

2.
One-bedroom apartment in Astoria.
Pros: Huge! Nice-sized living room and kitchen. Really small bedroom, but I mean, I'm just sleeping in there. Pretty close to the Astoria Boulevard N/Q stop. I would have my own place without sacrificing space.
Cons: Stairways/entryway smelled really strongly of cigarette smoke. The floors were all carpeted, which was meh. (What can I say? My last two apartments had wood floors. I'm spoiled.) The house was pretty much underneath the highway, which felt sketchy. And ultimately, it was on the upper limits of my price range.

3.
Studio apartment in Astoria
Pros: Cheap. Wood floors. Really good location.
Cons: They called it a "walk-in" but it was a basement apartment. There were windows, but I still felt depressed being in there. Maybe because the guy who lived there hadn't done much but strew his stuff everywhere, but still. I want to feel happy in my place, even if it's small.


4.
One-"bedroom" apartment in Prospect Heights
Pros: Great location and really close to my friends. Huge! Painted walls! Real kitchen.
Cons: It was in a converted brownstone-type thing and none of the rooms were bedrooms. They were just weird rooms. I was totally into that, but then I noticed that they had built the bathroom out of some cheap plywood-type material, the apartment was filthy, and I could hear the neighbors like they were standing next to me. I'm not particularly sensitive to sound, but the walls were way too thin.

So that's where I am right now. I haven't included all the times that I've taken the subway somewhere only to find out the place has been rented or the broker doesn't have the key or the person isn't answering their phone. It's starting to feel like I'm going on a date once a week, knowing full well that the dude is going to stand me up. I'll keep you updated, loyal readers. And hopefully someday be able to have you over for a teeny-tiny housewarming party.

Tiny Furniture

Welcome to the World!

A really amazing baby was born a few days ago. My new little cousin, Samuel Marcus.

So handsome, right? I can't wait to meet him.

Practice What You Print

Ah, the esteemed National Geographic. Excellent photographs for collages. Always on sale by the hundreds at the Kiwanis thrift store in Ann Arbor. The only English-language magazine I found in my many travels across Asia. (At one point, I was in a random airport and had finished all my books and was starving for the printed word, and there it was: an overpriced issue of National Geographic, with an awesome cover story about Greenland.)

But one thing I've learned from Sophie, who works for Green America's Better Paper Project, is that National Geographic is not the environmental steward it purports to be. For a company that uses such an insane amount of paper, it's pretty surprising that they don't use recycled materials.

The Better Paper Project's aim is two-fold. One goal is to convince National Geographic to use recycled paper. The other goal is to stop National Geographic from polluting a river in Maine, which receives toxic run-off from their printing presses. As someone who has done a little bit of activism work in the past, sometimes success can be hard to quantify. That's what is so great about the Better Paper Project: their goals are concrete and solid and, best of all, attainable. Below is a more detailed description of their work, and I definitely encourage you all to read it and spread the word. Everyone knows National Geographic and I promise it makes good cocktail conversation.

National Geographic's mission is to "inspire people to care about the planet," however, their printing practices destroy forests and pollute rivers. In fact, every day over 2,000 trees are cut down to print National Geographic Magazine!

As a coalition, we demand that National Geographic "Practice What It Prints" by switching to environmentally-friendly recycled paper. We also ask that National Geographic partner with their paper mill to clean up the Androscoggin River in Maine, which is dangerously polluted due to toxic emissions from this paper mill.

National Geographic has been a partner to pollution; now is the time for National Geographic to be a partner in the solution. Join us in demanding that National Geographic live up to its own mission to care about our planet.

We Cause Scenes

On Saturday, I participated in Improv Everywhere's Mp3 Experiment. It was so much fun. Can you find me in the crowd?

Cartoon Modern

The great part of my new-ish job is that I am learning, learning, learning all the time. It's like school minus the homework, plus a paycheck. Recently, I've been researching jobs in animation and visual effects, in an effort to determine what is still relevant and what is obsolete due to new technology. I've found some really interesting sites, my favorite being an old blog run by Amid Amidi, whose specialty is style and design in 1950's animation.

In one entry, he posted some color keys, which are hand-painted sketches created to establish the color and style of the animation elements. While I think the color keys from 101 Dalmations are beautiful, my favorite part of the post might be the comments, because it reveals a subculture I knew nothing about: those who love color keys and artwork by animation color stylists.