What the . . . ?!

Our neighborhood is beginning to reveal its true colors. Check this out:


This man sits on a stoop three doors down from our apartment. At first we smiled and gave him a big Midwestern "hello!" It's not uncommon for New Yorkers to flat-out ignore your very existence, so we didn't think much of it when he didn't respond. Eventually he started to creep us out and Melon became alarmed by his constant stare as she walked by. She finally got up the courage to tell him to mind his own business when . . . low and behold . . . his left hand fell off!

Yep, he isn't real!!!

What a relief! It must be a Halloween decoration, we thought. (But it was September.) Okay, so this household is particularly festive. I'm sure it'll disappear after October. (But he's still here and it's now late November.)

Confronted with the realization that this odd man might be around for awhile, we gave him a name: Woody. In some respects he's our favorite neighbor; he doesn't play loud music or strew litter about our streets. He simply keeps an eye on everyone and sets a pace these two non-New Yorkers can handle.

No Flippin' Way!

Well it turns it out we have a built-in medicine cabinet in our bathroom! We've lived here for three months and yet discovered it only this morning. Suddenly our tiny, seemingly storage-less apartment just got a bit bigger!

PT Hazards

Public transit (PT as Jess likes to call it) is one of the things that makes NYC so great. Sure . . . its not always as quick as driving, but you can get amazing amounts of work done while the train takes you to your destination.

I have to admit, I'm pretty lucky. Jess's commute is 2 hours at the quickest; for me to get to Brooklyn College it takes about 15 minutes—45 minutes to the Graduate Center.

Another advantage of public transit is that you don't have to deal with other discourteous drivers. No one cuts you off, you don't have to worry about someone running a red light, and no traffic tickets! (Though, you are at the mercy of your fellow commuters remembering to shower!)

Also, subway riders are surprisingly quiet. Without the ability to use a cell phone, most commuters ride in silence. The subway itself is loud, but in a strangely soothing way—like "white noise" or a thunderstorm.

The quiet of the subway is in stark contrast to the "booty" music that often rocks your car while driving through downtown Cincinnati. I'm convinced that many of the problems I had with my car while in Cincinnati resulted from it being "shaken" by the other people's music!


The relative quiet of the subway used to be a boon to my productivity! Recently, however, I've noticed a disturbing trend. In increasing numbers, young subway rider's headphones are turned up nearly beyond control. These inconsiderate commuter's iPods are so loud that you can hear them all the way across train. Its nearly impossible to analyze the intricacies of a Mahler symphony or read the latest New Yorker article while your commuter neighbor's iPod is blaring in your ear!

In my opinion this is worse than the "booty" music that shook my car in Over-the-Rhine. At least I could rock out to that music. On the subway, I'm stuck listening to the musical equivalent of an annoying fly; unable to participate along with it but forced to listen to it, I get almost nothing done. Without cars of their own, I've come to the conclusion that:

Election Night . . . Moseley Style

Hey everybody! Hope y'all voted today! Brian and I are watching the results and enjoying a couple of beers. Give us a call!

Celebrity Sighting!

After living in NYC for over two months, all without spotting a single celebrity, Melon was starting to feel discouraged. Where is Sarah Jessica Parker? Julia Roberts? Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise? Michelle Williams lives in Brooklyn for Pete's sake! Where IS she?! Everyday Melon tunes into "Star Tracks" on people.com and there they are . . . celebs just walking around NYC, shopping, smiling, drinking coffee! Why don't they swing by Gregory's Coffee, where Melon sits and studies the music of the Burgundian lands in the fifteenth century?

But things are looking up for Melon. Last night at Carnegie Hall she experienced her first celebrity encounter. For better or for worse . . .


it involved George Crumb! Okay . . . so he's a not a movie star. But he IS "big time" in Melon's book!

We're Back!

Hi, friends! We know it's been awhile since our last post. Sorry. We traveled back to Cincinnati last week to see our dear friends, Kevin and Emily, get married. The wedding was a blast, but the weekend was short.

On Friday night we hung out with old chums at Habits Cafe in Oakley. Man we miss being able to get a burger AND beer for under $10!
On Saturday we spent the morning sleeping in at La Casa de Breighan. (Five Stars!) We couldn't leave Cincy without a taste of our favorite Indian cuisine, so we headed to Ambar for lunch. For those of you who know where Ambar is located in Cincinnati, then you know Brian and Jess shed a tear as they looked up at their old apartment down the street :(

At 6:30 pm it was time for the wedding! Emily and Kevin looked so happy!

and then the gang hit the dance floor . . .at first it was clean fun . . .but it got ugly fast . . .
Oh, Melon . . . you just can't take her anywhere.

Melon Hosts the Debates

We hope you all tune into the final presidential debate tonight! For those of you who don't know, the debate will be held at Melon's new place of employment: Hofstra University. While Melon competed for the chance to moderate the debate, she ultimately lost to that squirrely little man, Bob Schieffer.

This is an exciting time for our country . . . and for Melon . . . she gets the day off from classes!

For those of you interested in Hofstra's locale, here is another one of Brian's fancy (yet imformative!) maps for you to enjoy ...