whoa. emotional overload.

It's sappy, emotional time. just DEAL with it!

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I am one of those people that likes to do everything by myself. I am such a boy when handling situations such as asking for directions or putting a piece of furniture together: LEAVE ME ALONE! I CAN DO IT MYSELF! I'm a Rutledge...and we're stubborn. Crazy, no? Normally, I would consider this ''stubbornness'' a complete flaw, but in this city, it has been quite helpful.

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95% of the time...I'm happy. Simply walking around this city puts me on cloud nine (I still don't believe that I live here!). But 5% of the time...i can be...lonely (i hate even using that word). I ask myself, "what am I doing HERE when everyone else is THERE?" "How can I be in a city full of millions and feel lonely?" It's an odd contradiction.
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I sometimes can't even listen to certain music because it reminds me of somewhere or someone within the (615) area code. THANK GOD I am stubborn. The truth is...I've always wanted to live here and now am. Suck it up, Jordan (great...now i'm talking to myself...). Creating a life here is forcing me to separate myself from everything i know and love...which only takes time.

One of two things happen to people that move to this city:

1.) they move here, they love it, and they stay

2.) they move here, they love it, but they end up leaving
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I have yet to decide which ending I'll choose,
but so far I've moved here and I love it...we'll see what happens after a year!

¿usted sabía?

"Voices leaking from from a sad cafe. Smiling faces try to understand

I saw a shadow touch a shadows hand...On Bleecker Street"

The lyrics above were taken from the song "Bleecker Street" written by Simon and Garfunkel for their Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. album. Bleecker Street and the area surrounding it is full of history. Some other historical names that I don't mind dropping are: Herman Melville (author of Moby Dick) and Thomas Paine (author of Common Sense). They both resided on Bleecker at one point in time. Current celebrity sitings? Alicia Keyes, Jordan Rutledge and Elizabeth Black supposedly live on this street as well. Keep a lookout.

While apartment searching on craigslist.org (which is the best website EVER...but could use some javascripting) I was immediately drawn to this apartment because of the street name. Bleecker street is the backbone of the west village. All of the buildings have very neat histories. Many of the bars and jazz lounges along it have housed some of the biggest names in musical history. (Phish, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and the Grateful Dead) Just to name a few...

In addition to the history...lets talk about some other wonderful things...

Magnolia Bakery (known for it's cupcakes) is yummy. I'm not a huge cake/cupcake fan...but they also have key lime cheesecake that is delicious in my belly. if you don't mind waiting in line...pop on by. speaking of magnolia...watch this video: "Lazy Sunday" with Chris Parnell and Andy Samburg. Marc Jacobs is my favorite. Ever. How convenient is it that his store is also on Bleecker? it was FATE.

i want this.

let's play ketchup

bienvenidos

SO. I moved to new york to write (preferably for a glossy magazine).  Currently, I am doing no such thing (which is okay...i've only been here three months...geez). By starting this blog I'm hoping that it will serve as entertainment for you and mental exercise for me.  Before I go further, please be aware that I am a huge fan of the following: ellipsis, rambling, hardly -ever using capitalization, and parenthesis.

On June 3rd, I celebrated My and NYC's  three month anniversary (we're in love)! So much has happened in this short time period. In retrospect, it feels much longer than that. Although i've already told many of you the stories and statements i'm about to write, I feel inclined to set some foundation for what is to come. I'm apologizing in advance for my unorganized and, often times, rambling thought process:

So...I live in the very trendy, very gay-friendly area known as the village(also known as the west village...which is on the edge of greenwich village...blah blah). Whatever you would like to call it...I LOVE IT.  It reminds me of Friends (and that apt is only a few blocks away from me on grove/bedford).

I live in St Demos' Square. It's a threeway stop between Bleecker, Carmine, and 6th Ave. It is fully equipped with a fountain, gelato and Joe's Famous Pizza (the most famous pizza joint in NYC - don't let anyone tell you otherwise!).  It's a loud and busy hub of restaurants, bars, and stores that is never quite empty.  i love that. For example: There is this man that literally (im not kidding) wheels a piano into the square  and plays classical music that i can hear through my window daily... amazing.

My landlord is a short, little Italian man named Donnato.  He is very animated and speaks very broken English. He takes care of us if we need anything. This is sooo comforting to my mother and Tracy (my crazy italian godmother). On Saturday...he helped me situate my air conditioning unit...claiming it was "a man's job and that we shouldn't have been doing by ourselves!" He owns Trattoria Spaghetto that is directly below my apartment.  Often times...Liz and i will go eat down there and he will give us free wine or dessert! yum!  He used to be married to a crazy lady named Lucy (who still does his books for him). She is insane...and lives in Queens. That is all i have to say about her.

My roomie, Elizabeth Black, is Lauren (Houk) Clay's (my best friend) roomie from college.  We vaguely knew each other before spontaneously packing up and moving here...but it has worked out very very well.  Liz is soft-spoken, VERY easygoing, and hilarious.  She works for Jacob and Co. (jacob arabo is the jeweler to the stars - very neat job). Everyday she comes home with crazy stories about the crazy Russian family she works for.  We are both extremely OCD and therefore our apartment is always spotless (which i love).  She also eats a lot healthier than I do, which i'm hoping will, eventually, rub off onto me! (Not very likely when Joe's is open until 4:00 AM...they know me by name and i'm not kidding...i even own a Joe's Pizza Tshirt...so sad...)

lizzy b and i

We came up here in early february and found our apartment immediately...which is lucky.  It is tiny and we love it. You won't really understand how tiny it is unless you visit...but my closet is an example of how we make due with the little space that we have...my room is 10 x 10.  Lizzy B's room (that's what i call her...ha) is 9 x 6. A shoebox, if you will. she has just enough room in there for her twin size bed and a clothing rack....needless to say...we spend a lot of time in our kitchen/livingroom area.

my closet...a work of art!

When I moved here at the beginning of March and immediately took a receptionist position at Hermes of Paris (which is a fashion house for those of you that live in a hole...).  I worked from 1-6 everyday and was introduced to the wonderful world of the UES (upper east side).  I didn't really like opening doors  and answering phones for people...so that job didn't last very long.  I did enjoy wearing the scarves though.  They were beautiful.

Elizabeth's boyfriend, Ryan, is Australian. She met him while I was gone for three weeks packing up pleasant valley.  He is stubborn, like me, so we participate in harmless bickering on a regular basis. He plays on NYM which is a club rugby team for the NYRC.  Needless to say, my first few months in the city consisted of  hanging out with all foreign, rugby boys. They're very, very different...and I'll leave it at that.

However, one of the rugby guys ended up hiring me.  His name is Brynn Ireland and he is from Cape Town, South Africa.  He and I work for Partsearch Technologies (a very nerdy computer company).  I am, basically, driving him crazy until i can find another suitable job.

I HAVE ALSO DECIDED TO NOT BE A BRAVES FAN ANYMORE...i've fallen into the darkside. i am now a METS fan! I am in love with david wright(the third baseman).  I don't consider this as band-wagoning because the Mets suck this year...like really bad. I found this vintage shirt yesterday...sweet.

THAT IS ALL FOR NOW!

-joey