Best Laid Plans

I live in one of the most exciting, fast paced cities in the country - in the world. Arts, culture, history, New York has it all. And yet, I can sometimes lose sight of that in the daily grind, traversing the same tired blocks between work and home, home and work. And it's worse in the slush and grime of winter; It doesn't exactly encourage one to take in the sights. But (amazingly!) I'm coming up on two years here, and have yet to see some quintessential New York neighborhoods and must-see attractions. So I've made a new goal for 2011: I'm going to get out and see my city.

In the spirit of this resolution, Aidan and I journeyed to the Upper East Side this past weekend to visit the Whitney Museum. Smaller than the Met and less visually striking than the iconic Guggenheim, the Whitney nevertheless boasts an interesting and varied collection in its five galleries. The Hopper exhibit currently on display was particularly engaging, as it put his work into context by displaying it alongside his contemporaries.

We also saw "workworkworkworkwork", a bizarre yet intriguing collection of pieces by New York artist Charles Ledray (picture). Composed mostly of miniature clothing, tiny ceramics and other textiles, it wavered between absurd and thought provoking. I admit I was somewhat annoyed at first by what looked like just a single shaft of wheat in a glass case - I mean, I'm all about modern art, but really? It wasn't until I was about two inches away that I realized it was actually sculpted out of human bone. Pretty incredible to see.

The Singular Visions exhibit had some arresting pieces as well, incuding"The Wait" (which juxtaposed a decaying, skeletal woman waiting for her beloved with a live parakeet twittering and chirping to itself) and "Running People" (a piece of art installed by projecting a gel onto any surface and painting it in, therefore making the installer a co-artist of sorts). Musing on these works as we made our way out to the street, Aidan and I both agreed that there's something to be said for a smaller museum. The sense of completion you get after making it through all the galleries is very satisfying.

But it also makes one hungry.

Fortunately, we knew exactly how to fix this problem: Soom Soom falafel. We'd discovered it last summer while he visited, and were so eager to try the delicious little place again that we gladly traipsed across Central Park to get to its west side location. Normally, this would be a pleasant jaunt across gorgeous woods and sprawling meadows. However, in January, these gorgeous vistas turn into a blinding, slippery tundra studded with pint-sized sledders and their exhausted parents. Needless to say, it took a little longer than normal to slog through the drifts, but it was actually very refreshing to get some fresh air. And we knew the falafel would be worth it...

Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men.

Our paced quickened as we saw the awning, both of us eagerly anticipating fried chickpeas and mint-lemonade ... and then it faltered, slowed, and screeched to a halt. Soom Soom was closed! I would like to report that the skies darkened and a dreary rain began to fall at this moment of cinematic disappointment, but the crisp sunshine refused to play along. Resigned to believe our quest was for naught, we slowly made our way towards the subway. But then, a glimmer of hope: Aidan spotted a tiny place called Sido Falafel, and we decided to give it a try (our rumbling stomachs both had a large say in this, they being not so discerning).

Wow. These are the moments that make men believe in fate.

It was delicious - dare I say, better than Soom Soom - and the staff was super friendly to boot. We both downed way too many of the scrumptious fried bites, and left heartily satisfied with our find. Trying new things was working out pretty well for us, we agreed. But that didn't stop us from visiting another old favorite, Levain Bakery. When a place sells cookies the size of your face, it's almost automatically worth a repeat visit. And sometimes, rediscovering the old is just as important as discovering the new.

Snow Blankets

This post is dedicated to an avid reader who has recently celebrated a birthday AND is powering through rehabilitation after his knee replacement surgery. As my belated gift to you, grandpa, this post brings the blog up to (drum roll please)... TODAY!

Now back to September.

The play I directed at Manhattan Rep was called Chinatown is Full of Rooms. A dark look at relationships and how we hurt ourselves, the play packed a lot into one act (and managed to pack the house most nights). I loved sinking my teeth into the near-poetic language, especially equipped with the stellar cast we put together. We had some issues with the venue (ie, them keeping all the profits, trying to insist we use an air mattress, etc.), but the team made up for it. We even got a nice little review on a blog. We also partnered with a local bar called The Hourglass Tavern, which allowed us to have an opening night party there - replete with show-themed drinks!

This past fall also saw a lot of visitors swing through our new Brooklyn home. My cousin Sara and her boyfriend Michael bought the awesome Jet Blue "All You Can Jet" passes, and used one of their flights to come check out the Big Apple. The plan was to check out the baking scene in as many city as possible, since Sara has started her own baking business after going to culinary school. Read about their NYC journey on their Jetsetters blog... and then continue to read, because it's a great blog!

Aidan's sister Taylor also visited us for a weekend (before leaving to spend six months in Patagonia!), and gave me an excuse to check out the amazing "Big Bambu" installation on the roof of the Met - otherworldly! Then a week later Rachel and my parents came out too. It was great showing the family around the new neighborhood, especially with all the gorgeous fall foliage. Brooklyn Heights also goes all out when it comes to Halloween decorations; Stoops were filled with giant pumpkins, ghoulish gravestones, and enough webbing to encase a fleet of toddlers. But the night of Halloween found us very far from home - in Queens, in fact. Dressed in the most horrifying of New York costumes (a bedbug and a bedbug victim), Aidan and I made our way out to Astoria to my friend (and former roommate) Stephanie's house, where she had put together a wild haunted house party. Spooky appetizers, dry ice, great costumes... and oh yeah, fire spinners.

Steph knows how to throw a party.

After Halloween, the rest of the year just flew by. Aidan and I had our own mini-Thanksgiving with lots of friends (and TONS of stuffing), and then flew home to be with our families. Following tradition, the Bisker women ran the Flying Feather Four Miler again, despite the miserable drizzle outside. But we also got some news: Someone made an offer on the house! It'd been on the market since Spring, and Mom and Dad were definitely getting anxious to get into a new place. Not that there was anything wrong with it; It was a great house for the twenty years we were there, and a wonderful neighborhood to grow up in. But with Rachel and I officially out of the nest, they were ready to start the next chapter. And after a few counter offers - they did. In fact, just this past Monday they officially closed on the new place. A very exciting start to 2011!

Of course, that meant A LOT of packing between Thanksgiving and January. Before I knew it, I was back home again for Christmas, enjoying such time-honored holiday traditions as cookie baking and visiting with family ... and the not-so-traditional cleaning out the basement, running things up to storage, and filling up the dumpster parked in the driveway. But of course, we managed to have a lot of fun with it, discovering all sorts of fun things during the process. I also became quite the Craigslist seller, posting everything from old TVs to my dad's 70's record player. We met the most interesting people through it; The college student who was just getting into vinyl, the boy who was using his Christmas money to buy his very own ping pong table. A very cool experience.

As it turns out, I spent more time at home than I had anticipated, thanks to the NYC blizzard. Between canceled flights and standbys, I was at Port Columbus for the better part of the week - NOT my idea of a good time. But it did allow me to catch up with some friends while I was home, so it all worked out okay.

And though the snow was still thick when I got back to New York, that didn't stop our New Year's celebration. We rang in 2011 with a raucous party in our apartment and then drank champagne on the roof while watching fireworks over the Hudson. A pretty good start to the year, I think.

But it wasn't long before our apartment was again filled with visitors. This time it was my sister and two of her friends, checking out different neighborhoods and seeing how they liked the feel of NY life (the picture is us walking through a snowy Fort Tyron park). Our cozy one bedroom bulged a little at the seams, but held everyone in the end. We also had some Michigan friends stay this past weekend while they attended a music festival, and then had a small birthday celebration for me last night with cake and euchre!

And 2011 is just kicking off... Many more adventures to come!