Susane Colasanti - Journal

Water towers are cool.





That is all.

People sometimes ask me why I pay so much rent to live in a tiny apartment (which is an average size for the West Village but microscopic anywhere else) when I could own a massive five-bedroom house in Kentucky for the same amount. The reasons for this are infinite. It's mostly about the energy. It's also about experiences like last Saturday night, aka The Ultimate New York City Night.

I'm a huge fan of a certain famous person who lives in my neighborhood. Out of respect for his privacy, I can't write his name here. However, I can give you the following hints about his identity:

1. I mentioned I was going to his house on my Twitter.
2. We get together now and then to have lunch.

He just bought a house a few blocks away from my place. You basically have to be him to own an entire brownstone around here. A friend of mine is his interior designer, so I got to visit his house. It's still being worked on, which means I'm allowed to show you a photo or two. This is part of his changing room:



The first floor has an amazing front room with a fireplace (I think there are eight fireplaces in total) and built-in bookshelves around the windows. Built-in bookshelves are a passionate desire of mine. These won't stay white like mine will be one day, but they are still gorgeous:



After the tour, we went to The Waverly Inn. I've always wanted to go there. It's this restaurant that doesn't even have a phone number -reservations are that exclusive. But another friend of mine (who is the boyfriend of my interior designer friend) is a fitness instructor at Equinox around the corner, so he'll saunter over during the day to make reservations. I know, my friends are outstanding! Shout-out to SP for hooking me up. Usually there's some movie star or other at The Waverly Inn. There wasn't anyone famous there Saturday night, though. Just some guy who looked like that guy from that show. But I do have one thing to show you:



See this plate of mac and cheese? It's not just any mac and cheese. This mac and cheese is $95.00. It has shaved white truffles on top. While I think it's outrageous that there can be $95.00 mac and cheese, I cannot deny its deliciousness.

That's the news from the nabe for now. When his house is finished and I get to see it again, I might be able to post a photo or two here. Stay tuned.

1. As Teen Read Week wraps up, I'd like to remind you to read something out of this world. To celebrate this most fabulous week, Readergirlz has been posting tributes to authors made of awesome. If you're looking for some good book recommendations, you should head over there.

2. Dissecting Perfection has compiled a Fall 2009 playlist entitled YA Celebs Playlist. Along with a bunch of other authors and bloggers, I answered the question, "What's your fall anthem of choice?" Regular readers will be less than shocked by my response.

3. Speaking of John Mayer, I'm a bit irritated. His new album, Battle Studies, drops on November 17. I could not be more excited. He's even having a small album release concert. When tickets went on sale, they were only available to existing members of his fan club. Which of course includes me. But I didn't get my tickets! Because right when they went on sale at 10:00, the website didn't refresh my page the way it was supposed to. Then it was 10:01. Then 10:02. The dread was unbearable. At 10:03, I was forwarded to the sales page. By then all the good seats were sold out. I could always go and sit way in the back, but I know me. I'll just be fuming the whole time that I'm not closer and I can't see and there's some dumbass who's not even a fan in the front row, checking his messages and not knowing any of the songs. Blerg.

4. When Thirtysomething was on, I was 13. I was not interested in watching the show. It was about grownups. Grownups were not interesting. Even so, I remember getting a sense that the show would be good. So I've been watching the first season, and it really is good! I love shows where people just sit around talking about everyday stuff that we can all relate to. If you can look past the goofy 80s fashion atrocities, you'll see a show that was ahead of its time.

5. The last few days were gorgeous! Today is cold and rainy, which is actually a good thing. It was so perfect out yesterday that I kept finding excuses to do errands. Now I have a lot of writing to do. Last night we went to the High Line to watch the sunset. That place is magical, especially at night. It was all city lights and big sky and waxing crescent moon:



Hoping you find some magic this weekend!

The thing about taking a vacay when practically everyone else is going back to school and getting their serious post-summer regimen on at work and such is that you miss some things. So today, I just want to catch up on some stuff that's been happening.

Last night, the preposterous Emmys with their endless commercials reminded me of why I've never owned a TV. How can there be that many commercials now? I don't remember commercials being anywhere near that bad back in the day. A few of my boys and shows were nominated, so I had to make a TV viewing exception and take control of SP's big screen. I should have known better. Why oh why do I always hope things will be different? Look, I have much respect for 30 Rock and Tina Fey. I am a fan. Smart, hilarious, sharp, awesome on so many levels - all that. But Steve Carell, Jemaine Clement, Rainn Wilson, The Office, and Flight of the Conchords were all nominated, and none of them won? Really? Something is not right with that picture. Steve Carell is so overdue for an Emmy I cannot even tell you. And no win for Rainn? Excuse me, but which character is more brilliant than Dwight Schrute? They were robbed! At least Jon Stewart got the attention he deserves. Not much of a silver lining, though.

Speaking of nominees who were robbed, I was stoked to come home to a pile of mail with David Letterman on the cover of New York magazine. My love for Dave is all sparkly rainbows and puffy hearts. I was so obsessed with Late Night in junior high that I used to tape it and watch it after school, recording all of his Top Ten lists in a special notebook. Just one more item I wish I hadn't thrown away before I left for college.

Tomorrow is the autumnal equinox. I find this impossible to believe. I know I'm always like, Wait, it's July? No way, I'm still on April! But this is serious. My time perception issue is getting worse. It feels like June to me. I don't know how to fix my problem, or even if I should classify this as an official problem. Maybe it just means I'm enjoying life (which, within the realm of my entire life, is a relatively new thing). Well. On a related note, it's Climate Week!

Most importantly, another September 11 has passed. My friend Stephen usually visits so we can walk to Ground Zero and take part in certain rituals. Our annual walk to Ground Zero symbolizes the walk to the Twin Towers we, thankfully, never took in 2001 as planned. This is a day I will never forget. Not only because our lives were saved, not only because the magic of the Towers drew me to New York, but because I live close to where they stood. I rebuild them behind my eyes every day. And every day, I thank the Universe that I am still here. I'll leave you with this photo of us from last year. To me, it looks like hope.

Found him.



It's the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck! With Doug in the window! He's out a few days each week, but it's been so hot that I didn't want ice cream. Which I know sounds counterintuitive. It's just that when it's really hot out, your ice cream melts in like three seconds. How much fun is that? So I waited until it wasn't scorching and tracked down the truck. Doug is super creative with the toppings. He uses bacon to create the wildly popular Choinkwich. He has toppings like curried coconut, Nutella, Trix, pickles, and pumpkin butter. I'm sort of a purist when it comes to ice cream. I felt like an unadventurous dork getting my cup of vanilla with butterscotch and extra sprinkles. I prefer cones, but the cup was to prevent melting accidents. Unfortunately, the combination of my being a slow eater and August in New York resulted in the wind zinging melted ice cream right out of my cup. I've made a pact to return when it's cooler, when I will be more adventurous. Not that I'm always more adventurous when it's cooler. But this is a special occasion. The pumpkin butter sounds pretty good. So yeah, the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is making quite a splash around these parts. Even NPR interviewed Doug. That's how much of a rock star he is.

For the rest of the week, I'll be unplugged from the Internet. I'm going to Vancouver, where it's supposed to get down to the 50s at night! Yay for a cool, refreshing break. I like to do a technology cleanse every so often, so four days away from the computer will be restorative. Otherwise known as How Things Were Not Too Long Ago. Catch you next week. Stay cool!

Here in New York, there's always something interesting going on. This is a welcome change from growing up in The Middle of Nowhere, New Jersey, where nothing interesting ever went on. Like, ever.

These things happened recently in NYC, courtesy of New York magazine:

• During a massive food fight, staff at a high school called the police for backup
• A man who had been impersonating his dead mother for six years in order to collect her Social Security was arrested
• There was a runaway pony
• Two balloon artists threatened a rival balloon man in Central Park
• Office managers called the police about a Wafels & Dinges truck because it was making the neighborhood look unprofessional

The best thing about the Wafels & Dinges truck is, of course, the name. Added allure comes not necessarily from being able to have a fancy waffle with lots of toppings ("Dinges" means "toppings"), but the knowledge that you could have one whenever you want.

I'd like to share some other highlights of my nabe, including something very interesting that went down at Carrie Bradshaw's stoop a few weeks ago. I was walking by her stoop (where the Sex and the City scenes are filmed, even though Carrie is supposed to live on the Upper East Side), when I saw this:



New paint for the railings! Could it be for the next SATC movie, which I totally hear they'll be filming soon?

These finger paintings are really sweet:



When I see things like this, I completely get why it's called the Village.

The Fourth of July fireworks were awesome. They were at a lower altitude than usual (I think because it was so windy that night), but still awesome. I was mostly looking forward to the smiley face ones and the heart ones. When I saw some smiley face ones over in New Jersey before the Macy's show started, I tried to capture one for you:



Clearly, I need a lot more practice with the Fireworks setting on my Nikon Coolpix. But see the smiley face? Sort of?

Lastly, I want to leave you with a photo I took on the High Line. Enjoy the summer breeze this weekend!

If I couldn't be a science teacher or a teen book author or a closet organizer, I would probably be an urban planner. I have serious love for New York City, especially its green architecture and parks and all the ways in which it interacts with the people living here to enhance our lives. The idea of creating a Zen space out of a desolate area is fascinating. That's why the High Line makes me so happy.



There's an old elevated subway line running from the West Village into midtown. For years it just sat there. But now it's been transformed into the High Line, a new green space with amazing views and lots of vegetation. All of the plants are indigenous, grown from preserved seeds. Trees, grasses, shrubs, and flowers were all planted around the old train tracks:



It's a sweet place to relax. I love having peaceful places like this in the middle of a busy city. It's a totally rejuvenating experience! There are lounge chairs that roll along the original rail tracks. There's a wading pool you can walk across in the summer. A huge glass wall overlooks the street below. Benches are spread out. Every little section has its own theme going on. And all of the lighting is placed along the railing to reduce the amount of light pollution, which will rock on clear nights.

Since the High Line is elevated in an area with few obstructions, the views are incredible. You can check out the awesome surrounding architecture in a way that's impossible from street level...



...or just watch sunset on the Hudson River :



Yay for reclaimed materials! Here's more info about the High Line's design and history.

Some numbers:

• It's Day 4 of my blog tour. Today I'm over at The Story Siren, where I reveal which author I'd trade lives with for a day.
• There are only 8 days of waiting left until Waiting for You is released!
• Reviewer X is giving away 2 copies of Waiting for You.

May 14 isn't only the pub date of Waiting for You. It's also when Take Me There will be released in paperback. To spread the word, Tatyana Cabrera created a Take Me There book trailer! I interviewed Taty last year, since she contributed to the book. An excerpt of her poem, Rebel, appears in Take Me There. To create the book trailer, she took photos all around the West Village, where the story takes place. Among the many scenes she captured are Rhiannon's house, Magnolia cupcakes, sunset on the river, and the place where some serious iPod dancing went down. Infinite thanks to Taty!

It's Day 3 of my blog tour. You can find me over at Frenetic Reader for High School Myth #3 and what I like the most about being an author. Khy also asked me one of my fave questions of this blog tour: Why do you include both a failed relationship and a new one in each of your books? Sharp observation!

Only 9 more days of waiting until Waiting for You is out in the world!

The only thing that can cause almost as much excitement as my new book release is getting to see Jon Stewart for a taping of The Daily Show. Have I ever mentioned that I worship Jon Stewart in a godlike way? Oh, I have? Yeah, I have because he freaking rocks the house. I had tickets for last Thursday, April 30, which you can watch on Hulu.



When I'm passionate about something, there's no limit to my devotion. I really love how Jon is making the world a better place, so I'm a hardcore fan. Which means that I had to be first in line. You can line up until 4:30. The doors open at 5:15. I got there at 1:05. I was first in line. Score!

I've seen the show before, so I knew where to sit on the empty sidewalk to start the line. I was completely alone for almost an hour. That was one strange hour. Nice New Yorkers kept saying stuff like, "Way to wait it out!" as they walked by. A guy riding his bike past with a visitor was explaining how by 3:30 there's a huge line. Then he saw me and he yelled, "Right on!" One dude sat next to me for a while even though he didn't have tickets. Then he was like, "Oh, you need tickets?" Dogs came up and sniffed me.

It was like I was on a reality how called The Longest Wait. I almost expected people to start throwing scraps of food at me. However, this was not necessary. When you're preparing to wait in line for several hours, provisions are important. I had snacks. I had a small bottle of water (no bathroom access, but need to stay hydrated). Tissues are also good, since about ten pounds of 11th Avenue dirt accumulate on your face while you're waiting.

When SP showed up around 4:00 and found me first in line, he was all, "You are the biggest Daily Show nerd." Yes! Best compliment ever! Here's part of the line, with me staring down the girls next to me. Those girls aren't next in line. They're at the back of the line! Which wraps around! And goes around the corner down the block!



For the show, my seat was right next to Jon. I read from his teleprompter and watched the video clips from this camera screen. This one time he was supposed to say "good," but instead he said "terrific." He's so fun to watch when he's not on screen! He totally cracks up while he's watching the clips. He rolls his chair back and forth a little, all energy and excitement. Love that.

Hugh Jackman fans should know that you'll never see more ripped arms on a smaller dude. I was sitting about fifteen feet from his biceps. And triceps. And every other muscle group in the arm, all of which were clearly visible. You don't want to throw down with Hugh. Unless you're Jack Bauer.

I'm going back in the fall for my next Daily Show fix. Perhaps I will invest in an inflatable mini chair.

May 1 = May Day = my birthday = gifts for you! It's time to give back to all of you as my way of saying thank you for this life. So I'm starting my second contest today. The wonderful Melissa Walker and I have teamed up to present you with our Soul Mates Contest. Her new book, Lovestruck Summer, comes out this month along with Waiting for You. You can win signed copies of both books!

Melissa created this video of us, in which we discuss the contest prizes, the rules, and a bit about the things we like. I cannot take any credit for this video. Melissa filmed everything, then did all of the editing and text - I love her cute comments! She even added an outtakes section. Thanks for creating this sweet video, Melissa!

Here's how the Soul Mates Contest works. (Note: You might have to use your headphones if you're like me and are always meaning to stop by Shiny Happy Apple World for those gorgeous speakers, but somehow have not gone yet):


To enter the contest:

1. Leave a comment here to win Melissa's books and gift bag or leave a comment over at Melissa's blog to win my books and John Mayer stuff. In your comment, tell us about your favorite TV or movie soul mates who should be together but aren't. If they eventually get together, that's cool, just tell us about the time they weren't and you were like, "Ring ring! Clue phone!"

2. Your entry will count twice if you post this video on your blog, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Leave the link in your comment.

3. You have until June 1 to enter.

Hey, it's Day One of my blog tour! Check out my interview with Taylor over at For the Love of Books.

May Day is also Buy Indie Day, so show your support of indie bookstores by visiting your local indie today.

The following takes place between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Events occur in real time.

10:23 p.m. Receive call from SP. Upload the coordinates of his location to my PDA. He has a visual on Kiefer Sutherland. Must hurry before Kiefer leaves.

I have been waiting to meet Kiefer to give him a copy of Take Me There with the 24 roof scene marked. And because he rocks my world. Now is my chance.

10:25 p.m. Realize I look hideous. Have been in John Mayer T-shirt and pajama bottoms all day, working.

10:26 p.m. Throw on sweater and jeans. Try to appear presentable. Hair revolts.

10:32 p.m. En route to location. No need to send a chopper.

10:39 p.m. Arrive at location. Checked for weapons and ID at door.

10:41 p.m. CTU conference with SP. I will give Kiefer the book. He will be ready for documentation.

10:43 p.m. Kiefer is outside smoking. Executive decision to wait until he is back within perimeter.

10:48 p.m. Kiefer is a very friendly neighbor. He's also an actual neighbor of mine. Accepts the book. Is awesome.

10:50 p.m.



10:59 p.m. Reflect on brilliance of unplanned reverse color coordination.

Copy that.

...but what is it?

I am interviewed over at What Vanessa Reads. Vanessa's site has a new design and lots going on, so why not go on over and say hey? I'm so impressed with Vanessa and other teens who share their love of reading with us in such meaningful ways. Long live real books!

Smart chicks like Tina Fey rule. She is also funny and insightful and way talented. Thus, she is one of my people. So when I recently found out that she lived on the Upper West Side at 80th & Columbus, I was like, "No way! I lived at 80th & Columbus!" And then she said how when she lived there, she watched the new planetarium at the Museum of Natural History being built. I was all, "Get out! I watched the planetarium being built!" Which means not only were we neighbors, we were neighbors at the exact same time. I like this.



On our way home from Canada, we had high tea at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. High tea is righteous. I got to pretend I was way fancier than I am, plus there's dessert. Here you can see the three tiers of each tea: scones, sandwiches, and sweets. The sweets included a maple leaf cookie, gingerbread, Christmas cookies, and a tart. The tart (top left) was way too dainty for SP. Although the most pretentious item was clearly the frilly salmon finger sandwich (middle right), complete with its own miniscule lemon wedge the size of a dust mote. I immediately scored the classic cucumber sandwich since it was vegetarian.

The flight back had a turbulent takeoff and landing, what with all the wind. I suffer from motion sickness, so this was bad news for me. Taking two Bonine before traveling seems to do close to nothing when smacked with a turbulence/altitude change combo. I used visualization to save the day, playing "Summer Breeze" in my mind and holding on to the book I was reading. This book is a freaking work of genius and you will hear about it when I'm done. The power of visualization is strong, not only in creating your ideal life but in helping you get through hard situations.

Garrison Keillor had an awesome bit on "A Prairie Home Companion" before Christmas. It's a short skit with two Christmas trees waiting on a New York sidewalk to be bought. It's one of those things that has a way stronger effect on me than it should. See or hear the trees here.

Jeremy Piven and I go way back. We're so tight that I just call him Jeremy P. Here we are on Halloween:


I've had love for Jeremy since way back in the day. He was hilarious in Say Anything. I loved him in The Family Man and Serendipity. I always wondered when he'd finally score the golden role and be noticed more. Then came Entourage with Ari Gold. That's called karma.

After his stellar performance in Speed-the-Plow (love David Mamet's dialogue), I showed Jeremy a photo of the two of us taken four years ago after his stellar performance in Fat Pig (love Neil LaBute's twisted world). That was a way different experience, because four years ago it was just me and a few other hard-core fans waiting for Jeremy after the play. This time around involved strategic placement and strong determination to stand out among the throngs of Jeremy P. fans. Jeremy was impressed by the photo. This one girl waiting was all like how Jeremy is her secret boyfriend. I was like, Step back, g. Where were you four years ago?



Raul Esparza and Elisabeth Moss were also excellent. Their best interchange:

"I hope - "
"We all hope. It's what keeps us alive."

This place just opened on Bleecker Street:



I just had to document this and share it with you, even though a huge tour group was wondering why I was taking a picture of a hot dog and coffee place. Because I find this to be a fascinating combination. Cake and coffee is a classic. I could also see hot dogs and fries. Or coffee and tea. Or coffee and Coffee Crisps. But coffee and hot dogs? Really? Do those two things even go together? Also, isn't hot dog two words?

I'm not a frequent coffee drinker and I can only have decaf (caffeine makes me feel sort of sick), but I like the taste. And a quality cup of decaf with a nice piece of cake is good times. So I'll sample their coffee. I'll also see if they have veggie dogs. Since this is the Village and they're apparently hot dog experts, I would assume so. Hey, and maybe they're really good! It's not easy to find a good veggie dog. Unless you're at Westville, which makes most excellent ones.

On a completely unrelated note, I finally saw The Puffy Chair. What a cool film. And there was an actual puffy chair in it! Also exciting is tomorrow's opening of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Yay Rachel Cohn and David Levithan! I bet they'll celebrate with some cake and coffee.