An artist in the urban jungle
When I first came to New York I was surprised to find it bland. I missed the wry humour of Londoners and the outsider-ish perspective which everyone seems to have there, even those you might think of as insiders. But gradually that changed, and I realised that I just needed a way in. New York is … Continue reading
A short story with a happy ending
The New York pet is a particular creature — cosseted, primped, pedicured, brushed and tooth-brushed by its owner and transported around town in bags and on bicycle baskets. All this goes some way towards saying that I never expected to own a pet in this city. When a housemate was leaving for California, though, and … Continue reading
Rapping on Dean Street
When I picked up my camera this afternoon and headed outside, I never thought I’d come across a bunch of rappers: eight of them, along with a woman with a video camera and a car blasting background music, right outside my house. The videographer was Leah Hart, and they were performing a rap cypher, a … Continue reading
Moving house — most stressful?
We all know that statistic — that moving house is the third most traumatic life experience you can have after death of a loved one and divorce (I even checked the fact; let’s believe the NS). Blissfully ignoring this stat I’ve moved house four times in the past year-and-a-half and am about to depart for … Continue reading
Waiting for paint to dry
This is what I came home to on Tuesday. Our landlord — who’s otherwise very nice — has made an executive decision to paint the front door dark green and to further improve our living situation by retiling the porch. Today I returned around lunchtime to find both the main door and the door of … Continue reading
Things I love about Brooklyn
Today’s post is the first in an occasional series I’m going to do about people & places that I love in New York. I’m going to start with Roots Cafe. I’ve written before about this subject: New York is chock-full of freelancers, who drift from place to place bringing nothing but their shiny silver mac powerbooks … Continue reading
Time for the Co-Op
Ah, the Park Slope Food Co-Op. Today I pulled two brown cloth bags bearing its logo over my shoulder and made my way to the subway for my twice-a-month expedition there. It’s 10 minutes away from me by subway and an average shopping trip takes one-and-a-half hours minimum. The Co-Op is a divisive entity in … Continue reading
The hazards of working in a cafe
There are a number of cafes that I work in near my flat in Brooklyn. If you freelance, cafes are wonderful places to bring your laptop. You can strike up random conversations with strangers and listen in on people’s private chats. You escape the cabin-fever of working from home and your life doesn’t involve sitting … Continue reading
An Irish Girl Abroad 