encyclopizza

last night i was walking down 14th st and i heard someone say "encyclopizza," like in all seriousness.
made my night.

crew guys are the best

the other day i walked out of my apt building and a craft service table for a film shoot was directly outside my door. i started chatting with the guys and they invited me to eat with them. so i got free eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, juice; it was sweet. then i asked what they were working on and they said it was a secret. i said i thought it was law and order (they always film in my neighborhood - it's the "bad neighborhood") but they said no.

so i went to work and that was that.

then i was coming back from work and they were still there. i saw them shooting right across form my building and sure enough, it was law and order. one of the guys i had been chatting with in the morning came over and fessed up. they were messing with me this morning. i told him how everytime they film here i try to get in the background of a shot and he said today was my lucky day! he told me to walk by for every take. i even got offered $10 for being an extra but it was taking forever to do the paperwork so i didn't follow through with it.

now i have to start watching law and order so i catch my big break on tv! thanks crew guys for the breakfast and the cameo!

mother f*er?

i'm 90% sure that i hear a nun say mother fucker today.

china edition

my favorite is the paddy sweet cottage.



making me dance for a REALLY long time at a restaurant.



these chickens hang out in front of this toy store.



people asked to get their pictures taken with me several times. and there are a ton of westerners in shanghai. this time i was with a chinese friend and i asked her why they wanted the picture and she said they thought i was someone famous.



i looked for the greater toilets but i couldn't find them.



no comment

let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

on my way home from work today a woman was walking through the cars of the train singing for money. she didn't have a gorgeous voice but it had a lot of character to it and it was enjoyable to listen to. at one point she started up "this little light of mine," clapping and hooting and trying to get people to join in. so i did. and then so did one other guy. and when we finished the whole car clapped for us.

the mary wrap

at lunch today i created my own wrap and the guys at the cafe really liked it. they said they're gonna put it on the menu and call it "the mary."

so next time you're at effy's on 3rd ave check it out!

the mary wrap:
hummus
grilled chicken
lettuce
carrots
pickles
a squirt of tahini

it's a bird?

walking to work this morning i see a very old man standing on a corner starring at the ground. what he's looking at catches my attention too so i stop and stand with him. it's an egg, cracked open on the ground, and there is a tiny carcass of a tiny chicken in it.
the man looks at me, "what is it?"
and i say, "an egg. and there's a baby chicken inside"
the man gets this look on his face that i will never forget, sadness? confusion? he looks up from the ground again and into my eyes and replies, completely enthralled, completely invested in this moment, completely in disbelief, "it's a bird?!"

random aside: this is the THIRD time i've seen a cracked egg with a bird carcass in it on a random street in ny. what's the deal??

moms

i signed my mom up for gmail. she's hilarious with all things technology and today i saw her online so i gchatted her to say hi. i see she's typing, typing, she's entered text, she's typing, she's entered text and then nothing.
two seconds later an e-mail shows up from her:
I don't know how to make the instant chat message go I LOVE YOU... MOM

archive

i'm starting with an archive of sorts. there were a few funny things that happened to me recently which made me want to start recording them.

march 21st:
i'm woken up at 10am with a text message from an unknown number:
"u up?"
i know it's from illinois (i deal with a lot of phone numbers at work so i've managed to memorize a lot of them). i can't think of who it could be so i reply:
"who is this?"
they reply:
"this is lil man"
which was funny enough but then immediately after i get:
"this uncle yank"
to which i reply:
"i think you're texting the wrong number"
and uncle yank replies:
"sorry"

thanks for being so polite lil man!

--
march 19th:
i leave my apartment this morning and right outside is a horse. good morning, mr. horse!! he's just standing there, no one is with him. his head is giant and i stare at it for as long as i can before i get freaked out and head to work.

--
march 17th:
i'm at the track running and a little boy (like maybe 4 y/o) takes a tumble right near me. so i turn around to see if he's okay and the second i speak to him he starts sobbing. he won't even talk, he's just crying and touching his knee. so i'm like "you hurt your knee? is your mommy or daddy here?" and he points across the track. so we walk over together. i have my arm around him but he won't stop crying. i'm talking to him, trying to make him feel better. he's just the cutest thing i've ever seen. as we get to the other side of the field he sees his mom and they embrace. he's totally fine - probably didn't even have a scratch on him. and his mother said to me "you will be a great mother. thank you."