About Amanda
I’m a disgruntled LIRR commuter by morning, real estate journalist by day, insomniac by night, and cancer butt-kicker for life.
Where To Find Me
An Accidental Trip
Published January 14, 2012 | A Writer’s Book of Days (01/14) – Write About The Horizon
“Wait a second, are we supposed to be going over a bridge?” Mom asked as the J train rumbles into daylight.
Crap. I forgot that Essex Street and Delancey Street were the same station and missed the stop.
In a few months, I was moving to the Bronx for college and was still learning the intricacies of New York City’s subway system. We certainly weren’t supposed to be going over a bridge. Nor did I know that the next stop, Marcy Avenue, wasn’t in the greatest neighborhood.
We got off the train at Marcy Avenue and waited for the next uptown train. There were some interesting characters loitering around the station, and I knew Mom was a bit nervous. She hadn’t ridden the subway in decades, and this wasn’t exactly a mistake that would calm someones reservations.
Finally, an M train pulls into the station and we hop on, taking a bench seat by one of the windows. It starts moving back toward Manhattan.
“Look at what God painted tonight,” Mom whispered, pointing to the sun setting over Manhattan’s horizon. The sky towards the front of the train was filled with brushstrokes of orange, red, gold, pink, and purple. It was one of the more spectacular sunsets I’d seen.
Flickr: bondidwhat
“Look!” she said more loudly, pointing towards the east. Not only we were witnessing a beautiful sunset, but a rare moon rising over Brooklyn’s horizon.
Sometimes missing your stop isn’t such a bad thing after all.
Ticking On and On
Published January 13, 2012 | A Writer’s Book of Days (01/13) – After Midnight
“After midnight” means different things to different places. If I were to step outside my front door after midnight, I’d experience the eerie calm of a bedroom community sleeping. There aren’t many cars on the road. House lights click off one by one. You can hear sounds from miles away – a Long Island Railroad train in the distance, traffic driving down Sunrise Highway, an ambulance racing towards Southside Hospital, a dog barking. It’s peaceful, but often times unsettling.
It’s like the world’s heartbeat has gone silent and I need to know it’s alive. Sometimes I feel slightly unnerved as I walk the block home from the train station, past the dark apartment complex and houses. There are people inside of those houses, but it doesn’t feel like there’s life. The only movement is from the 7-Eleven on the corner.
One of the most interesting ways to experience that time of day is to spend an entire night in Manhattan. Lexcie and I did that two summers ago. Our trip started late in the evening, and ended when I boarded a 7 am train back to Long Island. Some neighborhoods are like my own – quiet streets, no cars, and perhaps some boat horns in the distance. Times Square is almost like a casino – you’d couldn’t tell if it was 9 pm or 1 am with all the people milling about. Diners were packed with barflies and people ending late shifts at 3 am, while the Staten Island Ferry was surprisingly packed for 4 am. It’s certainly the city that never sleeps.
Flickr: Coffee Maker
Although it was the heartbeat I was looking for, I felt something was also unsettling about the constant movement. Would I give up the eerie, yet peaceful silence of a bedroom community for this? I’ve yet to find that happy medium.
The 8th Day of Christmas – Christmas in NYC
Published December 8, 2011 | When I was younger, I went to St. Mary’s School in East Islip. Every December 8, we’d have the day off for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, so we took the opportunity to go into Manhattan and spend the day doing fun holiday things. Even though I’m not off on that day anymore, I love spending at least one full day in the city doing holiday things. My favorites, in no particular order: Continue reading
Visit to the World Trade Center
Published July 11, 2011 | Visited 7 and 4 World Trade Center today for my job. Here are some pics I took – the best ones will be in Bisnow Wednesday and Friday.
Asian-spiration
Published February 1, 2011 | As Lexcie helped himself to a heap of some Mandarin cole slaw I made yesterday, he commented how I’ve been cooking a lot more Asian-inspired foods lately. He thinks it’s particularly funny because I’m Italian. But it’s true. I’ve been on an Asian food kick ever since we visited Taiwan last year, which was quite the gastronomic adventure (see Day Two, which includes jellyfish, sea cucumber, shark fin, and quail eggs, among other culinary delights). Even the new restaurants I’ve visited as part of my 101 in 1001 challenge have been overwhelmingly Asian in nature (next stop: the new Koreatown food court).
I even just purchased a Taiwanese cook book I found on Amazon.com, which is going to be quite an adventure, since I’ve never used half the ingredients the recipes call for, like sweet potato powder.
In the meantime, I’ve been playing with my own Asian-inspired recipes with foods I normally have on hand. A few of you have asked for the recipes, so here they are. Continue reading