Oh yeah. This is the guy who helped us find our great new apartment. If you’re looking to rent or buy in New York, call him.
John McCabe
Douglas Elliman
3 East 54th Street
New York, NY 10022
212 350-8527
jmccabe@elliman.com
I slept at Brians, again, and we and couldn’t sleep, between the excitement and the coffee (we went to Rafaella with Nikki last night and had coffee at midnight). D’oh.
After a stop at Starbucks, at which I got a gingerbread latte, Brian and I went and looked at the apartment at 9 o’clock this morning (which is in itself amazing; my Brian is not a morning person).
He loved it. (I was wrong; there is an apartment he can love.)
Check it out:
So we applied to rent the apartment, and as of about an hour ago, our broker called to let us know “everything is in order,” that we will sign a lease tomorrow, and that I should go get certified checks!
We’re so excited! It was a big step in the relationship to go ahead and do this, but it feels great (as well as maybe a little scarey) to both of us. Particularly for Brian, this is HUGE. I’m very happy, and I think Brian is, too.
Even better, we got it done this year, before I start a new job. We probably won’t be able to move in until January 9, which is the day I start my new job, but we’ll deal.
Yay!
I just looked at a great apartment. Brian and I are going back at 9 tomorrow morning. 2 real bedrooms, a great kitchen and a huge living room, 2 bathrooms, in the heart of Chelsea.
I hope my pessimism was wrong.
Details tomorrow.
… ain’t no luck, I learned to duck!
Check out this comment, from a guy, Joe Dandrea, who I knew from “the scene” (such as it was) on Long Island 20 years ago. He was involved in a series of gay publications, if memory serves, and I remember being in awe of him.
He was searching for David Zuch (my boyfriend 22 years ago … I’m 5th in the Google rankings for the term “David Zuch”) and landed here. Cool, huh! Blogs bring people together! (This is a good example of the community-building properties of blogging.)
Joe is living down in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and is about to launch his own site, AsburyPark.com. He’s using WordPress, too!
Anyway, Joe ended his comment with this, which moved me:
It’s always wonderful — considering AIDS and all — to find someone from 20 years ago posting a blog or being mentioned in a blog as David was a couple of days ago.
If you know that an apartment is available for rent, it has already been rented. (Refer to the uncertainty principle in quantum physics.)
By the way, if anybody knows of a fabulous 2-bedroom apartment in Chelsea, the West Village, or the Upper West Side, please contact me. I will reward you.
Looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
Looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
I don’t want to buy it
I just want to rent it for an hour or two
Transit strike
I’m getting into the spirit of the transit strike!
Because she won’t be able to get back to Queens, Brian’s friend Nikki is staying in my apartment tonight. She and Brian are hanging out this evening, then she’s going to sleep here and I’m going to sleep with Brian. Nikki is visiting New York from her home in LA. (Nikki is on the left, and Brian is on the right, in the picture below.)
That means that in the next couple of hours I’m going to change the linens, clean the toilet, make the house smell nice, and put a mint on the pillow.
Other than that, the strike has not had a tremendous impact on my life. I’m still not working, because redundant employees don’t work during transit strikes. I’m getting around by bicycle, so at least I’m mobile.
I wonder what it’s going to be like to drive to Fort Lee to see my parents for Chanukkah and their anniversary this weekend.
Apartment hunting
I’m committed to finding an apartment, and having signed a lease, by the end of the year. But there’s a change — I’m not obsessing about it, and it’s ok with me if it happens next year (although it will be harder once I start a new job I care about). This change is making Brian happier and a lot more relaxed, which is good for me.
I spoke to a new broker today, and told him what we’re looking for, and he was all excited about apartments he had to show us. He said he would make appointments for us to see two apartments today, and call back, but then he never called back. (It’s like my friend Paul says about men in Chelsea. “I’ll call back” means “I won’t call back.” Maybe it’s the same with rental brokers.) Maybe he’ll call back tomorrow. This guy said we have a good shot at a good deal because of the strike, but maybe he wasn’t able to make appointments because nobody is at work. We’ll see.
The first broker just called, however, and has a fabulous new listing in Chelsea, which we’ll see tonight or first thing in the morning. We’ll see if this one evaporates before we even get to see it and if it’s really fabulous. I’m waiting to hear from him about whether it’s tonight or tomorrow. Apparently the listing broker doesn’t have the doorman’s number, but I could ride over there and get it. We’re waiting to hear from the listing broker.
If you’ve been reading my blog this week, you know that I had some trouble with Blogger, which motivated me to replace it. That’s why I started using WordPress.
I imported the contents of my Blogger blog today, so I’m officially and completely done with Blogger. If you were linking to one of my old permalinks, your link is broken. Sorry.
I also lost my old comments, which makes me sad.
The import process was easy. The default blogger import tool that came with WordPress didn’t work, but I found that Andy Skelton provided a fixed script and good instructions.
I’m playing with WordPress themes, so the appearance of the site may change from time to time. A WordPress theme allows a blog administrator to quickly change the way the blog looks. All you have to do is upload the theme (which is just a bunch of files) to the server, then select it in the WordPress administration tool. The content of the blog comes through unchanged. It’s very cool.
My life as a gay Deadhead is one of the things this blog talks about from time to time.
Have I mentioned how I met my ex, with whom I spent 14 years? We originally met in the second row of a Grateful Dead show in 1988.
In addition, since the search engines hit me when someone searches for “Gay Deadhead,” a couple of people have gotten in touch.
I welcome hearing from people who might enjoy being in touch with someone who self describes as a gay Deadhead. Click here for my contact information.
The Shire = Chelsea. I started referring to Chelsea as The Shire early this year. I want to see if I ever hear it spoken back to me by a stranger (i.e., I’m trying to propagate a meme). Feel free to play along.
From Wikipedia:
The Shire was settled by Hobbits in the year 1601 of the Third Age (Year 1 in Shire Reckoning). The Hobbits (who originally lived in the vale of Anduin) had migrated west over the perilous Misty Mountains in the decades before that, and before entering The Shire they had lived in Dunland and parts of the depopulated Arnorian splinter-realms Cardolan and Rhudaur. It has been speculated that the Hobbits had originally moved west to escape the evils of Mirkwood, and the trouble caused by the Easterlings.
Sort of like the gay neighborhood used to be the West Village, until we got priced out of there and Chelsea became the hot gay neighborhood.
Its small size, relative lack of importance, and brave and resilient Hobbit population made it too modest an objective for conquest. More important was that the Shire was guarded and protected by the Dúnedain Rangers, who watched the borders and kept out intruders. The only strangers to enter the Shire were the Dwarves travelling on the Great Road that ran through the Shire to and from their mines in the Blue Mountains, and the occasional Elves on their way to the Grey Havens.
Chelsea is, of course, in the process of being conquered by real estate developers and rich straight people, who are making it harder to live here on one or two modest salaries.
The Shire is described as a small but beautiful and fruitful land, beloved by its inhabitants.
Besides, and most importantly, I loved the depiction of the Hobbits in the first Lord of the Rings movie. I was moved by the way they all seemed to like each other and enjoy each other’s company, by the way they loved to eat, drink and party. It reminded me of Chelsea on a good day.
Redundant is apparently how people in Britain, or in its former colonies in which people speak with an accent different than mine, refer to people who have been laid off. Since they are redundant, i.e., unnecessarily repetitive, the cure is to eliminate them. Sort of like having two photocopiers when you only need one. Here’s an example of the usage, from Australia.
To an IT professional, such as myself, redundancy is a good thing. It makes systems less susceptible to failure (even if components fail).
I hate the way these Britishisms permeate the atmosphere at my company.
The Britishisms started after our acquisition from State Street in February, 2002. The Friday before the acquisition, we were normal. The Monday following the acquisition, emails and phonecalls ended with “cheers.” ICK.
The only real “insiders” are from England or Australia, but mostly England. A smarter person might have realized the company has little commitment to its operations in the USA.
I can’t wait for my last paycheck to clear, so I can mention the name of the dysfunctional mess that employs me, especially since I will not be bound by the severance agreement not to do so (since I have no intention of signing the severance agreement).
Maybe tomorrow if I’m bored I’ll give you some more details about the problems with the severance agreement, the company’s intent not to honor their own language, and the shame of the 30% of my 2004 bonus that was withheld to foster “employee retention” and which they won’t pay out unless I stay until February 28. I think the prudent thing to do was find a job as soon as possible, rather than rely on the severance, and that’s what I did. Since I am “redundant,” I’d think a menschlikhkeit company wouldn’t withhold the money I earned two years ago, but let’s remember what we’re dealing with here. I did point out today that my new company has domestic partner benefits (which these homobphobes refuse to do) and still manages to be profitable.
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