andy?

rob pruitt's chrome andy warhol homage...

do you see a little michael jackson?

jeanne kirkpatrick, maybe?

quickie (2,3)

and then came the sun

thundersnow 2011: after effects

snow day: before it turned to rain, and then...THUNDERSNOW

(i'm staying inside for the thundersnow.)

from my "beat": park ave and union square

oh look. we're plowing everything now, even the plazas on park ave.

(though these john deere's were probably privately hired...)

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coffee and cheer

if you were in the vicinity of union square at a little past noon today, i bet you saw a little commotion on the northwest corner and had 2 thoughts:

uh-oh, what did starbucks do now?

and

where am i gonna go for my afternoon-tall-nonfat-chai?

i should have been in a rush to get back to the office, but had my camera with me and couldn't resist lingering for a few minutes to see what kind of "protest" photos could get.

turns out it was less demonstration, more celebration by the manhattan starbucks union-- starbucks workers received either a paid day-off or time-and-a-half for mlk day, for the first time ever. overall, the company's commitment to paying its baristas for the holiday amounted to roughly $1.2 million dollars. (hence, the many happy horns...)

all photos © anita aguilar

snow day 2011: union square park

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"puddle shots 2011"

all photos taken on january 12, 2011...

© anita aguilar

snow day: morning walk

i tuned in to the local morning news for the hour or so it took for me to have coffee and mentally brace myself for a walk to work in the -2 windchill. blizzard coverage is really no more informative than accuweather or mta sites, is it? and it's gets stale pretty quick what with the studio anchors "sending it out," again and again, to the same poor reporters stalking the same corner for "stranded stories" and "intrepid tourist tales." not sure why we need hours and hours of that kind of coverage but for a little while, i liked the soundtrack of it, essentially unchanged from the "old days" when we had to rely on AM radio and TV to find out about school closings. i daydreamed for some scrolling text that would say all small businesses in manhattan are closed...take off those ridiculous winter boots. but i didn't really mind having to go into work. i figured it would be a light day. and it would at least get me out of the house to snap a few photos.

not too much action on park avenue. but here's what i saw:

park ave

outside the morgan library and museum

i appreciate wanting to protect your feet (cold, wet toes equals no fun) but this plastic bag technique virtually ensures that this guy's gonna bite it. hard. and then he's cold and wet, bottom down...

not many grown-ups would look so cute in that hat.

all bundled up

generally unstoppable, but temporarily stuck...

union square

detour

at the start of every work day, i step off the 5th floor elevator, say hello to shawn, our receptionist, tap my picture id on a small, square black pad by her desk, and swing through our office's glass double doors. i take a several rushed steps. my eyes are always drawn to the wide windows on the right, windows that overlook union square park. i might smile a bit every day because of them.

but i always make a left, down a high and long, artificially bright corridor, to my dim, windowless cubicle. those front windows--all that sky, sometimes the sun-- tease me all day, every day. from time to time, on my way to or from a meeting in our conference room, i'll stop and have a lookout. (it's fun to be the one towering over the trees. i like seeing how we new yorkers move.) but i don't allow myself time every day to enjoy it. i'm not sure why. i should never be too busy to appreciate that view.

i stopped tonight:

with the g10. union square park, dec 2, 2010.

not a great picture, but a good idea.

will stop again, soon.

yesterday, in the park

9:45, union square park.