In case you want to know what it is I'm really doing in New York

Mondays and Wednesday mornings I work at The Cast which is run by Jake and Chuck. I sew labels onto t-shirts + sweatshirts but sometimes we have a beer break at three.
Jake from The Cast used to work at Tokion magazine and he got me my internship there which is on Fridays and Wednesday afternoons. Friday was my first day and I worked my arse off from 11 in the morning till 6pm transcribing the shit out of an article on a cassette tape. I managed ten pages, is this good?
The first internship I got was with Parkett magazine, a magazine that collaborates with artists to create special editions. At Parkett I make databases of art exhibitions and gallery addresses but have been promised more exciting things as I progress. I work with the lovely Moni who is half-german, half roumanian and let me phone home on my first day. The boss is Cay and she really reminds me of a more approachable version of Mary-Anne Francis, our legendary CFAP tutor. I work there Tuesdays and Thursdays.
As you can see I'm pretty busy, haven't really done any touristy things yet, but now that Toby's here I'm sure we will be sightseeing at the weekend.

House of Jealous Lovers

Went out on Thursday and met up with Sarah Wall from Brighton. Her friends were djing at a place called Supreme Trading so we had a bit of a dance to some indie music and me and Sam formed a dance troupe with Sarah's friend Jenny. We performed such classics as the "lunge", the "breaking free from chains", the "i'm a human windmill", and the all-time favourite "the leg guitar".
Dancing like a moron is so underrated.
Had a few gin and tonics there and then Sarah's friend Joe -who we thought was a dick because he wouldn't stop taking pictures of himself on his beloved digital camera, but actually turned out is really nice; took us to a pizza place and we had some very garlicy pizza. The we got a mini-cab (service car) home for 3 quid.

Yay!!

We picked up Toby (Sam's) boyfriend from JFK airport yesterday, with our homemade signs to greet him. He brought his super amazing new laptop with him and now we internet at home!!!! Hooray!
Get ready for some super updates...

These are some pictures. The end.

Oh go on then...

If you want to send me stuff I will be at 87 Kent St Brooklyn New York until the 1st Dec, if anyone wants postcards from NY email me your address xxxxxxx

Living in a squat, living in a cardboard squat.

We have put down the cockroach traps and taken all the sheets/curtains to the launderette. The bath is spewing dirty water and the tap in the bathroom sink wont stop running but at least the neighbours are nice, there's an opera singer and an artist.
Everyone here looks like Connor Reeves
Or like the guy from weezer so we're amusing ourselves by trying to spot as many as we can.
Also trying to spot brogues.

In other news New York is still very much like London, the buildings are taller, the healthfood supermarkets are more plentiful, the charity shops are more expensive ($20 for a woolen blanket???) but its not that different.

How Clean Is Your House??

We found a place! It's in the beautiful safe Polish suburb of Greenpoint. The flat was filthy, but there's a bedroom living room, kitchen and bathroom and with big windows. I will put some pics up as soon as I get my bluetooth thingumy for my phone. But it was filthy, there was dog hair everywhere, I mean everywhere, we spent the whole of yesterday cleaning up.
We went out with what little money we had left and bought cleaning products and sheets from the thrift store. The ammonia we bought nearly killed Sam, it was foul, and we put Ajax powder all over the place. We found one small cockroach and some mouse droppings.
It is in a lovely area though, and totally worth the one day's cleaning.

So tired..

So we're in New York. It kind of doesn't feel that different, which is because of the language I suppose.
So tired can't be bothered to be funny...aie... Its been raining non stop today, as soon as we find a flat I'm going to the nearest army and navy toget some wellies.

Get me Lynne Faulds Woods NOW!!!!

I am listening to CJ Lewis 'Sweets for my Sweet' and mentally dancing round my room. My stomach ulcer's throbbing is lessening and the bile in my throat is retreating back to my bile ducts in my liver.
My passport gets here at 7.30, I can go to 'merica!!
For which I have had to pay 45 pound 'special'* delivery.

*thats special as in 'pretended to deliver your passport yesterday, didn't actually do anyhing to get it delivered until 4.10pm and then charged you for having your passport delivered a day late'

Aaah ma Gaaad!

Check this out, I am there.

Bonjour, je m'appelle Philippe!

Found out last night that Phil has been secretly taking French lessons. I did what any sane person would do, and cried.

Beer gut and no bum...mmm mmm!!!

I really love Jess Cartner-Morley. Really.

Now, to wear something because it's fashionable when it doesn't suit you is about as bright as buying a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos and poking yourself in the eye with them. Fashion is supposed to work for you, not against you, silly.

With her fresh face beaming down from her column, she is one of the only fashion writers who pretty much demystifies the source of trends in fashion and has a laugh about what everyone should be wearing. Perfect for people like me, who want to know whats in fashion, whats really in fashion, but aren't so keen on being admonished for being lazy about it and not taking it seriously enough.
There are two things however, that I disagree with. Her take on "city" shorts, they are great. Secondly, her latest article is promoting the wonder of the pencil skirt, worn with high-heeled court shoes. Pencil skirt? Please don't try to pretend we have waists. I don't have a waist. I don't think many women have the well defined waists of our grandmothers so wearing a pencil skirt would be near impossible. This takes me neatly to another article in the Guardian which confirms what I always thought:

We are increasingly tubular; less pear, more sausage. You'll know this if the old romantic in you has ever tried to cram itself into your grandmother's wedding dress. You'll know it if you have ever picked up a little Dior dress at a vintage shop and felt like Gulliver in Lilliput.

The waist-hip ratio has changed over the past 100 years because of a change in the macronutrients in our diet. Our intake of carbohydrates and sugars has grown rapidly, which increases insulin production. This in turn aids fat-cell deposits on the torso rather than anywhere else on the body.

Researchers at Yale University found evidence that abdominal fat develops when a person is under long-term stress. (...) In other words, stress turns women into apples, just like men. It also, adds Stiles, "increases insulin and decreases female hormones".

Does this also mean that the traditional female form is desirable because it symbolises a stress-free happy-go-lucky person and not because it is the opposite of the tradtional male body shape? Men who are apple-shaped, i.e have a larger amt of fat around their midriff aren't really that appealing to me.

That bollocks about how women are naturally pear shaped always made me feel a bit like a male impostor; so its nice to know that it is probably due to lifestyle, not how long my hair is, or if I wear enough pretty dresses.