Number Three

Let me entertain you

“There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter—the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last—the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion. And whether it is a farmer arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh yes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company. 
from “Here Is New York” by E.B. White

I think E.B. White said it best, I am proud to be Number Three, in E.B. Whites words, "I am the greatest". I have come to New York with hopes and dreams of living a new way of life, starting over and embracing all that's unfamiliar, I am on a journey. I have always dreamed of living here so why not now? When life hands you lemons, make lemonade, right? Whether it be the real thing or the metaphor, I can make the best dang lemonade you have ever experienced. It just takes the right amount of each ingredient but it's also in how you manipulate each one of those ingredients. Did you know that if you put the lemons in the microwave and warm them, they will soften and give you more out of each lemon?

I'm all settled in the new digs, I have set myself up with a routine that lets me do all the things I came here to do. I wake up each day, go to my computer and get on to the job search. This is part one of my  journey, prioritized at the top. I think about each position I apply for and think what it would be like to work there. I just applied to manage a photo studio at Ralph Lauren and with each click of the application process, I am thinking, this would be a dream! I love clothes, love photography, I can style a photo shoot with clarity and finesse and can manage a process and streamline like nobody's business. I think about my first blog and wonder, will I be standing on a Ralph Lauren rug? So goes the application process.

At about 1:00pm, I have done all I can from the inside, so it's off to see what I can learn and find in Manhattan. That is where I live, easily accessible, so that is the borough I'm starting with. One of the things I love most, are the pigeons. They are category one in E.B.Whites definition. I know everybody else hates them but they are the best fricking tour guide in NYC. Forget the tour busses, follow the pigeons! I know they know this joint like nobody's business, so I follow the pigeons-eye view. Don't start thinking I'm the crazy pigeon lady, I'm not on a quest to feed them or covet them. I just like the grace and the uninhibited air about them. They are persistent and make no bones about belonging here. Also, I am not the first one to do this, really...Auto pilots needed a birds-eye view so they trained pigeons to fly through artificial forests with a tinny camera attached to their heads to see how they fly so quickly and accurately through dense forests in order to inform navigation technology design. Good enough for them, it's good enough for me. Next time you use that fancy navigation app on your phone, thank a pigeon. 

I love a good long walk, clears the mind and lifts my spirits. I have walked from Central Park to Wall Street, and not straight down. I walk east and west, visit both villages and everything in between in quest of learning all I can about this great city. Art abounds here and one of the greatest critics, you guessed it, the pigeon. Don't believe me? Here ya go!

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/30/a.birds.eye.view.art

If it were not for the pigeons, I would never have seen this amazing reflection on this building. I was in awe of this unintended, purely non assisted piece of art, and thankful it was brought to my attention.

I wondered down to Zuccotti Park to see what all the fuss was about. I wanted to see what it meant to "occupy" a public space. In all it's craziness and the hoopla, I would never have thought to take in this view of the sculpture,  Joie de Vivre, without the assistance of  my trusty tour guide. And from what I observed, it was the pigeon that best understood the sculpture and the true meaning of "Joy of Life".

NYC, a plethora of the most amazing, stately, grand old buildings from every era of it's existence. Each one a piece of Art. What happened to this kind of craftsmanship? Again, following my guides, the most intriguing, fanciful building were on this guided tour (bless the zoom on the iPhone 4S).

So, just saying...they do "Have an App For That", it's called NYArtBeat and you can buy it for 1.99.  I personally, would take the money and buy a bag of those honey roasted peanuts, and enjoy them as I let the pigeons be my guide.

Jo Ann

All photography by me shot on the iPhone 4S.