Nina and Me

November 12, 2007

There once was a time, that on any given day, I'd be able to pull an empty sandwich bag out of my pocket... actually, every pocket of every jacket and pair of pants I owned. I also had ample supply of Windex, paper towels and stacks of unread newspaper on hand in the event that certain 'business' matters just couldn't wait.

It's been quite some time since I've had the added responsibility of caring for a pet... and I've quickly realized just how much extra time and energy it takes to do so! With my roommate away for two weeks and not having her usual dog-sitter available, I excitingly volunteered my 'don't-be-silly-I-can-handle-it-piece-of-cake' efforts to look after her precious Nina. Up until the time the two of us were left alone to fend for one another, Nina and I were simply acquaintances. I'd see her when I woke up, and again when I got home from work, occasionally patting her on the head, but that was the extent of our relationship. I'm certain she saw me as a foreign stranger (which I am) worthy only of a blank stare and bark upon my entrance through the front door.

My latest experiences in walking a dog literally involved dragging my babylove Shih Tzu, Caesar, along the sidewalk, taking a good half an hour to get from the front of my apartment building to the back. How stubborn he became in his old age, having absolutely no interest or desire in going for walks, but being oh-so-cute nonetheless! Most recently, Nina has been the one taking me for walks... dragging me along the concrete with her incredible degree of nervous energy. If there is one dog that should live anywhere but New York City, Nina is it. Panic-striken at the slightest glance of a jogger or the sound of a cyclist passing by, she leaps, barks, and yelps all the while completely tangling herself up in the leash. A simple walk around the block is exhausting for her, simply because of the energy she exudes being so unbelievably conscious of her chaotic surroundings. In this concentrated and bustling city, it's no wonder Nina is uneasy, scared and stressed... I know because I've experienced this too.

How relationships can change over such a short period of time. Having recognized and finally accepting me as her temporary caregiver, yogurt and kibble mixer-upper, and personal pooper-scooper, Nina and I are now one another's best company. In a city that can be very lonely despite people being everywhere you turn, I'm lucky to have Nina around to brighten up my day (despite her embarassing temper tantrums on the street). She is constantly following me around, forever sitting beside me with her snout on my lap and has become the best possible foot warmer I could ask for as I catch my nightly zzz's.

Who's this now circling at my feet? What's this plastic in my jacket pocket? Oh yes, I have some responsibility to attend to, and quickly... Nina is really starting to pace which can't be ignored. I'm not at all stocked up on the aforementioned items... although I wish I was. Cleaning up 'business' inside at times seems a little more appealing than what I'm in for every time I step out my front door with Nina.

Completely wiped after a frantic walk

Her charming good looks sure can be deceiving!

New best friends...

Am I Lovin' New York?

November 4, 2007

... I've been asked that alot, and I've found it to be a bittersweet question to answer. Of course everyone who has ever been here falls in love with what this city continually has to offer. The energy, the excitement, the rush... it's all very thrilling don't get me wrong. But once the touristy 'honeymoon' ends so to speak, and the sacrifices you've made to become a resident here start to sink in, I've found that the love I have for this city is challenged on a daily basis.

I think we all have preconceived notions and expectations of New York thanks largely to the media. We're constantly inundated with images of the city through television and the movies and as a result we feel as though we know it, like we've experienced it without ever having felt it. It's all very baffling because despite seeing it so often, we don't really know it at all. It's very different, living it, being fully exposed to the rawness of it. I think that is what has been the most eye-opening aspect of my time here thus far.

I love how New York is such a walker-friendly city; a great excuse to get out and explore, see and do more than you can possibly imagine. But oh how I miss my car and the convenience of having my own transportation. Nowadays, my daily transportation involves being smushed into a severely overcrowded subway car, desperately hoping that the volume on my iPod will drown out the sound of the crazy homeless guy publicly preaching his religious values, rapping about God, then singing Feliz Navidad. I recall that being a day that I felt so unbelievably anxious to escape the position I was in, that I jumped off the train as soon as I could, preferring to walk the remaining 30 blocks home instead.

I love the proximity of everything here; you can step out of your apartment building and be just steps away from anything you could possibly need... great deli's, amazing restaurants, unique shops... Starbucks. On the downside though, I miss having S P A C E... personal space, breathing space, mental space, green space... a place to escape space.

I love never being bored. More importantly, I love that the opportunities still exist, at my age, for me to continue to pursue my two passions in life, dance and music. I'm not sure I love the feeling of utter exhaustion I experience every day from my chosen desire to jam-pack my days, but it's definitely one sacrifice that's been more than worth it.

I love the people I work with and the family-like environment they've welcomed me into, but man do I miss the people I care about most. I can't express how much I miss the great company of my amazing friends, having my sister be by my side as a motivating factor in an intense dance class, going shopping with my partner-in-crime... my Mom has an eye for deals unlike anyone I know, and talking shop (i.e. cars) over coffee at Timmy's with my Dad.

So do I love New York? Yes I do... you have to to be able to survive in this town when you're on your own. What I don't love... not having the presence of my family and friends within arms reach distance to lean on. I know the support is there though, and is just a phone call or e-mail or perhaps a visit away, which means more than anything. So with each passing day, I'm adjusting to change and learning to accept a completely different lifestyle than what I've known for years. Time will tell if my 'love' for this city will keep me here after my internship is complete. But since I don't have to make that decision for awhile yet, for the time being, I'll continue to make the most of this once in a lifetime adventure... accepting the good and tolerating the bad, as I fulfill my personal reasons for being here and explore what else it is that I'm looking for.

It was a very exciting weekend for me to be able to reunite with some familiar faces from home; the ever-fantastic Darka and Brad, my mentors from Bottom Line Productions!

Turtle-or-Treat

October 27, 2007

Ahhhh Halloween... brings back such fond memories of one's childhood doesn't it? The afternoon dress-up parties at school complete with those Safeway cookies shaped like bats with lots of orange sprinkles; having to create not one, but two costumes for the spooktacular day - one to model during the day in class, another that would allow for a snowsuit to fit under at night; making the very first stop of a really long night of trick-or-treating at the 'cool house'... that being the one that gave out REAL chocolate bars - the full size ones; and alas remembering Halloween as the day that I first snuck into a bar underage... ahem... no secret here... I recall my mom drove me, even waiting in the car on Whyte Ave to make sure I got in ok, and my sister high-fiving me in front of the bouncer upon my sneaky entrance.

Well Halloween came a little early for me this year... having celebrated it today at Turtle Bay with our annual Haunted Open House. The ghoulish fun-for-all-ages event was free and open to the public, with a large portion of our turnout being the Schools' students and local families from in and around the community. From pumpkin decorating, face painting and meet-the-instrument trick-or-treating, we had an overwhelming turn-out that made the event a huge success. Wrapping up the afternoon was an interactive concert featuring a dual piano performance of Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals. After fourteen musical movements and hundreds of kiddies bouncing off the walls on a sugar-high, a whole new meaning to the title of that piece was evident in our concert hall.

What a relief that Halloween is, for the most part, done for another year... which in my books really only means one thing... time to start pulling out the Christmas decorations! Well, in my case, my whole one decoration which I already have out, a Seussical style Whoville tree. Hey, it's never too early for a little holiday cheer.

Little Bo Peep and some Turtles as her Sheep

Horti-what?

October 21, 2007

Having been couped up in the dark indoors for the past three days, thanks to my having to nurse a stomach flu, an unbelievably long lasting migraine and to wrap it up, another sinus cold, I was exceedingly restless to just get out of the apartment, get a real breath of fresh air, take in some conspicuous scenery and enjoy the continued trend of 'summer' weather here on the east coast.

Not wanting to stay in the city on such a glorious day, I ventured out to The Bronx. No, I was not headed to Yankee Stadium... due to an unfortunate lack of post-season action there wasn't much reason to, and no, I was not about to embark on a round of search efforts for Jenny from the Block. Instead, I went to one place that anyone who knows me, would be rather surprised to learn of my visit. Yes, you guessed it... The New York Botanical Garden. To be completely honest, I know absolutely nothing when it comes to horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture or any other '...culture' for that matter. That probably explains why I do such a poor job of keeping any purchased flower alive for more than two days... let alone plants! Oopps, you mean I'm also supposed to water them Mom? Not just rotate them in the sun?

So if I was going to learn anything about horticulture ever, I made the opportune decision to visit the garden on one of the best possible weekends... opening weekend of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum. Expert horticulturists spend years perfecting the rigorous, meticulous, time-consuming and demanding skills necessary for cultivating and exhibiting kiku. And I just happened to stumble upon one the most extensive displays of chrysanthemums grown in the Imperial style ever presented outside of Japan.

Ozukuri ("thousand bloom"): a single plant is trained to produce up to 300 or more flowers
Ogiku: a single large blossom balanced atop a tall stem

Kengai: a cascade of small-flowered chrysanthemums grown on and supported by a bamboo and wire-framework that can stretch the branches six-and-a-half feet away from the plant's roots

Bonsai ("plants growing in a tray"): the ancient Japanese art of growing mature but miniature trees and shrubs in containers

So with a market on practically every street corner selling beautiful flowers, I had no excuse to not put myself up to the challenge of seeing if I can keep a bundle of flowers alive until the next time I get sick (which could be a lot sooner than I think). Don't ask me what kind I purchased though... remember, I am oblivious to knowing the names of any. I just picked out the prettiest ones.

Bamboo Installation

I love lilypads!

An eye-catching arrangement in the water

A Pretty in Pink Plant

Colors of Fall

Rockefeller Rose Garden

Inside the Haupt Conservatory The Bronx River

What's that Screeching Noise?

October 15, 2007

Every year I like to try and learn something new. Last year I attempted snowboarding and what an experience that was. Having only ever skied twice in my life beforehand, I was banking on my rather reliable degree of balance to carry me through. But after taking two and a half hours to complete a five-mile trail, and experiencing far too many wipeouts than I'd care to relive, perhaps the transferability of balance learned in ballet class didn't completely cut it in my gracefully carving, goofy foot forward, down the powdered mountain. Or maybe I was just distracted by the instructor of my snowboarding lesson earlier in the day... a hottie New Zealander who certainly had an accent to chin-dive for... perhaps even powder burn for!

Being anything but close to mountains these days, I figured now would be as good a time as ever to learn the violin. Having put on hold my desire to play this instrument for quite some time, working at a respected music school with an amazingly talented faculty definitely puts me in the best possible position to alas try my 'something new' for this year. I spent a good chunk of my weekend admiring my new instrument, very anxious to meet the bow to the strings to see what kind of delightful sounds I could produce. Well, I found out today in my very first lesson that the sounds were far from delightful. My 'music' aired moreso on the side of fingernails screeching down a chalkboard. By the likely disgusted look on my face, my instructor ensured me it was supposed to sound that way. A special timbre she called it, the result of playing a note without the damping action of a finger on the string. Pfewpf! She must know what she's talking about afterall, having been a principal violist with the Juilliard Symphony.

Time will tell if the violin and I are a good match. If it doesn't work out I may have to re-think my 'try' ambitions for the upcoming year and stick with what I'm accustomed to. Give me til Christmas time... if I go beyond mastering my initial goal of memorizing the notes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to be able to also play Jingle Bells, then I think this could quite possibly be a match made in violin heaven!

Maybe one day I'll play at a level that will afford me one of these! What a sweet Christmas present that would be!

Boost Without the Bull...

October 9, 2007

er... Red Bull that is.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. New York is the true definition of exhaustion. And after only 6 weeks of living the unbelievably fast Manhattan pace of life, I have to admit that some days I've struggled to catch my breath. Even on days that I do feel like I've completely caught up to myself, my mind begins racing so quickly, absorbing every ounce of my concentrated surroundings, that not even lunch-hour yoga classes can fully clear my head or attempt to maintain my sane and focused mentality!

The Thanksgiving/Columbus Day long weekend could not have come at a better time. Though it was a tempting opportunity for me to catch up on some much-needed sleep, I instead made a quick trip up to Toronto to spend some quality time with my family. Having not seen my sister or parents for a couple of months, I felt like I was coming home from college for the first time, desperately anxious for a re-charger hug from a loved one, as a means of re-energizing myself to deal with and survive the at-times suffocating vibe of The Big Apple.

Rest and relaxation will just have to wait until Christmas... so can the turkey. Our weekend was jam-packed checking out all the touristy sights that the great city of Toronto has to offer. As our personal tourguide, Jess with itinerary in hand (I taught her well!), took us galavanting through her new home city. We visited the historic Distillery District, window shopped on Queen Street, strolled through Cabbagetown, and lingered along the harbourfront. It was a rather busy weekend exploring what can be called Canada's version of New York and it couldn't have been with better company. We were all smiles, thankful for having the opportunity to be together on a special holiday... I hope. Or else we were all just really happy to still be wearing our summer clothes! Something completely unheard of back in Alberta for this time of year!

I'm back in New York now, feeling renewed and refreshed to get through the next couple of months before I return home for the holidays... wherever home is these days. No surprise here though that a few ounces of the ever-present sensation of sluggishness still exists. Good thing I picked up a Red Bull on my way home from the airport... it can be a real life-saver sometimes.

Beautiful lush greenery with a distant view of downtown and the CN tower

How sweet would it be to live in one of those condos!

The Royal Ontario Museum Striking flowers in St. James Park The shops and galleries of The Distillery Historic District

Woodbine Beach
The perfect fall day in Toronto
Making leaf angels!
A sailboat breezes by the Fire Rescue boat Sister's reunite!

Rockstar Turtles

October 5, 2007

An album release party. Check. One more cool event to add to my list of New York City firsts!

Last night was an exciting night for two members of our tiny 'turtle' family. To celebrate the hard work and amazing talent of my fellow co-workers, I ventured down to the Lower East Side to show my support for starnes&shah, a trio in fact, based out of Astoria, Queens, whom yesterday released their debut album Summer in the Woodshed.

In an area that breathes a strong ethnic flavor of diversity and a unique bohemian-esque spirit, the Lower East Side features narrow lively streets lined with some of the city's best small music venues. One being 'The Living Room', the aptly appropriate host venue for this special performance event featuring a diverse band of fine musicians with a unique mellow sound. This band is definitely on their way up, and to think I have my very own (signed) copy of their limited-edition album! I'm so lucky.

What a great night of some beautifully captivating music. Starnes&shah really know how to rock it out, in a very folk-rock way that only rising star turtles can. They sure made us little turtles proud.

Check 'em out at starnesandshah.com or myspace.com/starnesandshah

Dania Abu-Shaheen - Singer, Songwriter, GuitaristVocalist Zilpha Starnes on the keyboard