Quest For The Perfect Parking Place
Finding a space for their cars drives Manhattanites to insane lengths
One reason I’ve loved living in Manhattan for the past 27 years is that I don’t need a car. Whenever I do, I rent.
I’ve always believed that I had the whole “car thing” down, so I’d shake my head in disbelief as my car-owning friends engaged in the insanity of alternate-side- of-the-street parking, monthly garage fees the price of studio apartments and having conversations with a guy whose name is embroidered on his shirt along the lines of, “It’s making a noise like, CACHUNGA. Think you can fix it?” Read more
An Overabudance of Diligence
Is being hyper conscientious worth the effort?
Oops, I did it again—I stood in line for Shakespeare in the Park, this time to see a fabulous performance of The Winter’s Tale.
I’ve attended this free outdoor event since 1980, using the same M.O. every time: get there at dawn to camp out. And every year I end up about 200 people back by the big rock. Hence, I always end up in virtually the same seats, which are in the section that could be deemed “the nose bleeds.” There were years I felt like they saw me coming and whipped out the same old seats just to mess with me. This year, due to an alternate side of the street parking matter that I had to deal with, I broke tradition and arrived “late” at 9 a.m. Read more
From Mess to Masterpiece
How ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ rose from the ashes to become the quintessential New York film.
Last week I saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s again for the first time.
Even though I can practically recite every line by heart, I viewed the classic with fresh eyes when it played at the Sunset Film Festival in Carl Schurz Park because I had just finished Sam Wasson’s behind-the-scenes book about the movie, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman. Read more
Lessons from Shakespeare in the Park
Life of an actor in New York is no picnic
By Lorraine Duffy Merkl
“Is this the one with Al Pacino?”
That was the question du jour directed to those of us waiting on line to see Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare in the Park. Confirmation was needed because the play alternates nights with the Pacino-free A Winter’s Tale. Read more
Stairway to Better Health
How I stopped riding the elevator and learned to love the stairs
One of the two elevators in my building is out of commission and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
The lifts are getting a lift, if you will. I’m glad our board approved the improvement, but the working elevator has been programmed to start at the bottom (a.k.a. basement) and go all the way up to the top (21 stories) floor by floor, and then make its way back down again in the same fashion. Read more
The Best Revenge
Our social faux pas du jour: RSVP to my payback party
What if you threw a payback party and nobody came?
Recently, much mention has been made of Lady Gaga’s return to her alma mater, Convent of the Sacred Heart, where she apparently felt dissed when she was enrolled. To settle the score, she made a spectacle of herself by upstaging her sister’s graduation. Read more
A Lesson from Two Ingrates
What we can learn from Carrie and Charlotte’s ‘grass is greener’ attitude
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.
If this Dale Carnegie adage is true, then the women of Sex And The City 2 certainly are successful, but they sure ain’t happy. If, like Carrie & Co., your attitude of late has been lacking gratitude, you must take in this movie. Seeing what ungrateful looks like 30 feet high and 70 feet wide is enough to scare anyone straight. Read more
Down Time in the City That Never Sleeps
Do the ‘9 Tenets of Leisurology’ have a place in a New York gal’s life?
“I have a leisurologist,” said the young woman into her cell, while breezing by me on Madison and 60th Street at lunch hour.
She was in her late twenties, with bouncy brown hair and simple, yet trendy, clothes. Her demeanor was so upbeat, all I could think was Whatever a leisurologist is, hers must be doing a great job.
I began immediately to question myself. Is this some new, cool thing that everyone has or knows about but me? Then I decided Ms. Leisure must be from somewhere else; her discipline sounded a little too La-La Land for NYC. Or maybe in our competitive, stressful city, it’s just what’s needed.
Usually, the Internet—specifically Google—is a wealth of information. Not so, this time. Perhaps “leisurology” is still one of those burgeoning tends.
From what little I could gather, it appears that “leisurologist” is a title bestowed on someone who has more than a passing fancy with (as my son calls it) chillaxin’.
On www.leisurevolution.org, I found “The 9 Tenets of Leisurology”:
9) Making a life is more important than making a living. If your landlord doesn’t charge rent.
Work is not a four-letter word, but rut might be. Right now, a job rut is better than no job at all.
7) Refreshing cold drinks are not optional. OK, they’ve got me.
6) Wear comfortable shoes. Ditto.
5) Howl at the moon from time to time. We’re getting a little silly now.
4) Balance the doing with the un-doing. I’m at a loss. What?
3) Path and goal are equals. Again, huh? Perhaps they mean, “Enjoy the journey.”
2) Never rush. Yes, let’s all try this one in Midtown at rush hour.
1) Relax. Isn’t that what we’re all already doing on the Great Lawn?
I was still unclear as to whether the leisurologist is one who uses free time better than the rest of us, or if the designation is meant to describe one who counsels others.
Then I found a blog (there’s always one of those, isn’t there?). The author of www.theleisurologist.blogspot.com characterizes himself as teacher, student and lover of leisure, who stands in awe and absolute amazement at its power.
Well, OK. I could try to decipher his thinking, but don’t know if I could do it justice, so here, direct from the supporter of spare time: “When we do take time out for leisure, there are often ulterior motives. We play tennis in order to stay fit/lose weight; go dancing so that we can meet other single people; do crossword puzzles to keep our minds sharp.”
This is bad, why? For me, New Yorker equals multitasker. The idea that something I do for pleasure, such as walking to get the air, has added health benefits is a plus.
The Leisurologist’s answer: “It’s possible to enjoy ourselves immensely at the same time as reaping the other benefits; and yet it’s also possible to neglect the enjoyment factor in pursuit of the other pay-offs. And when that happens, even our free time activities can begin to feel like work.”
Fair enough. Sometimes in Manhattan we get so busy that we even have to schedule fun, and anything on a to-do list does have a chore-quality.
I, however, still hold that leisurology is not destined to become a New York phenomenon. Isn’t the whole reason to live here because of the notorious hustle and bustle, as well as the work hard/play hard mentality? We’re the go, go, go city that never sleeps, remember? We don’t do leisure. That’s what the Hamptons are for.
Lorraine Duffy Merkl’s debut novel, Fat Chick, from The Vineyard Press, is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
Like Mother, Like Granddaughter
How did an introvert like me give birth to Miss Congeniality?
Unlike me, my daughter, Meghan, can work a room like a politician, remembering everyone’s name and how she first made their acquaintance. She is 12 years old. Read more
A Lesson from Betty
Job loyalty and professional opportunity don’t just collide on TV
By Lorraine Duffy Merkl
Betty Suarez has left New York City for jolly ol’ England.
And now, Ugly Betty is no more. For four seasons, we’ve gotten to watch America Ferrera’s character transform from a poncho wearing, outer borough brace face into an urbane and stylish Manhattan magazine editor.
I remember long ago and far away, getting off the 6 train from the Bronx with a lack of sophistication and dreams of being a writer, just like my Queens counterpart. (My version of the poncho was dressing in color, while everyone else donned head-to-toe black. Yes, I did stick out like a sore thumb, thank you.) Read more
