What I Should Have Said: Awkward Encounter at Fundraiser

I volunteered at a fundraiser for college scholarships. My friend organized it and it was a lovely evening (kudos to Alyssa).

But I experienced something that I thought, "Hmmm...I want to write about this on my blog."

So I was seated at a table with some random people. Always a good opportunity to practice my people skills. There was a guy sitting next to me who had that look in his eye. Like he was happy to see me. The only way I can describe it is Hungry Eyes? He turned to me and said something like, "Well. Hello. I don't think we've met." I was feeling a little awkward. A little stared at by the dude. I couldn't figure out if he was there with the woman he was sitting next to. Until I noticed his hand on her leg. So I asked how they met. He said in a park. He was from Austria. At one point he turns to me and says, "Is that your leg touching mine under the table?" I immediately looked under the table in a panic and saw that my leg was nowhere near his. His leg was up against the leg of the table. I said, "Nope. Not me. Sorry to disappoint you."

What is the appropriate thing to do in this situation? I was actually pretty proud that I said the first thing that came to mind. But it really is a difficult situation to be in b/c I want to be a polite dinner socializer, but I also don't want to stir the pot. But give me a break. Oh well. He's European.

What I should of said:

No. That's not my leg. But you are going to feel my leg kickin' you upside your head if you don't chill out. Ha ha.

Celebrity Sighting: Chelsea

It has been a LONG time. I have been super busy at work. This is a very busy season for art galleries. Alot of art fairs going on, etc.

But I figured it wouldn't take me very long to say that I spotted Ethan Hawke in Chelsea on my way to work. He was walking a dog. This is the second time I have seen him. The first time was at my favorite Burrito place in Manhattan--Uncle Moes. Both times I've seen him my heart skipped a beat and he made me blush. What the? I think he just has charisma or something.

But then, the other night my co-worker was jabbing me in the back with her finger and I was like, "What?" Turns out he ran by the gallery with his daughter riding piggy-back and they looked in the gallery as they passed. I missed it. She said she didn't want to be rude and point at him. Maybe someday he will actually come IN the gallery. Now that would be something.

If Tubing is a "White Trash" Activity, Then White Trash I Be!

This last saturday was one of the 2 saturdays I have left before moving back to working Tues-Sat. So I decided that instead of lounging around I would have a bit of an adventure, wake-up at 6:30 AM and go tubing. I rode on a bus for 2.5 hours with a bunch of singles to an unknown destination, which I later learned was Phoenicia, NY. Here our group was instructed in the art of tubing, and we were then sent off on our own down the river.

Growing up in Kansas we used to go on a ride at World's of Fun called, "Fury of the Nile". Well. Tubing was like that. ONLY BETTER! I bit it once and fell off my tube. I was telling a fisherman that there were alot more of us coming down the river and the next thing I knew I was underwater. I tried to look like I meant it to happen. Yeah right.

I didn't want to get behind, so I paddled forward. Soon I ended up with a bunch of strangers in the group ahead of us and so had to wait for some familiar faces. I guess I am a fast tuber.

Needless to say. It was a blast. The only bad part was riding back on the bus in 98 degree weather with no AC and no windows! Here I was trying to look attractive because it was a single's activity. And heat is not exactly my best look. Although I did strip down to my bathing suit and had to hike up my skirt. But redheads in hot weather are not known for being super-cute. We mostly look sick. I said, "If I could name my worst-case scenario. This would be it." Soon the guy next to me started to spout off about how he feels like he is surrounded by negativity and it isn't that bad. Whatever! Can't a person complain if it is justified? When we got back to the city I saw a clock that said it was 98 degrees. And when we stepped off the bus I actually felt COOL! Ah. Well. I survived my worst-case scenario. And probably sweated out alot of toxins in the process. Most importantly, I got some outdoor time and got to reconnect with a couple of friends.

What I Should Have Said: Awkward Encounter at Church III

Well. This time my moment of awkwardness was not in the single's congregation, but at a "traditional" or what I call a "family" congregation. I like to bounce around a bit.

I stayed after church to go to a "Munch and Mingle" where you get to know your fellow church-goers. I was in the room with only one couple. The wife left for a moment leaving just me and her husband. He pointed to his wife and said, "I'm with her. Just so you know and don't hit on me or anything."

Ummmm....my response? Pretend like I didn't hear him.

What I should have said:

"In your dreams."
"You're not my type."
"I don't think YOU have to worry about that."
"I'm not THAT desperate."
"Well. There's always polygamy." (for those of you who don't know, Mormons don't actually practice polygamy anymore.)

Was he making a joke? Maybe. I don't really know the guy. So it made me uncomfortable. To say the least. And it perpetuates the idea that single women can't be friends with married men. Or even talk to them for that matter. When really I am trying to get to know the people there, find friends and connect with fellow human beings. Maybe it is awkward for him because he doesn't know many single women. What he doesn't understand is that many of the men I have been friends with in the past are now married. And they are still my friends. Argh! Perhaps in writing this I sound bitter. But more than anything, I'd like to overcome stereotypes that are placed on me as a single woman. Stereotypes that I've only heard mention of, but never actually knew they existed. Or MAYBE he is so smart, that he knows these stereotypes exist and so was trying to overcome them by using humor.

Adventures in Utah: The Spiral Jetty

During my vacation in Utah I decided to make the trek out to Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty". Smithson was one of the originators of conceptual "Earth Art". You can read more about it on his official web site.

Getting to the Jetty was half the fun. It took us an hour to get over about 9 miles of bumpy roads in my mom's Toyota. We had to walk the last 1/4 mile in the hot sun because the road was too rocky.

This is what the terrain looked like...



My mom and brother got into a fight over the water bottle. The sun was beating down pretty hard on us.



Often the Jetty is covered over by the Salt Lake. Because SLC is in a drought, we were able to see it. There was absolutely no one around, and the lake was perfectly still. The black rocks were crusted with salt crystal and contrasted with the pink color of the Lake.













I spotted this alien-looking shape and upon closer examination realized it was just a small branch covered in salt.







The bottom of the lake was composed completely of Salt. My brother and I ventured out into the lake, and it only went to our mid-calves. We probably could have walked right out to the mountains in the distance. And it is true that you can float--on your back or your stomach. I have never been in such a still body of water. 2 cranes swam up to examine my brother and I. That was the only sign of life. There were small patches of salt floating all along the surface that glowed in the sunlight.



The lake bottom was so salty that the crystals scraped my knee when I tried to rest it on the bottom. You can also see that my leg was covered in Salt when I got out. As was the rest of my body.



Walking back to the car I found this bug preserved in the salt on the beach.



I was sad to leave the Jetty behind knowing that the landscape constantly evolves with the weather and will never be like it was on this day. Especially since it took so much work to get to. I hadn't been out of the city in 7 months prior to this trip. So this experience reminded me that there are so many peculiar places on earth that I haven't seen. This seems obvious, but it's something you forget in the day to day of city-dwellin'. I never fathomed that such a surreal place could exist. Because I live in the city, where no space is left unused, I couldn't believe that this natural wonder simply exists and serves no obvious purpose. Weird!

I definitely need to venture out of the city more often.

A Brief Hiatus

Why the break? Well. I have been on vacation for 2 weeks in Utah. So I have alot of updates to make. And before that my computer was down for a week. I finally had to breakdown and purchase a new hard drive. BUMMER. But now my computer is up and running. More to come . . .

Guess Who Made the News...

Not me. But my gallery is in the Arts section of the Times this week. My job was to ship ALL of the art for the exhibition to our gallery. Not an easy task!

This link will probably not work after a few days. But here it is anyway. THE REVIEW.

My life is rated G

Well. I don't know if this is a sad, or a good thing. But apparently, my life is rated G. You can click on the image below and rate your blog.

Mingle² - Online Dating

How do you pronounce Menomena

I attended a free concert with my friends Mel & Jason (mentioned in previous posts) this last Friday. And while I do not yet have pictures posted, I thought I would introduce my readers to a great band. They provided a fun live performance and the bass player had really nice arms (this is to help you visualize it without pics--not to objectify him). And according to Jason, the drummer was really tight. I was most impressed by his singing voice though. He also looked alot like John Heder (of Napolean Dynamite fame). The band said they were really nervous because it was the largest crowd they'd ever played for. How sweet. Well. I get this feeling it won't be the last. I loved their sound and highly recommend them. They are especially best heard live.

Introducing....

Menomena (pronounced like phenomena--I think). I really like the video posted here for the song, "Wet and Rusting".
Menomena on myspace . . .

No Longer a Kayaking Virgin

Almost a year ago I attended a service auction where you donate a service, receive "Money" for it, and can then bid on services provided by other participants. Jas offered up the "service" of taking the highest bidder on an adventure or his or her choosing, and I was the highest bidder. I know that I am kind of a wimp in the heat, so I decided I'd like to do something in the water....Kayaking! So. It has been hard to coordinate, but over a year later, we finally went kayaking last weekend.

I don't have any pictures from this part of the adventure, because, well, there is water involved so we left the camera behind. I will include a link to the kayaking group we went out with. They allow you to go with them free up to three times, and then ask you to join their kayaking club after that. I definitely recommend it for anyone in the NYC area. But it is best if you can get there by car. Here is a link to the Sebago Canoe Club for more information. I had never been kayaking, so was a little nervous I would get out to sea and not be able to get myself back. But the guides were very considerate, and I feel like I picked it up fairly quickly.

I do have a few pics that Jas, my host-with-the-most, took on our post-kayaking adventure. We picked up his mom somewhere in Brooklyn, and then went to his sister's place somewhere in Brooklyn to clean up for a late lunch. His sister was very kind to let us crash at her place for awhile.

We walked through the most non-New York City neighborhood of charming Victorian homes to a nearby Afghan restaurant. Here are a few pics from the meal. . . .

This was the yummiest appetizer! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It is basically a deep-fried shell with pumpkin-paste inside. (Sounds good right? Well. There is a reason I don't write about food for a profession.)



This was a sampler of beef, lamb and chicken with rice. They were all yummy. But I think I liked the lamb the best.



Here is Jas with Mommy . . .



Here is Jas laughing at one of the many anecdotes I shared at lunch . . .



After lunch, Jordan (a welcome addition to our kayaking crew and childhood friend of Jas) said he was really craving ice cream with sprinkles from an ice cream truck. And low and behold his wish came true . . .



Here is a pic of probably the most beautiful child in Brooklyn (in yellow) with her sister who Jas thought looked kind of mean . . .





After lunch we crashed back at sisses apartment. Jordan did not move from this position for about an hour. The poor guy was tired (as was I--picture me sprawled out on a nearby couch). And while it may look like he is in a compromising position (hand-in-lap) it is actually just the angle.



And finally, here is a farewell photo to thank Jas for taking me on a most excellent summer adventure. Because this expression sums up how I anticipate he will look when he reads this blog entry.

A Rare Photo Opportunity

Often when you get on an empty subway car in New York it usually means that the air conditioning doesn't work. Or it stinks. I hopped on this train and it was empty...just because it was empty. This is a rare opportunity. To have a car all to oneself. Especially for several stops. So I decided to capture it on my camera phone to share this "thrilling" moment. After living here for 3 years, the things that excite me are not so monumental to others. And the things that excite visitors simply get on my nerves.

Celebrity Sighting: Whole Foods Union Square

I'm happy to report that while I was standing in line at Whole Foods I spotted Michael Showalter. Although I couldn't remember his name at the time. Many people know him from a clever little film called, The Baxter. It's very charming.

HOWEVER, what I most loved him on was an MTV comedy show called THE STATE. It had a short run, but it was HE-LARIOUS!

This is not a picture I took of him. BUT, this is what he looked like the day I saw him. Kinda scruffy. And he was with some girl. And this is what I imagine he might have done when he got home from shopping at Whole Foods.

Getting hit on...by cars that is.

We had an opening at work the other night. It was a madhouse! Busy as all get-out. I was standing at the front desk when someone comes running in and says, "Call 911. Someone just got hit by a car." So I of course called 911, but had no idea what I was reporting. So had to yell at my colleague to get answers for the dispatcher on the line. Here are some of the questions she asked...

Is the victim breathing? Yes
Is the victim bleeding? No
Is the vicim conscious? Yes
Is the victim male or female? Female
How old is the victime? 30-40
What is your address?
What is your phone number?
Is the car still on the scene? Yes
What is the license plate number?
What is your name?

I think that was about it. It seemed like alot of questions at the time. She told me to make sure to tell the victim not to move. It took what seemed like an eternity, and the ambulance finally arrived.

Apparently the woman was about to get towed, so she ran out to her car to move it, didn't look both ways and ran into a slow moving care. I am happy to report that she is fine. I went out and said to her, "You are going to be okay. I know it's scary. But you'll be okay." She mostly just looked scared.

Never a dull moment . . .

Overheard in New York . . .

I walked past an older gentleman speaking to someone on the phone yesterday in Queens. I'll assume it was a woman. He said, "Get all dolled up, we're going to Target and then to Outback. I'm taking you to dinner!"

Depending on your outlook you might think, "That is the luckiest woman in the world!" Or, you might think, "Oh that poor woman." I'll leave it up to you to decide.

What I Should Have Said: Awkward Encounter at Church II

A few Sunday's ago I walked into my single's congregation kind of late. I quickly surveyed the room to find a familiar face, saw a friend of mine and sat by him. I also happened to sit next to a guy on my right whom I didn't know very well. No big deal. A girl down the row from us was trying to get the attention of the guy to my right. So I tapped him ONCE and he said, "Don't Touch." Okay. I laughed thinking it was a joke, but he wasn't kidding. I felt kind of bad. I figured maybe he has OCD or something. I can respect that. So I scooted closer to the friend on the left to give the dude some room. At the end of the meeting I asked him to pass me a hymnal for singing and he said, "Demanding." So I said, "Well. You told me not to touch you, so I didn't want to lean over you to grab it!" It made sense to me. I think he may have cracked a smile. I didn't want to probe.

What I should have said . . .
"Hey. It's a public place. It's New York. It's crowded. Get used to it."

This is as creative as I can get. I didn't wanna be mean to the guy. Although I suppose he was being kind of mean to me. But sometimes you just want your space.

The Plight of Tall Women

I ran across this article on MSN about the plight of tall women who have a difficult time dating.

Click here to check out the article.

I have to admit. That when I read this I felt a little depressed. Especially the part about how fewer men approach tall women. That's sad. I'm not opposed to dating shorter men.

But then I found THIS article geared towards shorter men. I realized maybe I don't have it so bad. Or maybe short men and tall women belong together because we both understand what it feels like to be . . . unique.

Here is the article for shorter men. The poor guy they have pictured here looks so sad about his shortness. Buck up buddy!

Spiderman Sighting

I went for a stroll around the ol' neighborhood yesterday evening and noticed several streets blocked off by police cars. It was for the premiere of Spiderman in Astoria, Queens. I walked up just as the stars began to arrive. Each in his or her own limo. I got to see all of the film stars and the director. Tobey (spiderman) ran all the way down the line to shake hands with his fans. I was impressed. When he got there a High School band started playing "Spiderman", and then they shot off a bunch of red and black confetti. Except that Tobey refused to walk down the press walkway, so none of it landed on him.

Kirsten Dunst was the only actor who didn't make any attempt to associate with the crowd. Apparently she was upset because she had to spend her birthday at the Premiere. Poor her. Whatever!

I managed to get a pretty good pic of Tobey. Here he is in all of his friendly glory.....

Doppleganger

I got an email from a friend today that read, "Were you at a Virginia Tech vigil last night in Washington Square Park? Because when I opened my AM New York this morning, there was a picture of someone that most definitely could have been you or someone sharing your DNA."

Hmmmm....I have a long lost twin. Because I definitely was not at the vigil. Here is the pic.

Footage of Aaron Eckhart While at BYU

Most of you know who Aaron Eckhart is. He's been in such films as "Thank You for Smoking" and "Erin Brokovich". Some of you may even know that he attended BYU (my alma mater). But what most of you don't know is that he was in two student films that my brother directed back when they were both at BYU. My sister is also in both movies. Also be sure to check out some of my brother's other projects while you are on his web site.

Click here to check out the short films. You will want to watch "Penance" and "Suicide Resurrection". Penance looks double exposed because my brother asked Aaron to load the film in his car in the dark and Aaron tried and then gave up. So Vance took over. It was a happy accident.

What I Should Have Said: Awkward Cab Encounter

A few weekends ago I went to a birthday party for a church friend at a bar. It was a good night. Dancing. Catching up with old friends. Meeting new friends. I was standing with 2 female friends when this guy comes up and starts chatting us up. He told us he was a photographer so I told him I work at a gallery and that he should come by sometime.

So anywho. He singles out one of the other girls and pulls her aside. He asked her if she was dating anyone and if she would like to go to dinner sometime. Wow. Guys actually do that? Go up to girls and ask them to go out sometime? This guy is certainly confident. He wasn't even drinking.

So after the party the guy tags along with us in a cab. I was up front and he was in back with the other 2 girls. We drove by the building where I went to school and I say, "That's where I went to school." He asked what I studied and I told him. And he just says, "I always thought working at a gallery would be really boring."

Um. Okay. And how am I supposed to react to that? I just gave him a look that I can only describe as, "Who do you think you are?" I mean. Who says that to someone about their career? It was so arrogant. I just went on to say how I guess one might think that. But that there is never a dull moment at my job.

What I should have said . . .

What kind of a person insults another person's job? Especially if you are an artist and should probably take advantage of the opportunity to network with someone in your industry.

or

O really? I always thought it would be lame to be a no-name phogtographer.

What might you have said? I could always use suggestions.

No longer a guitar-hero virgin

So. For awhile I've heard rumors about these gatherings where people get together at Brigham's place and play some kind of video game called, "Guitar Hero". 2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to get in on the action and stop by. But unfortunately I'd left my phone at work. Luckily I ran into Jared (pictured) who said he was on his way to Brigham's. I told him how I had wanted to go but didn't know where he lived. So Jared said, "Maybe it was meant to be that we ran into each other." Yes indeed. I think it was. Because I had a great time gathering with fellow appreciators of rock and roll. The game is just good clean fun. Of course I had to ruin it by finding several sexual undertones in some of the visuals in the game. Leave it to me to corrupt the innocent. But you really can find alot of Freudian symbolism in it.

So. In my laziness I will refer you to the following blog to read more...

http://www.briggie.blogspot.com/2007/03/best-10th-gathering.html

A Much Needed Rock Concert

Since moving to New York I have had serious trouble with not finding out about concerts until they have sold-out. Luckily I discovered www.ohmyrockness.com which gives me the heads-up about upcoming shows. This is how I got tickets way in advance for the sold-out Raveonettes concert at Mercury Lounge. I thought I'd share a few pictures. Unfortunately I have to get to bed so I'm not gonna leave much commentary.

These are pics of the opening band. They were actually one of the highlights of the night. They ROCKED! They are called, "Dead Combo". In the middle of the performance an owl at the front of the stage started to blow smoke out on the audience. Unfortunately it let off too much smoke which caused a fire alarm to go off. So this caused the mics to die.






And here are a couple of pics of The Raveonettes. They have amazing charisma. Must be the Scandinavian genetics?

Uncanny resemblance

So. I was with a co-worker at the Armory when i saw this drawing. I commented, "That guy looks just like my dad." She said, "I was just thinking the same thing." I said, "That he looks like my dad?" "No, That he looks like my dad." So either our dads look similar, or there is something fatherly about this image. She said her dad has a mustache. So did mine. There you have it. Although my dad was a bit buffer than the dude in this drawing.

What I Should Have Said: Awkward Encounter at Church

So I went to church on Sunday and I attend a congregation made up entirely of singles. Every week I have several awkward and uncomfortable encounters. Some amusing. Some downright painful. Argh!

This Sunday I was talking with my cousin and her friends when a guy comes up and interupts and starts calling me some name like, "Heather." Whoever she was, her name was on a piece of paper and he had to conduct business with her of some kind. Now mind you. I have had full on conversations with this guy 4 times before. Although perhaps I never told him my name. But it was obvious he had no recollection of ever having talked to me. It wasn't just that he didn't know my name, but he didn't remember who I was. The conversation then went as follows:

Are you talking to me?
Yes.
I'm Brooke. Not Heather.
Really? I thought you were Heather (he had the most confused look on his face--like when he thinks he is right and i just have to be wrong. He had business to conduct with whomever Heather was).
No. I'm Brooke. But that's okay.
I'm sorry. I got confused. I thought you were Heather.

He was obviously kind of embarassed at this point. Blushing a bit. I was blushing a bit too. So I thought he would take the out. But he keeps talking to me and is like, "Are you new?" I just said that I was visiting and I actually live in Queens. And he kept trying to talk to me and I just turned back to my previous conversation.

Now. I know it is hard to remember girls when there are SO MANY of them and so few guys. But I have to admit that this did kind of hurt my feelings. And I know I shouldn't take it personally and blah blah blah. But it is kind of sad to think you can talk to someone 4 times and think you are having a significant conversation and they don't remember you.

What I should have said: "Yeah. Actually we've met 4 times."

I can't be too harsh, because I once asked a girl about herself and she told me that she'd already told me that. But she only had to tell me twice. So there. And I once called a kid Phillip for 2-3 weeks until he told me his name is Nicolas. So. I guess I can't blame the guy. Bless his heart.

Picture of My Boss At the Armory

This article just came out in Art Info with a picture of my boss. Take a look...

http://www.artinfo.com/News/Article.aspx?a=28323

The Armory Show

As many of you may know, the Armory Show is one of the most important Art Fairs in the World. It's been around since the 1930's. Of course it is alot different now. Now it is a huge pier filled with booths set up by the most successful contemporary galleries. Here is a picture of just one of the hallways.



The gallery where I work had a booth at the fair. This is it . . .



You'll notice the Prada Bag in front. It is by an artist named Jonathan Seliger. It is actually made of bronze. The circular metal sculpture is by Subodh Gupta from India. And the large piece on the back wall is hundreds of bottle caps weaved together with metal by El Anatsui from Nigeria.


Here are some of my favorites from the show. What a person picks out of thousands of pieces of art says something about them I suppose. I would go into a discussion about each piece. But who has time for that?

I love the nostalgic, japanimation-inspired art. Anything cute. These are 2 works by Mr. at Lehmin Maupin Gallery (I interviewed here).





This is an amusing reference to pop culture in the Paul Kasmin Gallery booth. Sound familiar? Think Dirty Dancing.



Folkert De Jong is an artist whose work I discovered in Los Angeles about 2 years. It is made out of synthetics like foam. These characters are lifesize.





I like this one because she is in the yoga bridge pose. It was painted on the wall. It says something about the politics of the mapping of the female body etc. etc.



This is the painter Ryan McGinness. I've been following him since I moved here. He is with Deitch Projects. Although I must say I really was disappointed with their booth this year. The first Armory show I went to they were selling yummy cupcakes.



And I was really hungry as I walked around. So here is some food art.





Here is the garbage truck that some poor soul had to somehow get into this huge hall.





And finally. This is a wood sculpture currently showing in our gallery by Claudette Schreuders. I like to think of her as my twin.