I’m not a fan of the term FiDi, which I think is a bit ridiculous. But it might become popular, given the direction the Financial District seems to be heading. In addition to hyper-expensive condos, high end shops are now springing up all over the area. Just a block in either direction of the Stock Exchange, you can go to Hermes or Tiffany. It makes sense that if the area’s attracting wealthy residents, to put their favorite stores close by. Unfortunately, I’ll just be walking by the windows and drooling since I don’t fit the class requirement to enter.

On another note, the steampunk movement appears to be going upscale. Steampunk is a fashion/ culture trend which emulates futurism as envisioned in Victorian times, glorifying Victorian technologies such as gears and, of course steam power. So far, this movement has been flourishing quietly among a unique few, but I’m starting to catch glimpses of it in the mainstream . In the window of the newly opened Hermes, is a gear and metal horse on display, which to me screams Steampunk. It surprised me to find such an example of this underground movement right across the street from the NY Stock Exchange.

With all the free events that happen in the city, it’s hard to choose which ones to go to. Never mind the ones that are happening in surrounding areas, like New Jersey or Long Island, both of which have lots of fun summer events. Normally on a lovely summer Saturday evening like this one I’d probably be staying in the city to gawk at all the scantily-clad barhoppers people-watch, but tonight I’m heading on out to Long Island to attend one of their events.

The Town of Hempstead has free events all summer long, and tonight at the Town Park Point Lookout they are hosting one of their free summer concert events. It just so happens that my uncle plays in one of the bands, Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, so I’m going out to see them play. I’ve seen them play many times and their performances are always awesome. It should be fun and hopefully we’ll get out there a little early so we can explore nearby Lido Beach.

What free (or cheap) events do you like to attend in the summertime?

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Summer brings a whole lot of street fairs into New York City. Stretches of avenues are blocked off on Saturdays and Sundays and vendors put up stalls selling goods and food.

You get the regular Italian sausages, crepes, arepas, corn, lemonade, thai food and pop corn vendors to satiate your hunger and thirst.

If you are in the mood to pick up sheets for your bed, you have a wide choice. If African curious are your taste, you are in luck.

So also if you have peeling and dicing onions. There is always a stall selling one of the quick cutting gadgets. For all your odds and ends…like magnifying glasses, tweezers, manicure sets, there are a couple of stalls.

So are stalls selling socks, undergarments, tshirts, nigh shirts and kiddie tshirts.

And of course the cellphone and ipod accessories.

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I was out the other night on a sort of “fix” up. I’ll save you the suspense of that by telling you NOW that it didn’t work. Luckily, I have low expectations of things like that, so I was nothing but relieved.

The night started out with dinner at the newly re-opened Monkey Bar. Sadly, I think my date was a little nervous and wasn’t really all that entertaining, so I made my own fun with everyone that worked at the place – especially Lawrence, our waiter. If you happen to go there, see if you can ask to have him serve you. He made PERFECT suggestions, was very knowledgeable of the menu and was funny as all hell. Not sure if my “date” appreciated all the fun we were having though. Anyway, it is a touch pricey there, but everything from start to finish was FABULOUS.

OK, so on to the ass grabbing situation.
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I will really miss Joel Siegel. I was so saddened to hear of his passing this afternoon, at age 63, after a long battle with colon cancer. He leaves his wife and Dylan, his young son. He learned he had cancer on the same day his second wife found out she was pregnant with Dylan.

You cant be from New York and not have grown up with Joel Siegel, film critic extraordinaire. At the beginning, when he had dark bushy hair and a thick black mustache to match, I often confused him with another critic, Gene Shalit. But later on I not only knew them apart, but I preferred Joel over Gene.

Here are some things I learned about Joel Siegel that were surprising, and endeared me even more:
In the 80s, he lost his wife, then 31, to brain cancer. As a result of that loss, Joel and his friend, actor Gene Wilder, founded Gilda’s Club, named after comedienne Gilda Radner, who was Wilders wife, and who had died about the same time, of ovarian cancer. Gilda’s Club is still alive in NYC, and continues to give comfort to cancer patients and ther families.

As much as Joel was quintessentially New York, he was birn in Los Angeles. But he soon became an adorer of his adopted city. I personally always felt that Siegel was as much a part of NYC as Donald Trump or Ed Koch.

Now, here’s the last interesting fact. In the 60s, Joel Siegel was a civil rights organizer. He knew Martin Luther King, and drove African-Americans to the polls.

So, here’s to Joel. Rest in peace. I based my choice of movies on Joel Siegel’s reviews. I have to find a new way to choose my films now. I will really miss Joel Siegel

I went to the Beer Garden in Astoria last night to meet some teacher friends who were celebrating the last day of the school year. (I’m jealous, but I know they deserve their summers off). We were enjoying our table in the open part of the courtyard, when ominous thunder rumbled in the distance. When it started drizzling, we rushed to catch one of the tables under an awning, but all were taken. A couple of kindly people moved a table under cover for us. We got them a pitcher of beer to return the favor, but they soon came by with another pitcher saying “Tag, you’re it!”

But our outdoor merriment ended as the storm worsened. Some bar staff came by, telling us that everyone needed to go inside. We were practically rolling our eyes at them, when a roar of thunder crashed, sounding as if it could have hit the courtyard. We all scurried inside. I wondered how there would be enough space for everyone, but it turns out there’s a room inside reminiscent of a high school gym with tables and a stage. Everyone got drinks and continued the party while the storm raged outside.

Last night I walked from my job near City Hall all the way to the East Village, where I decided to get a manicure and pedicure. Salons on Avenue A are really cheap and have great service so as to compete with the nearby salon that is cheap and has great service.

Anyway, I was exhausted from work and from my walk and was happy to relax in a warm foot bath. My nail artiste was Lily, a Chinese immigrant who spoke zero English despite having lived here for 3 years. Next to me was an all-American blond, chatting with her nail artiste in some form of Chinese. All of the employees were cheerfully entertained and flattered with by this girl’s knowledge of their native tongue. For once, they didn’t have to struggle to speak English, it was the client who was struggling.

The girl had obviously spent quite some time in China, because from what I could understand (the English parts), she had extensive knowledge of places, pop culture, and events. The male member of the staff, perhaps the owner and/or a husband of an artiste showed the girl photos of his native land. He also discussed how he was a high-ranked military official back in China, with immense pride.

It hit me right then and there that this was truly New York City , right in that little salon. From the ambitious ex-Chinese military man who came here to open a nail salon, and looked back at his younger years with wistful pride. To Lily, who has managed to live in this country and only learn enough English words to do women’s nails. To the blond girl, immersed in multi-culturalism of New York City and the globalisation of the world. To me, the overworked patron of this salon because the manicures are a sweet deal at $7. What a little microcosm it truly is!

Summer is upon us, and as the heat and humidity settle in like a sweaty handshake, I realized that there are things I love about summer in NYC, and things I really, really hate.

Love: Street fairs, especially when they are in or near my neighborhood. Even if I don’t partake in the various foods and items for sale, I love walking down the middle of a normally heavily-trafficked avenue and enjoying the sights, smells, and sounds.

Hate: The aftermath of the street fairs. Though cleanup is usually pretty quick, the trash carelessly discarded by people in the middle of the road isn’t so great.

Love: New Yorkers get the hell out of the city on the weekends, allowing those of us who don’t like the Hamptons or Connecticut or the Jersey Shore to enjoy a less crowded environment.

Hate: Instead of New Yorkers in those normally crowded areas, there are tourists. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Which brings me to the next point.

Love: Tourism increases, making the city’s businesses earn money. Yay! (Seriously, I totally love showing people around New York and think it’s awesome that so many people visit. However, there are some small annoyances, such as…)

Hate: Seriously, do you need to walk in groups 7 people wide and then stop in the middle of the sidewalk to look up at a tall building? There are people behind you who need to get somewhere, thankyouverymuch.

Love: Free events all over the damn place. I can’t even keep up with them anymore, there are so many.

Hate: The crowds at the free events. Admittedly, I should get over it.

Love: Taking refuge from the heat in air-conditioned stores or restaurants.

Hate: Stores or restaurants that turn their air conditioners up to full blast and leave their front doors wide open to blast the air out onto the sidewalk to entice people to come inside. Hello, wasteful! I shun businesses that do this, no matter how good the icy blast feels as I walk past with a big giant potential-blackout-shaped chip on my shoulder.

As a fashionista living in one of the most fashionable cities in the world, I find it particularly difficult to keep up with the styles and trends. It’s especially difficult on a poor fifteen year old’s budget.

Thankfully there is a cheap, disposable clothing industry to help people just like me! Sure the clothes may rip if I bend in the wrong direction, but I look good! I’m also able to satisfy my fickle taste and innate gathering instinct without guilt.

Here’s a list of stores I frequent:

H&M
Strawberry
Forever 21
Lohemann’s
Filene’s Basement

Also, Tribeca is the queen of cheap, disposable clothing. Now that I work there I can take lunch breaks to fabric stores.

Does anyone else know some good stores with dresses under $20?

***UPDATE***

The power has been restored. For now. They haven’t said much about the subways, but at least they’re getting somewhere with this.

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Well, if you haven’t heard yet, there’s a power outage here on the UES. Fun! 375,000 of us from 5th Avenue to FDR are out.

Nothing like having the subways screwed up during Rush Hour. The 4,5, and 6 trains on Lexington Avenue and the 7, E and V trains aren’t running from 59th Street to 149th Street – oh and it’s starting to rain too.

The Office of Emergency Management is saying that transformer explosions are causing some of the outages.

For more info – check here.
I’ll be at a bar downtown waiting for my power to come back.