A Poestenkill Haiku

The barn hides in night

Jackie makes lasagna soup

I think up big things

That's the view from my bedroom window. When the snow subsides and the temperature warms up a bit, I hope to venture out there behind my house into the wilderness. What will I find? Will there be space enough for a hootenanny? How many dead bodies will I find hanging from the beams? Will I even find a way inside? I like to think there will be a loft of forgotten hay that now belongs to friendly woodland creatures who will greet me whenever I go to explore. I hope it'll be just difficult enough to get inside, that I have to force open the door with the heel of my booted foot. Earning entry will make it much more magical. Note to self: buy some boots.

I have officially been living here for a month. And I have to say, I enjoy my current level of domestication. I like having a queen-sized bed even though half of it is empty, save for various remotes, books, and pillows. I like cooking chili and chicken flautas and every other upcoming meal. I like living two minutes down the road from my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces. I like living two minutes down the road from free food. I like living with my good friend who makes homemade bread. I like that I have digital cable. I like that my whale drawings are hanging in the living room next to my friend's awesome multi-colored tin stars. I like that we have two fish named Jane and Orson. I like that all of my books are in one place. I like that my Ol Dirty Bastard autograph is finally framed and hanging. I like that I can have my older niece over for sleepovers where we can build Lego ninja castles and watch Aladdin. I like that I can reconnect with the people here who I've always wanted to get to know better. I like that I have the solitude and quiet to create when I want to. I like that I have time to watch movies. I like that I can sing and cry while I drive in the rain.

But I miss New York City. I miss Broome Street. I miss walking everywhere and I miss the West River and I miss the trek back to my apartment along Lafayette and I miss the contemplation and I miss the homeless man who shouted out that we were all lesbians and I miss that one connection made while walking through St. Marks and I miss 16 Handles and I miss hoping for handholding and I miss the terrible writing in the Park and I miss the singing Van Morrison in the Park and I miss the expensive quesadillas and I miss the scary early morning trips to Brooklyn to make a film for strangers and I miss the Wonder Wheel and I miss the mechanical vomiting plastic man in the glass box and I miss crawling out on the rocks and I miss the kiss on the cheek in front of the Cyclone and I miss the films about our dead God and I miss the trip up 5 flights of stairs to store our frozen meals so we could go to a movie and I miss the taking shots out of NyQuil cups and I miss the only trip I ever took to go to a club and I miss the hidden manischewitz in water bottles and I miss the failed karaoke trip to K-Town and I miss the head-down-walking listening to "Say That You Love Me" on repeat stomping home and I miss the anticipation and I miss the dinners and plays with geniuses and I miss the glow of passionate professors and I miss the tipsy tromping through late night streets going home from parties we didn't want to go to and I miss getting recognized in the dining hall and I miss the grumpy book sellers yelling at me and I miss looking for books recommended in the same library where lives ended and I miss the unspoken understanding of like minds and and I miss arroz con pollo and I miss Angel delivering our pizza made by Mohammed and I miss getting nervous before everything and I miss unexpected hugs and I miss the 10-hour shifts and I miss the distance between me and infinite trouble and I miss the winter coats and hats and fogged glasses and I miss my bed being buried in research and I miss staying in a little box while everything continued on the outside and I miss afternoons in bed with the sun throwing shade through my downtown blinds and I miss the excitement of lunches and I miss the seaport and I miss the sailboats and I miss being on the edge of big things and I miss the winding streets of the village and I miss the noticing people around Washington Square that you see everyday but don't know their name but seeing them is a comfort all the same. Even if they're wearing leggings as pants while it's 20 degrees out. What I miss the most is the people. The people I know and the people I haven't met yet. And the people in between.

But, I will be back. Oh, I will be back. I just had to take a break for a while, city. But I will visit you and someday, after I have a healthy dose of adventures in other worlds, I might be back for good. We'll see. There are no answers to these questions. Just sit tight.

Set my compass North, I got winter in my blood.

In T-minus 30 minutes I am off to live in Poestenkill, NY, where I have my very first growns up apartment all ready to be lived in. Back in Poestenkill, where the water runs cold, the barn is in my backyard, and the historic army tank is across the street. I'm ready to get back and experience my roots as an adult (of sorts), but things like this make me sad to leave the Big City. But, like he said, I'll be back! You can bet your stars and garters on it.

It's My Party (and Bill Murray Will Crash it if He Wants To)

A friend just recently informed me of the fact that Bill Murray has been seen - on numerous occasions - at random NYC house parties and bars. He shows up "like a ghost," has a conversation, does the dishes (at house parties only) and leaves.

Please oh please, in my last month living in NYC - Lord, let me meet Bill Murray!

For more pictures, see here.

Best Resource for old tyme radio shows EVER.

These broadcasts have gotten me though many a lonely lunch time in the dining hall.

I laughed.

Which is rare. Bravo, good sir, bravo! I'm sure the man himself would have been amused.

Insomniacal Reflections

During a recent deep and personal conversation with my friend Courtney B. Vance, I had a great idea for a maternity t-shirt. I'd like to share it with you all. If you want one for your special someone, let me know. We could work something out...

Real cases, real litigants. Here, in our forum: The People's Court.

Well, today is my first day working at The People's Court. Let's hope this "internship" isn't an elaborate ploy to get me in the studio, just to find out that my freshman year roommate is sueing me for that sock I accidentally stole. It was stuck to the bottom of my rug! I promise! I don't even have its mate!

Either way, I'm very excited. All of the people seem laid back but very efficient and productive. I was told that when I don't have many things to do, I can work on a special People's Court-related project. I've been thinking about what I might want to do, but if anyone has any ideas let me know! I want to take advantage of my time there.

Broome 4 Boobs!

Dear lovely Blog Readers,

It's a loving member of your community, dropping a line to let you know that I'm attempting to do the NYC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in October. I'm walking with my team, "Broome For Boobs" (which includes 3 other students and a professor who all live at the NYU Residential College @ Broome Street). Together we are going to raise $10,000!

And, guess what? I'M MORE THAN HALFWAY TO MY GOAL. I have vowed to raise $1800 and I am currently at $1200. All summer I have been doing bake sales in Washington Square Park, writing letters, putting out change jars, hosting events, etc. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm getting rather excited. PLUS, MY PARENTS DON'T THINK I CAN DO IT! Seriously, help me prove them wrong! If you or anyone you know would like to donate, please visit my personal page at: http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/andreakannes and DO THE DEED. Please, it means the world to me...and boobies.

Thanks so much,

Andrea

P.S. I am also selling "HELLO MY NAME IS" stickers to put on the back of my Walker T-shirt. If you'd like to put the name of a loved one, a survivor, draw a picture, write a favorite quote on one, let me know! They're only $5. Follow the above link to donate then leave a comment with what you want written, or just e-mail me if I know you and you want to write it yourself!

Pictures with Large Things Part 2

I know you've all been waiting for it, and the time is finally here. After getting through the first week of my last semester, I finally have a free insomniac minute to post the rest of my Pictures with Large Statues. And you'll see it's been WELL worth the wait. I've also thrown in a few snapshots of the coolest playground I have ever laid my childlike and evergreen eyes on. It had Pirates, Vikings, Dragons, big slides, little slides, medium slides, rock walls - everything you could ever desire playing on or around as a youngin'. Notice that my default stance (one arm up leaning on something with the same side leg elevated or crossed over the other) is very interesting mix of a Tiger Beat Boyband photo shoot, a creepy dude you wouldn't want hitting on you in a bar, and the very charismatic Captain Morgan. I try, folks, I try.

Pictures with Large Things Part 1

Last week I visited the lovely, animal-themed state of Minnesota. My good friend Michelle's very generous father flew me to their family cabin in Deerwood for 5 days of canoeing, sitting around, and various Paul Bunyan activities. It was a good time.

The highlight of the week of course was a trip to the wonderful Paul Bunyanland. With only a $13.95 admission price, what fantastic enchantments were in store! As I walked through those glorious gates, there was Paul himself to greet me! He asked how the weather was in Albany and I enthusiastically replied. What a nice guy. Funny-looking dog, though.

There was the famous Ghost Mine Shaft, a pitch black wooden shack that actually stays still but so dubiously fools the rider into thinking they are moving far down, down into the pits of mine hell (A roll of paper painted to look like stone moves against the fake window to create this deception. Brilliant.) The doors open to reveal two grinning, chilling pink glow-in-the-dark skeletons who have met their doom. For every 4 rides there was one attendant, but that was just fine. I enjoyed pressing the blaring buzzer and waiting in beautiful sun for a high school student to come and flip the ride switch.

Next stop was the very disorienting, magnetically affected mine shack (yes, another one!) I struggled to keep my balance and my watch synchronized as I wondered through to the end, finally escaping through the quite tidy outhouse. Phew! What a close one!

Caught frolicking with Babe (as seen above), Paul put me in Bunyanland jail. After a brief emotional breakdown, I think I adapted quite well. Michelle ended up in the cell next to me for a few as yet undisclosed alleged crimes (the court cases of which are still pending).

Here are some more miscellaneous highlights of this magical, extraordinary place hidden way back in a lush Minnesota field:

I want to meet the mailperson whose job it is to climb that ladder everyday... I bet that throughout the history of that box, at least three have fallen in.

Coming soon...pictures with other large mythic animals and an awesome playground complete with vikings and pirates!

My cousin used to look like Aladdin. Now he looks like Fat Aladdin.

Last week I screened the new never-to-be-released-in-theaters Zach Galifianakis movie, "Visioneers." What was supposed to be a fun little get-together turned into an intimate viewing with just me and two other friends present. Everyone else was "busy." But it is no matter. We had a good time anyway. I did not reschedule the event because I needed time to gather photos for the "AMERICAN TUNT" contest. The makers of "Visioneers" let the fans send away for screening kits before the DVD was commercially released, hoping that this way they could generate buzz about the movie for free. I was more than happy to oblige them and send away for mine. If you sent away for a kit, you had the opportunity to enter the "AMERICAN TUNT CONTEST," which I promptly put myself into. Because I knew that I would never win the category for most attendees, I decided to go for Most Beardly Event. So, I donned my beard t-shirt and made Visioneers-themed cookies, which I thought came out pretty adorable, if only for the fact that they had a certain person's likeness on a couple of them. (You can tell the ones that were my first attempts at bearded faces, they're the scary Ahab-like blackbeards with piercing eyes and no noses). I'd like to share with you some pictures:

I could only send them one picture for the category, but here are the rest of them...

I will let you all know if anything comes of the contest. But I'm not holding my breath. Some group of hipsters from Williamsbeard will probably win.

As for the movie "Visioneers" itself, it was great. A very smart change of pace that showcases Galifianakis' goofy and intense presence as well as his superb acting skills. And I'm not just saying that because I have dug the man since the 7th grade - he was my equivalent of other girls' crushes on the Backstreet Boys and the like. As Jonatham Lethem says (more or less) in his essay, One or Two Things I Dunno About Cassavettes, the movie was "all about my life and everything I feel." And everything I believe. I don't want to give away the plot but let's just say that when the time comes, you'll find me in Undeveloped Area 37 working at a coffee shop. I just hope that when the Jeffers Corporation comes and puts that thing on my neck, there's some wonderful, full facial-haired man ready to do the deed if he deems it necessary.*

P.S. The joke from above is mine, not Galifianakis's. I was very excited when I accidentally wrote it during a recent conversation with a friend.

* By "do the deed" I do not mean what you think I mean. Far from it. Watch the movie.