The French Taxi Cab

Well tonight was interesting, in a things-come-full-circle kind of way. The day was dreary, rainy and cold - apparently now it's cool to just go from Summer straight to Winter and skip Fall completely. After work, some coworkers and I headed to a bar to watch the Phillies game. I left there around 5:40 to meet some college girlfriends for dinner, and I could not for the life of me get a cab. The ones with lights on didn't stop. The ones without lights on didn't stop. And there were long lulls where nary a taxi was even in sight. On BROAD STREET. A MAIN ARTERY of the city.

I was perplexed. So I walked, hoping to find a taxi as I strode, but my search was in vain. I ended up at 8th and Pine, about 8 blocks away from my final destination, and decided a cab wasn't even worth it at that point. So I made it to dinner flustered, but okay. We sat around at the restaurant for a while talking, and then headed back to my friends' apartment to watch La Vie en Rose, the move about French singer Edith Piaf. It was great. Piaf has an intriguing life and a great voice, and of course all songs sound so much more flowy and dramatic in French than they do in English.

I didn't stay for the whole thing, as I didn't want to have a late night. So another girl who was there offered to drive me home and we left. But as we were driving away, we noticed the car was clunking along making a sound like we were driving on ground up road. So we pulled over at 2nd and Washington, in South Philly, and sure enough my friend had a flat tire. Drat.

I sat with her for a while as she called Triple AAA, and wondered what a nice Jewish girl was doing at the intersection of 2nd and Washington, next to Snockey's crab shack, waiting for Triple AAA to come and rescue my friend's Honda Civic Hybrid. My friend told me I could go, in fact, she insisted I go. So we called a cab and it came within 5 minutes.

And the whole drive back to my apartment, the cab driver sang. In French.

Scenes from the City

So I am taking a photography class at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Bella Vista, and it's been a good time. I am learning all about the different symbols on my camera, like the little face symbol and the mountain symbol and the Eiffel-Tower-with-the-moon-behind-it symbol. (Really, who designs these things?) Anyway, I wanted to share some of the photographs I've taken recently. So here they are!

This is a pretty design on a Hookah at Leila Cafe.

LOVE this picture of broken glass in a window on South Street.

There are mosaics like these all over the South Street area.

I like the colors in this one... the yellow against the blue sky.

Again with the yellow and the sky.

I used the Tungsten setting to make this one really blue.

Tried my best to get the pinky-purply sky in this one.

Playing around with digital macro - my new favorite setting on my camera.

Scenes from Rittenhouse.

Travelling on Septa. Exhilarating.

Whizzing past a stop on the R3.

Some Funny Pictures

I know it's been a while since I've written. So sue me. I don't have anything to say. But I do have some things to show, as a few silly things have happened recently. Here goes: 

Watching Good Day Philadelphia, as per usual, and they spelled Philadelphia wrong. As per usual. Oh hi, Marc Lamont Hill. 
Then Will and I played Scrabble. Interestingly enough, he won. But not with this word. 
And our Wii is apparently possessed. 
Phallic tomatoes. Gotta love em. 
Then I went to eat lunch at the Continental Midtown. The calamari was great. The quickie? Not so good. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Doing my part for Philly

Last night I exercised my authority as a democratic citizen of the city of Philadelphia and voted in the Municipal Primaries. They'll most importantly decide who will run for District Attorney and Controller.

While I'm not going to pretend that all my information came from the morning's Metro (and that I made my decision that morning based on a one-page feature), I will say that it made me feel important and proud to walk into that booth and do my civic duty. Especially since not many people vote in the primaries, let alone even know that they're occurring unless they've been paying attention to local news. (American Idol fans take note - there is more to life than that banshee Adam Lambert.)

Preliminary results

Ever since the presidential primaries, I've made it a point to keep up on news and politics. It's something I never did before, but it is truly empowering and makes me feel like I'm an involved citizen of the country, rather than just a resident who never really cared to know how things worked. Not to mention it gives me great fuel for starting conversations, though it probably makes me seem a little pretentious if other people have no idea what I'm talking about. Oh well. A little confidence never hurt anyone, did it?

Today, though, I read about how the president is likely to sign a bill that would allow concealed weapons in national parks. Not so Obama-like, I know. But it makes more sense when you know that this measure is tagged onto a larger bill that regulates credit card companies - something that Obama's been pushing for a few days now.

I guess that's what's known as an "earmark". It would be like if your mom announced she was going to the store to get diapers, and your dad chirped after her, "Can you also go to the liquor store and get me a handle of vodka?" The actions are competely unrelated, yet your dad knows your mom is likely to go out and buy things, so he just figured he'd put in a good word for vodka.

Even as I try to understand politics, I realize there will still be things that puzzle me. But one thing I understand more and more is that politics does not exist as a straightforward, regulated entity, rather it's an intricate game people have to learn to play in order to be successful.

Philadelphia mom has been seriously busy

I know that these scammy Internet marketers want to grab my attention with something relevant, but honestly! I'd rather hear that "Philadelphia homeless man finds a mortgage" or "Philadelphia cheese shop owner discovers low-fat, delicious cheese." It seems Philadelphia mom has really gotten her life back on track, so I think it's time we start hearing about someone else.

City Snowscapes

On Tuesday night it snowed in the city, and it was absolutely magical. So of course I stood out in it and took pictures. Enjoy. 

Philly Sidewalks, Broad Streets

So last night I was up until 2:30 AM waiting for Will to get home from NH. His flight kept getting pushed back due to the wet conditions. But eventually he got in, we got like 5 hours of sleep, and now it's Monday and I'm back at work wondering exactly what I'm doing here (and wishing to God I was still in bed). 

Walking to work this morning felt like going through an obstacle course. We had to dodge some trucks that were parked right at the curb in the crosswalk, make sure we didn't get drilled into by some big construction equipment (that was so loud it practically made my ears bleed) and of course squeeze around the limping homeless people that take up 3/4 of the sidewalk. One man, who was waddling around asking people for quarters, had tucked his pants into his socks. I guess that's one way to keep your ankles warm? Or make a fashion statement? Not really sure what he was going for. 

It seems like there's always a construction project happening in this city. But I can't complain that they're keeping sidewalks walkable and streets drivable. It makes me think, though, about the budget problems the city is going through right now. We're very much in debt, which isn't surprising with the economic climate and other cities (ahem, almighty NYC) also faltering. But as with any situation like this, people are questioning what should be cut and what should stay. Mayor Nutter says he won't cut "core" services, like police forces, fire houses, and trash collection - which I think is important because we don't want more crime or dirt blowing through the streets (well... any more so than there already is). 

But he is going to cut things like library branches and city workers, and raise fees like parking tickets. (Read some of this here.) I want to jump on the bandwagon with my fellow English majors and proclaim the importance of literary outlets in the city, but I actually kind of agree with this move. I wonder how many people actually USE those libraries? And I know of lots of privately funded non-profits that work to ring literacy to the city. If they're so upset, why not get some rich donors to buy up a property and store books there? It's just as good as library. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for the government to promote reading since I think it's getting more and more unpopular as time goes on, but I think in a time like this, it's necessary to focus on getting the debt under control so that, in the future, we can have surplus to bring these services back and make them even better. 

In other news, last night I saw STELLA live and got their autographs after the show! How's that for arts and culture? 

An Uncertain Thanks

Thanksgiving has never really meant much to me besides a large group of family and sometimes friends getting together to engorge ourselves on foods that, any other night, would seem extravagant. Of course that's not something I have a problem with. And I do usually take some time to think about what I'm thankful for - my amazing family, my wonderful boyfriend, being alive and healthy, living in a great apartment in a lively city - and of course being able to watch the Philly Thanksgiving parade featuring such scintillating acts as Syesha Mercado, Mario and the Von Trapp Children (who I will be singing with at the Philly Pops Holiday Concert). 

But today I'm thinking about lots of other things going on that I'm not thankful for. One is that Zoey isn't in the house to share the day with us. And another is that I still haven't the slightest idea what to do with my life. 

I was reading an article in the Inquirer this morning that profiled people who had dedicated their lives to helping the homeless. One was the woman who founded Back On My Feet, a running group for homeless people, and another was a guy who basically started by walking up to homeless people and asking them what they needed. Now he provides meals and checks addressed to state departments so people can get identification like licenses and birth certificates. Those forms of ID help them get jobs and enter shelters. 

It's great to see these people taking something they're passionate about and turning it into life's work. They're doing so much good for the world, and they should feel really proud. I sometimes feel like I need to do something monumental like them. I feel like I have to start my own company, invent a new product, or write a fantastic blog about something totally unique that millions of people will read on a daily basis. 

But then I question whether I really need to do something so huge? Can't I just do something quiet that I love? Sure... the only problem is I don't know what I love doing yet. Well, ok that's not entirely true because I love doing lots of things - singing, writing, reading, playing with my neice and nephew, hanging out with friends - but how is that supposed to translate into an income that I can live with? And what if there's something else that I would really love that I haven't even discovered yet? 

I think my problem is that I have all these grand ideas of unique adventures and profound experiences and finding what I'm truly passionate about, but I don't know  how to go about discovering these things. And sometimes I don't think I need to. Sometimes I think just living is enough. But living doesn't pay the rent. 

I want to resolve something right now, that I'll start looking for what I'm passionate about and working toward making a career of it, but I know I probably won't. The best I can do is give thanks that there is so much out there to discover, and give thanks that I have hope I might discover it... someday. 

Celebrating European Colonialism

It's Columbus Day, and I've worked it so that I am totally free - no selling admission to hungry tourists or organizing mismatched shoes at the Gap - just me, the TV, and hopefully a run and some shoe shopping. Oh and if I work up the enthusiasm, I may also clean the apartment, which has gotten filthy. When you have a job that's exhausting, and I assume most people do, it's easy to come home, plop yourself down on the couch, and spend the night watching House reruns followed by the Daily Show and Colbert Report. Then clothes and dirt and mail and dishes pile up around you and one day you just scream, "I CAN'T LIVE IN THIS FILTH!" and clean it all up. Perhaps today will be that day. 

But tonight is a must-watch TV night, as the Phils are battling the Dodgers in the 4th game of the NLCS postseason, which they lead 2 games to 1. But it's in LA, and they got killed last night in LA (and throughout the regular season) so it's really imperative that they get their act together and win this. 2 games to 1 is dangerous. 3 games to 1 is pretty much a guarantee.

 Baseball has always been a sport that I understood, but i've recently become a really big Phillies fan. I can name the majority of players on the team (pitchers may or may not be included in that) and have seen enough games and know enough about the players to be able to hold my own in a discussion with boys. For instance, I know we can't count on Ryan Howard in this postseason, and we've really got to look to Victorino, Burrell, and Utley for the big hits. Or, we could just put Brett Myers in as a designated hitter. 

See... didn't you just forget you were reading a girl's blog? Probably not. But I'm proud of myself and fan enough to make a shout-out and say GO PHILS tonight! BEAT LA!!!!

12th and Market - The Gallery

Last night, after gorging myself at the Phillies roller coaster-like loss to the Marlins (SERIOUSLY, guys, getting everyone's hopes up and then leaving men on base is worse than blueballs! Or so I've heard...) I was driving home and heard some disturbing news on the radio.

Foxwoods Casino is in talks to relocate to The Gallery at Market East!

Oh, what horrible news this is. Casinos in general are just bad news - drunk gamblers stumbling around at all hours of the night, increased traffic, people driven into debt by excessive betting and then taking it out on the community - all around there's not much good that can come of it. Sure it might provide some jobs and increase tourism, but there are more sanitary ways to create jobs and are gamblers really the types of tourists we want in the Philly? I think it's safe to say we don't want to become another Atlantic City.

But then to take all the negatives about casinos, and plop them right down in the MIDDLE of a city that's already having trouble with people beating others with hammers on the subway... well that's just adding insult to injury.

To be fair, I don't actually know if casinos elevate crime. And I've gambled myself and find it fun (craps, anyone?) so I don't think all gamblers are lowlifes. But when I think about the sorry state of the Gallery and Market Street as it is today, I don't see converting it into a casino as a step up by any stretch of the imagination. I mean you've got Chestnut, with its restaurants, cafes, and delis, then Walnut with its theatre and quality shopping... and then there's Market Street with its trash, abandoned buildings, graffiti-ridden bus stops and public transportation nightmares... it deserves a better revitalization plan than a flashy slot-machine haven.

Is that really what we want people to see when they step off the train for the first time? Or when they venture from City Hall to Old City to partake in the historical treasures of Philadelphia? I think not.

This girl only sleeps with butterflies

You gotta believe this blog is pretty important to me when I pry my eyes away from the House marathon long enough to make an entry!

This was another philtastic weekend in the 19107. On Friday night I discovered where everyone and their mom in the city has been hiding on the first Friday of the month - that would be First Friday in Old City. It's a great cultural event when the art galleries stay open late and serve wine and goodies (but you have to get there early to partake in those). It was amazing how packed the sidewalks were, and walking through the galleries was like being part of a herd of cattle. Despite the crowds and the heat, it was a worthwhile way to spend a Friday night. 

One of my favorite collections was by a guy named John James Pron, a professor at Temple. It was called Philapocalypse, and it depicted neighborhoods in the city with fragmented grids, buildings missing, and people scattered like the world was ending. Check it out here. I'm no art critic or even an enthusiast, but it was innovative, easy to "get", and interesting to look at. A+. 

Saturday, in anticipation of hurricane Hanna dropping a deluge on the city, we decided to go to the Natural Science Museum. Most of it was old-hat... reconstructed dinosaur bones and stuffed panda bears. But what I really appreciated, and what was probably my favorite part of the weekend, was the Butterflies exhibit. 

It was... in a word... magical. The setting was a very bright, plant-filled room where butterflies of all shapes, sizes, and colors flew free - often right into the people walking through. It seemed like they were everywhere. If you looked closely in the leaves you could see them perched all over, and some were camouflaged so you didn't realize you were seeing a butterfly until someone else pointed it out. 

I've heard that when a butterfly lands on you, it's a sign of fertility. If that's true, I must be ovulating like crazy. 

If you're interested in more pictures and would like to comment on my skills as an amateur photographer, visit my Flickr site. 

And now it's Sunday and so beautiful out you'd never know that we had a monsoon yesterday. Fall is in the air... and maybe it's a good thing, since we're a little tired of the sweat and the electric bills that reflect our air conditioner usage. But I sure will miss the green grass and the colorful blooms and the way the yellow summer light hits the trees and the bricks. Also, I'll miss talking to my boyfriend on Thursdays, Saturday and Sundays... as he'll be too busy watching football to pay any attention to me :)