I'm a dogsitter in New York...

Right now I can see two little girls lie on the floor in front of me having an afternoon nap. Sake is going home to her mum today as Lilly arrived this afternoon. They're handbag dogs, perfect for New Yorkers who have a certain lifestyle. Lilly barks at dogs on TV, I've never seen that before. For a handbag dog, she's a gutsy little thing. So there I was this afternoon, walking down East 4th Street with two small dogs at my side...well actually one was pulling me in front, the other being dragged from behind. But still, I looked like a New Yorker.

Well, I haven't been doing anything extremely exciting the past couple days. A couple around my age from Sydney stayed a few nights as they are on a band tour throughout the states, so I relished the fact I had company my age to hang out with. It's funny how in these circumstances you bond instantly with others who know what you are going through. Madeline and I got along extremely well as we took a day to wander the city, visit Saks 5th Ave (very swanky!) and go to the Museum of Modern Art. On Friday afternoons the MOMA is free so it is very popular and the lineup is akin to something you would expect at Disneyland. Inside it was just as crazy. To view anything seen as remotely popular meant you had to deal with pushing through a wall of people to get a glimpse. It was funny in case as I went to find A Starry Night (Van Gogh) and naturally this was one of those popular images, yet people crowded around this one and paid absolutely no attention to the other Van Gogh (equally as beautiful). This seemed to be another case where the heat was too much and the masses sought out air con and free activities. Though it was a great thing to do on a Friday evening. I came home and chilled out for a while, getting into some painting. It's good to have the time to get creative.

Yesterday I hung out with the others before they left and then went off to have lunch with the director of some short films I'm hoping to get some art department experience on. It was great to meet a local and chat and people watch. So the great thing is I'll get some storyboarding out of this and some design work plus it's great networking.

New York is THE place for people watching. New Yorkers seem to love it themselves. Restaurants are especially good at catering for this hobby. Large windows or "terrace" settings are very popular in summer. The East Village is particularly great for this. The type of people roaming the streets on the weekend is quite varied. Young kids not having a clue what to do, homeless people saying hello to you as you eat, old ladies with fold-up chairs sitting down on the side walk to have a smoke and watch people herself. It's certainly a happening place to be.

The MOMA was a great space