august 21-part deux

i left the ymca today to go stay at the new york loft hostel in bushwick, which is the neighborhood to the east of williamsburg. it was described to me as a place filled with people who want desperately to live in williamsburg but can't afford it--hence so many craigslist posts advertising houses in "east williamsburg." it's a weird place. for example, the hostel is one of the nicest hostels i've ever been in--it has a music room, a big hangout area in the yard, giant rooms, free internet, and everything has that sleek modern design to it. the place next door is called cafe orwell and has all the makings of your new favorite hipster coffee shop. every other building on the block is a warehouse, including a chinese food distributor. although, to be fair, they're not just warehouses. they're warehouses whose upper levels have been turned into apartments. and this phenomenon is not limited to this block--it's just the way bushwick is*. it's kind of cool in that new york over the top "i can't honestly believe people live their lives like this" kind of way. and it's certainly not a comforting place to call home. but i could see myself coming out this way every so often for a night out. 

and on that note, i'm actually planning on checking out a bar around the corner from here called brooklyn wreck room because, according to my internet research, it's known for really good food and blasting thug ass rap. and, of course, it's filled with hipsters.

and while i'm thinking about those oh so pretentious new yorkers, let me explicitly state a goal i've developed this week. you see, i have a habit of smiling at random people who i look at on the street or in a restaurant or wherever, but no one here smiles back. they just kind of stare at you. but i will find one new yorker to smile at me. i thought i had found a few already. two were these two girls at the show last night, but they ended up being canadians, and they'll smile at a rock. but they did buy me a beer--that was cool of them. and then there was a girl on the subway this afternoon, but then i heard her speaking russian with who i imagine to be her parents and staring at a map. i just want to find one new york city resident who will be friendly to a stranger.

and last thing for tonight: i went to the brooklyn museum of art earlier and in addition to an exhibit of art from the last decade of andy warhol's life, which was great, they had an exhibit by a guy named abdi farah. apparently he won the exhibit as part of a reality show on bravo, but nonetheless, i really like his stuff.

tomorrow morning i'm flying back to raleigh to spend a couple hours in chapel hill and then an all-too-brief sojourn in irmo before i come back up here to start my brooklyn life.

*side note: i'm rocking the funsaver for the trip and pictures are coming sometime soonish.