How to Spend Your Snow Day
Everybody has the day off from work, right? Oh, you’re an employee of the city? Oh, you’re someone who can take care of professional responsibilities remotely and so never have an excuse not to be working? Oh, you’re one of the thousands upon thousands of employees who don’t have a job that will be in the slightest bit forgiving if you miss one day, even though the governor of New York has just declared a state of emergency for the entire New York metro area? Well, then, this post isn’t really for you. Sorry. I mean, it’s not really for me either. I’m working too. So, let’s all just live vicariously through this list of things we would be doing on today’s snow day, if, you know, it was actually a snow day for any of us at all.
1) Catch a Movie: As of literally right now (things could change at any moment though!) most subways are running with normal service, and only a few lines (including, duh, the F) have delays. So you have no excuse not to catch up on Oscar-nominated films so that you’ll know what you’re doing when you head over to Clover Club on March 2nd for their annual Oscar party and enter their Oscar pool. Alternately, check out the ongoing Vengeance Is Hers series at BAM. Today’s features include The Heiress and The Match Factory Girl. This series is also pretty timely because, well, it certainly does seem like Mother Nature is wreaking her vengeance on all of us for all the shit we’ve done to her during the last few hundred years. Payback is a bitch.
2) Catch Up On TV: House of Cards is coming back to Netflix tomorrow, so why not binge watch the entire first season today? And, really, is there a better way to spend the day then contemplating the machinations and malign motivations of politicians and their constant gaslighting of the public? It’s perhaps especially important to do that today, since NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña has just defended her decision to keep schools open by claiming, “It’s absolutely a beautiful day out there right now.” Just remember, it’s not us who are insane. It’s the politicians.
3) Do Some Reading: We received the news yesterday that writer Maggie Estep died of a heart attack at her home in Hudson, New York. Estep had a huge presence in the spoken word poetry scene that developed in New York in the early 90s and was a fixture on MTV during the time when, you know, music videos were shown and The Real World had only aired a handful of seasons. Estep even had the dubious honor of having one of her spoken word videos torn apart by no less a celebrated duo than Beavis and Butthead. So, talk about cred, you know? More recently, Estep had an excellent essay published in Sari Botton’s Goodbye to All That anthology. Titled “Think of This As a Window,” Estep remembered the New York of her young adulthood and lamented its latest incarnation. Today wouldn’t be the worst day to browse through Estep’s blog or order a copy of Goodbye to All That or watch some of her spoken word poetry on YouTube. Here is a small part of one of her poems, “Happy”:
I’m ripped apart by sunshine
I’m ecstatic
I’m leaping
I’m cutting off all my limbs
I’m doing circus tricks with forks
I’m breathing fire
I’m a radiant asshole
And I’m happy
I’ve got joy shooting from the roots of my hair
down to my violent red toe nails
I’m happy
to be here
to be alive
to be here
to be alive
I’m here
I’m alive
And I’m happy
4) Think About Death In General: I don’t think I’m alone in saying that this is what you’re supposed to do during the winter generally, and then during snow storms specifically. And what better way to do this than by going to Greenwood Cemetery? No, but really! It’s just as beautiful a place to wander as a park, but because it’s more meticulously groomed, there’s a lesser chance of an errant branch, um, landing on your head and killing you. Still, be careful out there! But maybe go for a stroll and contemplate your life and your death and stand next to Minerva and look out onto the wintry white swirl of the city before you.
5) And Then Celebrate Life by Cooking: What? You didn’t stock up on food in preparation for this blizzard? FOOL. I guess you could just order something off Seamless then, but DON’T FORGET TO TIP YOUR DELIVERYMAN. Like, a lot. But if you DO have food, why not check out Lukas Volger’s latest issue of Feast by Lukas? The theme of this issue is “Weeknights” and the vegetarian (and vegan-friendly) recipes are suited for all eaters and cooks of all skill levels. Also suited for all people who like good food. There’s comfort food like Anything Risotto and a recipe for the best breakfast ever: chai spiced steel cut oatmeal. Does anything sound better than that right now? Not to us. Stay warm, everyone. And enjoy the snow day. If, you know, you have one.
Follow Kristin Iversen on twitter @kmiversen