and on that note

I walked by the Central Presbyterian Church on Park Avenue today and noticed they had a quote by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) on their board "The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr."

A church on the ritziest street on the most expensive real estate in the country and possibly the world, with people with so much power and money they (think they) don't have to care, has put forth the effort to read, understand and communicate the words of Islam. That is cool.

very cool

GOOD NEWS: FL HOMEOWNER REMOVES QURAN 'FLUSHING' DISPLAY - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/27/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that one of its representatives helped convince a Florida man to remove a toilet in his yard with a sign attached that read: "Koran flush 1 p.m." SEE: http://www.cairfl.org/images/flush02.JPG

The owner of the toilet said it was designed to honor those who died in the 9/11 attacks and in Iraq. It was also retribution, he said, for what he believed to be a failure of Muslims to object to the terrorism of extremists.

SEE: "Now Toilet Makes a Statement"
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/27/Neighborhoodtimes/Cited_by_Pinellas_Par.shtml

After CAIR-FL Central Florida Director Ahmed Bedier learned of complaints about the display, he went to the home to take a picture. When he noticed that the owner was home, he knocked on the door to inquire about the motivation for the display.

Bedier, who happened to have his laptop computer with him, showed the homeowner some of the Muslim condemnations of terrorism and CAIR's "Not in the Name of Islam" public service announcement. After about an hour of discussion, the homeowner offered to take down the toilet display.

SEE: http://www.cairfl.org/images/flush03.JPG
http://www.cairfl.org/images/flush05.JPG

"This incident proves that anti-Muslim prejudice decreases whenever ordinary people are given accurate information about Islam and have personal interactions with Muslims," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. Hooper thanked the homeowner for his willingness change his preconceived ideas about Islam and Muslims.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About

CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier, 813-731-9506, abedier@cair-florida.org; Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214, altaf@cair-florida.org

What I love about NYC

I was at the corner of Broadway and W. 34th Street when I saw a white guy getting out of a cab, driven by a Pakistani driver. The man paid, and the cabbie said "Thank you, sir."

The white guy said "Asalaamalaikum" to the cabbie.

You would never see this in Boston, as the translation is "Peace be upon you." There is no peace in racist Boston. But NYC belongs to the world, and everyone there knows it and keeps up the reputation. And THAT is the real reason Boston just can't compete.

awful

I was walking by Athens Square Park this morning and noticed a bunch of cops standing around. There was someone sleeping on the bench -- a common sight here. Except he had been covered completely with a clean white sheet -- you could only see his arm dangling down. There was a line of police tape on the sidewalk by the bench.

I guess that DJ has a point, some people did not wake up today. Be grateful that you did. ("He actually makes me feel worse", June 12, 2005).

Sofie Metro

I just finished another book set in Astoria, it is called "Sofie Metropolis". It is about a first-generation Greek woman working for her uncle's private investigation agency.

There is a website with recipes for all the great Greek food the book mentions. www.sofiemetro.com

We all love NYC

I was walking back from lunch to the warehouse job when a guy stopped me on the street, pointed at my shirt and said "I Love New York too!!!"

(I wear this touristy thing at the warehouse because I get grungy while working. But it is a great workout!)

Birdies galore!

I got off the 6 train at 33rd Street yesterday and encountered a massive plate-glass window with scores of colorful birds roosting together. Tourists were taking photos of it.

33rd & Bird/the Bird House
40 E 33rd St
New York, NY 10016-5301 Phone: (212) 447-0021

3rdandbird.com

Sample this!

I went to my first-ever sample sale in the Village, hosted by my publicist. (Since she is into publicity, I will include her name and website here www.chloejo.com).

It was a lot of fun! There are boxes of clothes and jewelery at heavily-discounted prices, and girls just go through them, share them and try them on. It is like a massive game of dress-up.

A lot of people there told me how great my publicist looks since I started working her out back in April. I even got a few free items of clothing as a "thank you". That was so nice of her!!! :^)

You look faaabulous, dahling!

I got my hair highlighted in the Village this morning by a friend of my publicist. Unlike last year, she put a glaze on my hair instead of taking me outside to lean over a car with a handmirror (see "You look ghetto-faaaaaabulous, darling!" July 29, 2004).

The cost to be a model for highlighting services is $30, which covers the cost of the materials. Models are taken on Mondays at 9AM and 10AM and Fridays at 9AM. The salon is Arrojo Studio (www.arrojostudio.com) at 180 Varick Street at the corner of King.

If anyone is living the high life in NYC as a broke-ass, it is I, Suzy Zeus.

gotta respect that

I saw a man reading aloud from the Bible in a subdued voice by the New York Public Library on E 40th Street and 5th Avenue. He had a handwritten cardboard sign next to him that said:

"Please leave NO food or money."

I know people with full-time jobs, shopping for designer labels, who cry poverty and ask for hand-outs (and they are always self-professed atheists, too) but this guy had dignity and spirituality. Rock on, brotha!

I meet so many presidents and I don't even know it

Today, I got the New York Times and its Sunday magazine section featured a cover story on the president of Syria. I recognized his name and face as someone I checked into the gym at the Sheraton a few weeks ago. He must have been in town for the interview for the article.

Other famous people I saw at the Sheraton in my month there:

Hillary Clinton (attending a fundraiser held by the Friends of Hillary organization)

Actress Eliza Dushku (who is very pretty and nice, even up close without make-up. It took me a few days to guess who it was, because she didn't tell me and she registered under a group name instead of an individual name.) So cool!

Adventures in a warehouse

After a (very) brief but (very) spectacular career as the manager of the gym for the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square, I am working as a laborer in a warehouse in midtown Manhattan, packaging visual merchandising materials for Apple Ipods to be shipped to malls across America and even some in Japan. Oh my!

Anyhow, people bring their dogs to work and it is kind of cute, because they try to chase each other on the linleum and end up skidding across the floor.

There is a manager there named M who has to "show you everything so you understand" (her words to everyone there.) She showed me today how to trace around a circle. I recall learning that in kindergarten -- and even excelling at it -- but she wasn't sure I would "understand". Whatever. Then she got pissed that I was better and faster at it than she was.

I have a job interview at Yale University on Wednesday and am taking the day off from the warehouse. I am a bit nervous -- what if that's the day we learn to trace squares????

(Just kidding.)

What I'm Reading Now

I am reading a book of poetry called "Suzy Zeus Gets Organized: A Novel", by Maggie Robbins, a NYC psychotherapist who is a very talented writer. The book tells the tale of Suzy Zeus, and it starts in Astoria (aka my neighborhood) and ends in Astroland (the theme park in Coney Island), leaving Suzy in a slightly better place after she loses her waitress job and gets dumped by her boyfriend.

I am now adopting the name "Suzy Zeus" for this blog. All hail the mighty Suzy Zeus!

Happy July 4th!

JDM, many others and I went to see the fireworks display on the East River. This required hopping the barriers across 4 lanes of the FDR highway to get to the river in the first place. The fireworks could just barely be seen from beyond the Queensborough Bridge. It was very nice!