I started a blog today, Life in Astoria and Beyond. It's really a blog I started with one entry back in 2010 and never continued, but it didn't die off. I edited the first entry and added three more posts. I'm going to try to keep this one up because one of these days it may get me a blogging job. I'm ever hopeful. I can take photos and I can write, though perhaps not as well as I can take photos. It's a matter of practice. Since I've been posting to Facebook, my writing has improved. It helps to know grammar. Spelling is aided by spell checking. There are only four entries as of today, so you needn't rush to check it out. However, if you do check it out and have any constructive suggestions, let me know.

I'm using Blogger which has many limitations, but it's still pretty good. I import my photos from my Flickr account and the problem is that I have to use a size that is smaller than I'd like. The next larger size is too large for the column width and gets cropped. However, the photos are linked to the photos on Flickr, so clicking on a photo takes you to a larger size. I put a note in the top of the right hand column to that effect.

We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a blogging job in the next year. You never know.

My computer died. It had problems and I thought I had them solved, but when I rebooted, it was dead, really dead. I had trouble logging into LJ because I forgot my username and password. I'm going to be experiencing a lot of that.

I'm now using an old laptop. It's old and slow, but it's working. I hate typing on it. Before, I used an ergonomic keyboard. I have no room for it where I have the laptop. I haven't been on line as much (obviously). I hope to have another computer, old, cheap, but working, set up this week. It will take a while, but I'll soon be back in business.

NYC Dance Parade 2011 tired me out. I left early, but not before getting this shot of my reflection. This was just inside Tompkins Square Park, the end point for the parade. It was one long parade! I was lucky to get this shot, too. The drummer was walking by where I was standing. The following drummers did not have shiny drums. I had just enough time to get this.

I was with a friend who I had not seen in a few months and I really wanted to chat with him, but the parade is a very loud affair. Still, I thought that after the festivities we might head to Chinatown for a snack. I couldn't do it. I must be getting old. I was tired on Sunday as well, but I still went to the Japan Block Fair. The photos are still in my camera. I haven't even looked at them. That's how you can tell I was really tired. Two of my photos from the parade ended up on Gothamist, pleasing me no end. My photos are #3 and #9.

I've done little today because I had a bad night's sleep. I was up through most of the night. No fun. I'm soon going to head out for food. See you all later.

It was raining this morning, but I didn't want to stay at home so I went to the Union Square Greenmarket. I knew that one of the vendors was selling pickled ramps and I wanted some. I also wanted the opportunity to take some photos. I found my pickled ramps, but I haven't tried them yet because I also went to Sunrise Mart, a Japanese market not too far from the Greenmarket. There I bought some excellent sashimi, all oily fish, and a bento box. I ate them both today. So, I haven't touched the pickled ramps. I'll save them for my next falafel sandwich. They should be good with that.

I've been slowly but surely making more room in my small apartment. It's more a matter of rearranging than throwing out, although some throwing out is necessary. I put my laptop on a stand. I can now use it standing up. That's supposed to be healthier than spending time seated in front of a computer. Yes, I'm sitting as I type this. I have to install Semagic on my laptop. Anyway, I don't have my photos there. It's too slow to use for photo editing. I never bought it for that purpose. I bought it for surfing the web, email, and now, Twitter and Facebook. It works for those quite well, but it takes ages to boot up. It's just old and slow.

I think I should be finished with the apartment in about two weeks. Then I'll see what I can do about making the terrace fun for the summer. I intend to be more social and sociable this summer than I was during the winter. I hibernated.

I should be in bed now because I want to get up early tomorrow. There's lots going on, but more about that later.

It's getting to be street fair season once again. I came across this street fair last Sunday when I went to see From the Asian American & Pacific Island Heritage Festival at Union Square Park in Manhattan. This was just south of the park on Broadway, the street I was going to walk along for a while. I ended up making too many stops, bought food at a Japanese market and went home.

My "new" computer arrived today. It's not new, it's refurbished and just a bit better than the computer I'm using as I type this. It has one advantage, or should. It should boot up with no problem. My current computer has problems. It will take some time to get the new one in place as I don't have a spare monitor. I should still be able to see what's on my old computer through the network. I just have to make sure that everything is shared.

I ordered a stand for my notebook computer. It's not a very good notebook, but it will serve its purpose, surfing, email, twitter, and Facebook. I'll use the desktop for photo work. The idea is for me to spend less time sitting down. I'll be able to stand while using the notebook computer. Not only that, but I'll have a nice view out my window. Standing is healthier than sitting down for hours at a time.

Ive also been doing some late spring cleaning, making room to move around in the apartment. I should have everything under control in a week. I do about an hour of work on the place each day. Once it's done, I'll post photos.

I'm now trying to avoid reading the news, but I've been failing. I read less, but it's all upsetting political stuff. This is the year of crazy in U.S. politics. Who knows where it will end?

More later because I've got to go now. Sorry.

Rosario is the owner of Rosario's Deli, an Italian Deli about a mile from where I live. He makes his own fresh mozzarella. It's delicious cheese. He also makes pizza, just one kind, cheese. He uses his mozzarella, makes his own sauce, and of course, dough. There is no sign in the window saying that there's pizza inside, no advertising, yet this is the best pizza in the neighborhood. It's thin crust and the crust is crisp. It's not laden with sauce and cheese. There's just enough. It won't drip.There isn't any oil on top, either. I expect that this is a very low calorie pizza. No matter. It's absolutely delicious. He only sells it by the slice. I've never come by and seen two pies out on the counter. When one is done, or almost done, he makes another. It's a labor of love.

When I was a kid, we rarely had people over. My mother did like it when people visited. I think my aunt, my mother sister, may have been an exception because they were very close. My father went along with my mother's wishes. My parents used to visit my father's sister, another aunt, to play cards. That aunt made my mother invite them over to play cards at our house.

My father worked long hours at his jewelry and clothing shop. He worked six days per week. When he came home, he ate, watched TV, and went to bed. We were early adopters when it came to TV. I have fond memories of some of the kids shows. I don't recall much family interaction when I was little, at least not involving me.

My father sometimes would want to go to the movies. He didn't like going alone. In fact, he had a phobia about being alone. He would decide to go and would take me along. He never checked when the movie started. It didn't matter to him. We would come in at the midpoint and stay through the end and watch the beginning up to where we came in. I could never convince him to check when the film started, though I tried. It was a strange way to do things.

It's been a while, hasn't it. I haven't posted since last Christmas. I'm still unemployed. It's not easy to find work when you've reached my age. I do collect Social Security and I have Medicare. That helps, but I'm eating into my meager savings, too. I figure I can last a couple of more years without working. I worry about it, but I keep busy with my photography. I've made a few dollars selling prints and I took some photos at a wedding for pay. It helps.

I gained too much weight. Too much because my clothes don't fit. As soon as I can get back into my good clothes I'll go out job hunting. I can't do that right now unless I buy new clothes. So, I've started walking every day once again and I've given up wine and beer. I'm supposed to have a couple of glasses of red wine daily, but that's 300 calories. In 12 days, that adds up to one pound.

My photos are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyone/ . I don't think I posted that before. There are quite a few food photos because people love to look at food and I try to keep people happy. I'm always on the lookout for interesting events to photograph. I volunteered my services for a school's fashion show tomorrow. I've never done that before, so it should be interesting.

I've fallen prey to Daedalus Books. They send me their catalog and it's impossible to look through it without ordering books, DVDs, and CDs. I think I have enough to read for the rest of my life at this point. I've a bunch of books on the English language, fascinating books, really. I've been plowing through them convinced now that I took the wrong path in my education. Ah, well.

My cat, Tigr, is still around. She's the little one, less than 9 pounds. She's now very dependent and always wants to be on my lap or lie on top of me. She's very sweet and well behaved. She never wakes me. She'll wait until she sees I'm awake before jumping up and lying on my stomach or legs.

I just got a fancy smart phone, an HTC Evo 4G. It has a pretty good camera, too. I tried it and was able to take quite a good photo and send it to Facebook and Twitter. I didn't set up Flickr yet, but I will. Adobe makes a free Photoshop for Android. I'm dying to see how well that works, but a bit busy.

The company I worked for packed up closed down completely in the US. It's very sad. I'm in touch with many of my former coworkers on Facebook and we even managed a reunion this year. It was fun to see everyone again, but sad, too. Three of my former employers no longer exist. I take no responsibility for that. It's pure coincidence.

One friend who I knew for almost 50 years passed away last month, lung cancer. He didn't last very long after he found out. I spoke to him April 6th. He sounded normal. Sixteen days later, he was gone.

Another friend has disappeared. He's from Taiwan and may have gone back to visit. If that's the case, he might stay for half the year, but I don't really know.

I've got a photo going into a U.N. publication. I've seen the preliminary PDF file. No pay. I contributed the photo, but I did get credit and a mention in the preface. Cool!

More later. Sorry for the prolonged absence. I'll try to do better.

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy!



I have no plans for Christmas. I'll likely stay home, though I may go out to take some photos. That's what keeps me going even if I'm not a great photographer. My photos have been selected from Flickr pools for some blogs that take contributions from Flickr. That's always cheering. It would be nice if I could get paid, though.

I'm still unemployed. I will soon start looking for any job I can get instead of those jobs for which I have specific skills. As long as the job has a paycheck, I'm interested.

I hope to spend a few hours on Christmas day with the computer off cleaning my apartment. It needs it badly. The Internet is the greatest time waster ever! I can sit down in front of my computer and the next thing I know, a couple of hours have past. Social networking is addictive. I'm completely addicted to twitter and Facebook. It's good and it's bad. I do keep up with people I know, both in person and on line. The temptation to keep up with new posts is overwhelming. I follow both Facebook and Twitter on my Blackberry as well as my computer. My Blackberry keeps freezing and needs to be rebooted or the battery removed, replaced, and restarted several times each week. When my contract is up, it's going to be history. Android here I come...next March.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone. I'm well stocked with red wine, so I'll be fine.