After yesterday, I’m trying to come to terms with how my life has lurched in a different direction to the one I’d foreseen this time last year. So I thought it might be interesting to have a guess at where I’m heading next. Which means I was easily lured by the gaudy sign above a Nolita doorway reading: …
Read MoreCategory / Classes
March 16, 2013
…cooked an Indian Banquet
Since living in New York, Seamless has taken a hefty chunk of my pay check. But today I rekindled my love for cooking with a course in London. And there’s no modesty here: The results were impressive. Mummy Warren and I headed to Acton to create an Indian Banquet under the instruction of Angela Malik. …
Read MoreMarch 13, 2013
…toured the Scottish Parliament
Last night when I was wondering what to do today, my friend Neil kindly offered to show me around the Scottish Parliament, where he works for Alex Neil, the health minister and the MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) for Airdrie and Shotts. After taking him up on his offer, I’m now convinced Neil also works …
Read MoreMarch 9, 2013
…had a personal juice bar tasting
One of my roommates came home early this morning wearing work out gear, carrying a dubious-coloured smoothie and grinning from ear to ear. She told me I had to try the juice bar around the corner and seeing as I’ve a grim head cold and needed to squeeze in a quick ‘new thing’ today before …
Read MoreMarch 7, 2013
…took a Zumba class
I’ve always thought of Zumba as a bit of a fad and not much more – definitely not something I’d ever try. But over the last couple of weeks as I’ve been writing about Zumba (in not a very flattering light, unfortunately), I realised it was something new I could give a go. And after a single session, …
Read MoreMarch 6, 2013
…had a PB&J
Us Brits may be superior at tea and socialised healthcare, but Americans have really nailed the sandwich. So while I was munching on jam sandwiches in front of Sesame Street 20+ years ago, my genius U.S. counterparts had thrown some peanut butter on theirs. There have been audible gasps when I’ve dared to admit I’ve never had a peanut butter …
Read MoreMarch 3, 2013
…went on a graffiti tour
While I’ve admired a lot of street art since being in New York, I’ve always seen tags and sprayed names as a sloppy mess on the city’s streets. But today, after taking a great graffiti tour, I can finally appreciate their origins and purpose. The walking tour was hosted by Grafftours and snaked through the East Village, Lower East …
Read MoreMarch 1, 2013
…went to a kinky film festival
Tonight I went Anthology Film Archives in the East Village to Cinekink, an annual film festival celebrating the sexually diverse and perverse. After looking at the week’s line up, I decided to head to ‘Sexing the Transman’, a documentary about the sex lives of transgender men that was written and directed by female-to-male transsexual porn …
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2013
…devised a Subway art tour
Whenever I’m using the subway, I’m in a rush. My head is always down – either to gawk at my phone or to avoid eye contact with the creeper in the corner. But when I looked up for a brief moment at 23rd Street last week, I realised that there were hats painted on the …
Read MoreFebruary 26, 2013
…tried Malaysian food
Every month, I meet Katia, a university friend, for a gossip over sushi – and we accidentally get very, very drunk. Before our date tonight, I said that we had to forgo the sushi for something I’d never had before. Scouring the mid-way point between Katia’s Upper East Side pad and my SoHo spot (which …
Read MoreFebruary 25, 2013
…went to a play reading
It’s been a while since I went to the theatre, and tonight I witnessed it in a format I never have before: a simple reading. The presentation of Father Unknown by Daniel Reitz was held on a stark, dark stage at The Ensemble Studio Theatre (hurrah for British spelling) on 52nd and 10th Ave.
Read MoreFebruary 17, 2013
…watched the Chinese New Year Parade
Events celebrating Chinese New Year have been held across New York for a week now (including my dim sum making last Sunday), but today they reached a dramatic, colourful conclusion with the parade. The event was very nearly right on my doorstep. Furry dragons, sequined snakes and lantern-adorned floats left Chinatown, bobbed along Mott Street (parallel to …
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2013
…went to Williamsburg Fashion Weekend
I’ve drunk a few too many cherry vodka-flavored soda water cranberry things, so this will be short and sweet. But you know what I learned tonight? That – if I hadn’t already predicted it – the Williamsburg Fashion Weekend is a bit weird. We gathered in The Space on N 3rd and Wythe to see …
Read MoreFebruary 12, 2013
…went to Westminster Kennel Club dog show
Another day, another bizarre activity. Tonight it was entering the surprisingly exhilarating world of dog shows. I headed to Madison Square Garden to watch the second and final night of the annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show, and I was immediately sucked in. For three hours, I joined the rest of the crowd in gasping …
Read MoreFebruary 11, 2013
…went cycling at a disco
Because sitting at my desk for 11 hours a day isn’t enough, I decided to sit for an extra hour tonight. But this is was the most intense sitting of my life: SoulCycle. SoulCycle is a bizarre concept, but perfect for New York. It involves around 70 cycling machines in a very warm room, some very loud music …
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2013
…went to boot camp
Five weeks into doing a new thing every day and I’m starting to realise some things. Who knew that I’d take to martial arts? Or that spiritual stuff doesn’t always get my goat? Tonight I went to a boot camp – but in place of monkey bars, jump ropes and truck tyres, there were bare …
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2013
…watched the Super Bowl
Tonight I dunked chips in dip, swilled beer, oohed at the halftime show, groaned at the commercials and yelled at the players – just like a true American. And you know what? I still don’t understand football.
Read MoreJanuary 30, 2013
…detected some lies
You all love my blog, right? Well, now I’ll finally know the truth. Tonight I went to a lie-detecting class hosted by The Nonverbal Group in Midtown. The three-hour workshop whizzed through the basics, but here is some of the most I interesting stuff I learned:
Read MoreJanuary 29, 2013
…learned how to kick ass
Mayor Bloomberg may always be reminding us that New York is the ‘safest big city in the U.S.’, but it still has a lot of dark corners. So I thought it might not be a bad idea to learn some moves to protect myself – just in case.
Read MoreJanuary 27, 2013
…meditated
I had no idea how many things could go through your mind in ten minutes. In the time I was supposed to be concentrating on my breathing at my beginners meditation class, my phone bill, John Kerry, these French-singing cats and how I really, really wanted a Diet Coke all crept into my mind instead. …
Read MoreJanuary 24, 2013
…ate a jicama
Tonight Dylan and I went to friends in South Slope for dinner and as I foraged for deserts at the supermarket, I came across a jicama – an ugly, stout root veg with a bizarre stringy part protruding from its top. I’d never had one before. When I took it along to dinner, I learned that not only is the …
Read MoreJanuary 19, 2013
…escaped to Alcatraz
Perhaps it’s my job as a reporter. It could be my obsession with the Investigation Discovery channel. Or maybe it’s just sick human nature. Whatever the reason, when I planned my trip to the west coast, visiting Alcatraz was right at the top of the list. This morning, I caught the 9 a.m. ferry from …
Read MoreJanuary 14, 2013
…learned to play the cello
I know, I know, pretty impressive. My friend Jane (who I’m staying with on an island off Washington state) gave me a cello lesson this morning, and after initially struggling to balance the bow in my grip, I eventually managed to play a scale. You can’t see it on the footage, but minutes later I …
Read MoreJanuary 12, 2013
…went to a Gyrotonics class
I seem to have done a fair amount of eating and not a lot of exercise since starting this project – not very New Yorker of me. So to ease me back into the new year after a gluttonous holiday season, I signed up for a Gyrotonics class at the SoHo Living Room. The machine …
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