The Hood

Catie recently confirmed that I can stay in her apartment through the month of June, which is a huge and utter relief. The idea of moving all of my possessions to a new place sometime during my six-month stint in New York was obviously quite stressful. But mainly I just really like where I am staying. The apartment is charming, and I am actually developing a nice routine around the neighborhood. I've figured out where the best laundry is, at what times I won't have to wait in line for an hour at Trader Joe's, and that the pork-and-chive "recession-priced" dumplings advertised at Vanessa's Dumplings on 14th Street are indeed priced to move ($1.49 for five) and delectable.

Amai, the tea joint up the street, is my favorite place in the neighborhood. I try to go there every day before work to Breathe Deeply and check email for half an hour before the craziness of the day sets in. Amai sells something like fifty kinds of tea, and I plan to try them all. I might actually go broke in the process, because tea and scones there are priced as if made of Pure Gold. Catie told me that she has seen Ethan Hawke at Amai, which impressed me deeply. Also, she reported that some main actor from Law and Order comes there daily.

So I'm at Amai currently, thinking about all of the stars that Catie has seen here, and seriously I am so bad with faces that I would never know if someone famous were ordering a cup of Malty Assam in front of me. I generally only see duos of artsy-looking, middle-aged women here discussing their children, their love lives, book recommendations. But wait! One of the women sitting at the table next to me (edgy haircut and glasses, check; Zabar's bag, check) just told her companion that she is currently "running a shoot" for Law and Order! I do not know what this means. I very un-stealthily eavesdrop to glean more information. Something about shooting schedules. Her job seems also to involve Ugly Betty, which is kind of interesting. Sigh. Where the hell is Ethan Hawke?