Posts in the Clinton Hill Category

February 26, 2011

Introducing Ed Casabian, the NYC Nomad

——————————————————————————————————————————————- When I was telling my good friend Jim Conley about my plans to sublet hop for a while, he immediately told me that I need to meet Ed Casabian (better known as the NYC Nomad)–and made an email introduction shortly thereafter. Last night, Ed and I caught up for dinner at Chez Lola and downloaded each other’s stories.

So, Ed, has been couch surfing all over New York City for the last 6 months. Every week, he tries out a different neighborhood and so far he has lived in over 26 different neighborhoods. He was featured in a New York Times article about his local travels not long ago–and is clearly on the journey of a lifetime. Needless to say, we hit it off! Ed has traveled internationally quite a bit as well with long stops in Europe and Turkey. We talked a bit about the feelings that resonate when throwing yourself into the new and unknown–and agree that there is much more to travel (internationally or locally) than simply wanderlust.

Popularity: unranked [?]

February 19, 2011

9 days until my next hop….

I am finishing up my first sublet at the end of February—and subsequently have about 9 days until my next neighborhood. This becomes interesting because as of right now I am not exactly sure where this neighborhood will be. I found Gisela’s place in Clinton Hill two days before I needed to move–and I would not be surprised if it ends up being a similar situation with this sublet hop. I have been finding that the unknown lights me up inside. It is a similar sensation to when I was backpacking through South America 4 years ago. Nonetheless, I have a feeling that Craigslist is going to be equally kind to me this time around–but I am definitely going into hard core search mode this next week.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Clinton Hill, New York City (2008-Present) Comments ( 0 )

February 13, 2011

Fitness Goals, the Tough Mudder, and the Upward Spiral

I have had a bit of a personal revelation over the course of the last year around my personal fitness and decided to share it in this post.

So, the story begins with the completion of a 6 and a half mile run this morning from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and back to Brooklyn, across two extremely large bridges. It was not warm. In fact, it was freezing on the bridges.

The ironic thing about this seemingly not so interesting story is that a year ago, last February, if someone would have forced me to go for 6.5 mile run in the freezing cold I would have first laughed at them, and thereafter inquired on the state of their current mental condition. If that person would have actually gotten me to go (which I would put at 2%) , I would have most likely had some sort of major coronary health episode and ended up lying facedown on the cold, hard, slush covered pavement. An ambulance would have very likely been necessary. Well, OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit but if I would have ran the exact same route this time last year that I ran this morning it would have royally sucked. At the time, I wouldn’t wish such a thing on my worst enemy.

Things started shifting for me when two of my best friends, Mike and Warner, somehow convinced me to participate in “The Tough Mudder” last November. “The Tough Mudder” is a 12 mile obstacle course/mud run decided by the British Special Forces. In addition to running the entire time, you climb over walls, crawl through tubes, labor your way through waist high mud, and swim across freezing cold rivers, among countless other obstacles. I was not going to do it at first, but caved in and signed up in the end without really knowing why. My very loose three part goal was to finish the course strong, without injury or death, and to have a lot of fun along the way. But, to make this a reality, I was forced to start a training regiment that I was far from used to. Eventually, I worked my way up to 15 miles runs, which is kind of funny as I have spent most of my life avoiding anything to do with running. I was surprised when I started to look forward to the training–and even more surprised to find that I was a pretty good runner.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Clinton Hill, New York City (2008-Present), Things I am learning Comments ( 0 )

February 7, 2011

Learning the “Art of Sublet Hopping” in the NYC

There is an art to everything, and sublet hopping is no different. There are nuances for sure. How long will you stay? How far is the closest train? What is the nightlife like? What is the makeup of the neighborhood? Where can I store my bike? Just like anything, there are ups and downs and ins and outs. Luckily for me, so far this experience has been all positive. But, without a doubt, I have a lot to learn to make moving from place easier and more efficient. As of right now, even though I got rid of or found homes for most of my stuff, I still think I have too much.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Clinton Hill, New York City (2008-Present), Sublet Hopping Comments ( 1 )

February 1, 2011

The “Freedom Riders of 1961″ and Chez Lola

Charlotta Janssen The other night I was walking around Clinton Hill, trying to figure out where to eat, and randomly decided to drop into Chez Lola–a french influenced restaurant on Myrtle Avenue located next to the mecca of all gas stations. Once inside, you forget about its external surroundings in an instant. The restaurant is progressive and arty in every way imaginable–from the menu to the decor. I soon found out why when I met the owner, Charlotta Janssen. Charlotta is of German heritage, an extremely talented painter, and lives in the neighborhood to boot. She and her business partner also own Chez Oskar in Fort Greene—a staple of the community that I have not been able to check out quite yet (it’s on my list). Chez Oskar has been around for 12 years or so, while Chez Lola for 4 years. Charlotta and company have clearly figured out how to make the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill community happy on multiple levels. The food was fantastic–I recommend the Lobster Ravioli or any of the soups.