2.18.2008

keith


keith, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

and this is keith. keith is loud, likes to contribute to my rampant beer consumption, makes me use wrenches i don't know how to use, and is generally a drama queen. he's also fiercely loyal, a great friend, and totally hysterical.

taken in stephanie's apartment.

2.14.2008

alex


alex, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

this is alex with a lime in his mouth. it was his birthday yesterday. alex is my very good friend from high school, and now he's completing some kind of ridiculously ambitious degree at columbia. He's in new york now, so that's all that matters to me.

taken at the ship.

2.13.2008

395


395, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

This is in the kitchen of the new apartment. Cousin-Jack-the-architect-on-the-graff-side and I aren't quite sure what it is, but we think it's really cool and we want to try and keep it there.

also read that Polaroid is going to stop making instant film. Help me stock up. Please.

i thought this was interesting: an old article in new york magazine about only children.



I'm exhausted, but can't sleep. Just wish I was with my family right now.

taken in the new apartment.

2.11.2008

steinway basement


steinway basement, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

It's kind of blurry and hard to see because it was so dark when i took the picture, but this is the basement of the Steinway showroom on 57th st. Row after row of pianos, all different sizes and key weights and colors. Hundreds of different people have played on these pianos, some of them are signed on the inside.

My father talks about wandering through this basement, picking the piano he wanted to play for his recital at Carnegie Hall. He wound up using the piano they already had, as the pianos there were out of his price range at the time.
I have rarely seen my father as happy as I saw him the night I took this picture. There was a party for an old recording studio he worked at quite frequently during the 60s and 70s. He was surrounded by old dear friends, some he hadn't seen since his wedding, laughing and drinking and having a wonderful time, reliving old stories and creating new ones. He played a little bit that night, and dazzled everyone (of course).
Few people who meet him ever forget my father. He has a profound effect on his family and friends, and though sometimes he's not sure why, I understand. One day I'll find some decent words and explain it.

taken on 57th st.

2.08.2008

mags


mags, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

this is Maggie, my very best friend from high school. She is one of the most brilliant people I have ever met in my life, which is why harvard is paying her to go there right now. She has the innate ability to make you feel like you're the only person in the room when she talks to you. We know eleven years worth of our secrets, most of them whispered in dark rooms in the middle of the night with music on- the way gangly awkward teenage girls tend to share secrets. I love her more than words.

2.06.2008

mitz


mitz, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

mitz's first big night bartending at the ship. i had to document it. and then there were cheese fries. you can never go wrong with cheese fries.

82nd and 2nd ave.

2.04.2008

properly ordering delivery

To anyone who orders delivery, here are a few tips to expedite the process- from your friendly phone-answering type.


1. Know EXACTLY what you want, modifications and all, before you pick up the phone. Don't put me on hold to scream across the apartment at your wife. Write it down if you have to. I won't waste your time if you don't waste mine.
1a. Have a backup or two in mind in case the kitchen is out of something.

2. If you are paying by credit card and you do not have your number memorized, have the card out and ready BEFORE you pick up the phone.

3. Speak clearly into the phone. Do not sound annoyed if I verify some information, because the last thing I want is your whiny high-maintenance ass calling me back to scream at me because I couldn't understand what you were saying. I have a very loud air conditioning unit, six other phone lines ringing, the prep kitchen BLASTING music, and managers screaming at each other in a myriad of languages all going on behind me. Speak up.
3a. Put your children in another room before you order. I can't hear you mumble over their crying.
3b. Don't be offended when I put you on hold. I'm the only person answering phones down here, and everyone on the phone is as rude, whiny and high-maintenance as you are. Get over it.

4. I do not control the speed at which your food comes out. That is entirely up to the kitchen. Do not order something complicated, like lasagna or steak, and then call me back ten minutes later wondering where your food is. Don't lie to me about how long it's been, either. I can see on my screen exactly when your order went in. You don't know how busy the restaurant is or how backed up the kitchen might be. When I tell you it's going to take 30-45 minutes, don't give me a long whiny sigh and then ask me to "tell them to hurry up because I'm hungry." If you're that hungry, go to McDonald's.
4a. I also do not control the menu. Don't yell at me because of something we no longer have on the menu. I'm sorry that it was your favorite, but it is not my fault. Call corporate and bitch at them if you care so much.

5. Have a sense of humor. I'm a real person on the other end of this phone. I have a college degree and ambitions of my own. I don't do this job because I love it, I do this job because I need a job. They barely pay me enough to cover my electric bill, let alone deal with your crap. My hair is grey enough already at 24, please don't make it worse.

6. Last, and certainly the most important:
Tip your delivery guys. Tip them in cash, preferably. Tip them well. They're supporting families on what you give them, they're bringing people into this country who want desperately to be here. They're hardworking and wonderful. They are, in essence, your servers for this meal, only they're running many blocks through all kinds of HORRIFIC weather and freezing cold to bring you your dinner. If you make enough money to order $170 worth of food, then please tip your delivery guy more than that crumpled $3 you had at the bottom of your pocket. Treat them like the decent human beings they are. Some of the tipping I've seen is atrocious and nearly heartbreaking. I talk to these guys every day, I hear their stories. Every delivery guy has a story, a family, a reason to work hard. Give them the respect they deserve.



that said, you'll get your food in 30-45 minutes. thank you!

2.03.2008

anthony david adams


anthony david adams, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

here's your damn polaroid, anthony.


everyone else go to creditcovers.com!


anthony is a pioneer. his brain moves faster than anyone i've ever met. a million ideas a minute. he's gonna run the world one day- moreso than he already does.

taken at elmo.

2.01.2008

red tights


red tights, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

this is me, pretty much in classic embarrassment mode. i hide my face in my hair a lot.

i think i've had those tights since the sixth or seventh grade. i don't know why they still fit, either.

taken by mitzi in her living room. that's her sweater, too.

brian!


brian!, originally uploaded by tenpolaroids.

brian called me the other day. he was supposed to be in memphis, but he was at the barney's in my neighborhood instead. we went to pinkberry in the freezing rain, then curled up in my room and caught up, since i hadn't seen him in many months. i once had to catapult myself over brian's head into the splits in a show. that bonds two people.

taken in my bedroom.