Thing of the Day: The PS1 Warmup

Does anyone remember that episode of Friends when someone at work eats Ross's sandwich? In summary, Monica makes Ross this awesome sandwich, which he brings to work and labels "Knock knock. Who's there? Ross's sandwich--please don't eat me, okay?" His boss ignores the rather witty note and eats the sandwich anyway, leading to very understandable fury.

Well. Around 11:30AM this morning at work, I decided to go upstairs to the communal kitchen area and eat one of the low-fat mozarella string cheese sticks I had left in the fridge. These sticks came in a bag of 12, neatly had "Nikki" written on them in permanent marker, and as of Friday numbered around 5 or 6. Imagine my feelings when I trekked upstairs to find ZERO string cheese sticks remained. Not one. Apparently someone decided my string cheese was a free for all and proceeded to hand them out to friends and coworkers. How to win friends and influence people: free food. Namely, mine.

It's taken me all morning and most of the afternoon to finish mourning the loss, and although I am fairly sure I am not fully over it, I can bring myself to talk about something else, if only for a little while.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Summer Warmup at the PS1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City. PS1 used to be a shitty New York public school, and about 10 years ago the MoMa bought it and it was somehow turned into an art museum. The exhibits themselves are ridiculously cool, they consist of really contemporary art pieces ranging from sculpture to painting to audio and video, but what makes it really unique is that many of the elements of a disintegrating NYC public school are preserved in building, from the graying staircases to the classrooms. (I haven't been keeping up with NYC Prep but something tells me Jessi would faint from disgust if she ever stepped foot in such an educational venue, and it really made me appreciate Stuyvesant's glass bridge and marbled hallways). To add to the really sweet museum itself (our favorite was the Jonathan Horowitz political And/Or exhibit), the Summer Warmup features up and coming bands, a beer and wine bar, and really attractive Hipster McYuppies imported straight from Williamsburg and the Lower East Side. The band plays by the sculpture in the featured picture above, which is basically this 30 foot tall fuzzy...thing...which sprays everyone around it with a fine mist. We goth there around 3pm, and by 4pm, everyone was raging. I have never seen people so blatantly trashed/tweaked during the day (disclaimer: real adult people, because Vanderbilt tailgate, duhhhh). There was a man in purple Ray-Bans and skinny jeans who I swear beat-boxed and break-danced for two hours straight, a couple decked out in matching fluorescent iridescent mermaid costumes, and a plethora of Vneck McWayfarer couples grinding more aggressively than I have seen in any club at 3am. This place was so amazing and I would highly recommend it to any New Yorker or visiting friend--future Warmups on August 1st, 8th (but you won't be there because you will be celebrating my 21st birthday. Duh), 22th, 29th and September 5th.

After a great day at the Warmup, we went to Battery Gardens, where an employee friend treated us to extra full glasses of Chardonnay, delicious tuna tartare, succulent crab cakes and a massive platter of chocolate, cheesecake and mousse dessert. Further culinary adventures this week include Daniel Boulud's most recent eatery, DBGB, the Vanderbilt Summer Sendoff Party at Cipriani 42nd Street (what's up, open bar?), and the Hudson Square Food and Wine Festival. In non-food-and drink-related activities (surprise)!, I plan on seeing Billy Elliot with the best friend on Wednesday and checking out candle-lit yoga at YTTP Sunday.

My New York summer is quickly drawing to a close and there are so many things I have yet to do (speed date, see Shakespeare in the Park, go to a SummerStage concert, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, explore Williamsburg, visit the Brooklyn Yard, shop at the Chelsea Flea, see In The Heights, have the all-you-can-drink brunch at Garage, see a Hudson River Flick, bike to work, student rush the Ballet, and eat at a growing list of potential eateries. I think if I up my after-work/happy hour dates from two to three a week, I can squeeze it all in. Who wants to eat, drink, and be cultured?

I think I'm going to go steal some peanut butter from the work fridge. Sorry, co-workers. Karma's a bitch.

Thing of The Day: Free Shit

One of the best things about living in New York is that you have a frequent and constant access to free shit. And I'm not talking about the "best things in life are free" free shit, but actual tangible, edible, drinkable, appreciate-able (sp?) free food, drink, and events. I discovered FreeNYC several years ago, and have since then been receiving a constant flow of free shit in my inbox every morning at promptly 9am. (Ever since I got my BlackBerry, this prompt 9am email has also had the dual purpose of reminding me to stop whatever I am screwing around with and leave immediately or I will be late for work--such a convenient little "ping!")

Today I am writing about free shit because of the sheer quality of the past two days' free events. Yesterday my friend Sam had a wonderfully free afternoon. We first attended our usual 6pm class at the magnificent Yoga to The People. Technically YTTP is donation based, not free, but my $2 donation had such a meager effect on my wallet that I will allow myself to think of it as so. (For fellow yogis out there--I highly recommend YTTP--the instructors are incredibly talented, and payment is optional. They have 3 studios in the city). After a sweat-drenched workout during which a man named Reggie aggressively roared when encouraged to "release his emotions" during our downward facing dogs, Sam and I headed to the FreeNYC-recommended Taste of Times Square festival. For 10 $1 food tickets, we gorged ourselves on decadent mushroom ravioli, delicious lump crab cakes, heaping plates of mussels, cheesy eggplant parmigiana lasagna, grilled salmon sliders, tuna tartar with salads of pickled beets and grapes, grilled vegatable skewers and warm brownie dessert. Over 40 Times Square restaurants served their fare for $1-4 over the course of two New York avenues, bringing plethoras of cheap foodies. Sam is one of the types of friends that I mentioned in my previous posts--the kind that despite being a perfectly healthy and non-culinary educated individual, keeps her TV constantly tuned to the Food Network, and we both had a ball with our large selections of free-ish food.

After a wonderful $12 dollar evening, I woke this morning that this second Tuesday of June marks the annual Museum Mile Festival! The Museum Mile Festival is an epic display of free shit--the many museums among the Mile, including the Guggenheim (photo above) and the Met are open to free-shit lovers everywhere. From 6-9, anyone is welcome to enjoy art and refreshments at the 9 museums participating. And to top it all of, thanks to the Thrillist listserv, I've scored an invitation to a three hour Absolut Vodka sponsored open bar for me and a +1 tonight. My best friend, Rachel, has just gotten back from Italy and I can think of no better way to celebrate her arrival in the land of the free and the home of the brave than with gratis cocktails (or you know...shots) and complimentary art.