Across the Brooklyn Bridge

I am leaving Barnes and Noble on Court Street in downtown Brooklyn tonight and seated in front of the store are two kids probably in their early 20's: one is puerto rican and one is black both dressed in oversized tee shirts and baggy shorts wearing doo-rags on their heads. Between them is a table with a sign resting on it: Palms Read, Fortunes Told: $2.00. My eyes caught the young puerto rican kid's eyes and he yells out, "Get your palm read! Only two dollars!" I can't help but smile at both the novelty of what they are doing and at their entrepreneurial spirit as I'm walking away. However, as I'm doing so, the kid's eyes remained firmly locked on mine and a look of alarm comes over his face. "Yo, your life's in danger! Look both ways before you cross the street!"

"Hardy har har," I thought to myself until it struck me about half a second later that earlier in the day, I actually came within a couple of inches of being struck by a passing car because I wasn't looking both ways. It was very close. So close in fact that I was shocked that the driver didn't honk his horn to alert me as to how close he was.

Posted by Alif at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

I will admit to having some ambivalence about who to vote for in this year's election. Like many others, I didn't know enough about John Kerry. I didn't know his platform, what he believed in, nor what he would advocate for. I will say that I was VERY impressed with his speech last night. I liked what he had to say even though I've been through enough elections to know that I've heard it all before from other politicians.

Yeah, I know: you'll reduce taxes on the middle class. Yes, you'll reform health care. Yes, I know about Joanne Doe, in Tinytown, Texas, raising two children who both have muscular dystrophy and was just laid off her job because it was shipped overseas and is now struggling between paying for the healthcare needed for her children, paying the bills and eating.

Yes, I know about all these people who've been left behind and who are one paycheck away from poverty.

Yes, I hear them saying that they will make America strong again. I hear that they will punish those who will prey on the weak and vulnerable in this country. etc. etc. etc.

Do I think either of these candidates will deliver on these promises they make? Nah.
But I do feel the Democratic party this year comes way closer to having the vision I see and want for myself as an American living in this country and the more I scrutinize what's happened in this country in the past four years, the more I believe this nation has veered off course from what the founding fathers intended when they drafted the constitution...especially under the current administration.

Posted by Alif at 3:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

Went to the Grand Opening of Target at Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal. It was my first time ever in a Target and I think I was expecting something 'more.' First of all, the place was a madhouse. Pure pandeminomium. It was a shopping addict's delight. Shopping carts and people to the left and to the right. Lines, lines and more lines. Children running around wanting this and that. "Excuse me" here. "Excuse me" there. Entire families applying for Target credit cards in exchange for a free pen or a pair of cheap binoculars.

I gravitated towards the Games and the Electronics section and there were a few things I would have liked to have bought, not that I necessarily needed them, but I had no intention of standing in these lines just to buy something I could easily get somewhere else where I could be be in and out in 15 minutes without the hassle.

I will say that I like the fact that the mall is there and that it gives me another option as to where to shop nearby other than scuzzy Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn. Oh, and they've done a nice job fixing up the LIRR platform along the Flatbush Avenue side which also was very scuzzy (some parts of which continue to be as they're fixing it up).

At yesterday's grand opening, which saw the grand opening of a few other shops, the mall was giving away free hot dogs, popcorn and pretzels. Initially I had refused to stand in a long line simply for a free hot dog but something about having to hustle and bustle through the insanity of the place yesterday compelled me to placate myself in a hurry but eating something, anything that would alleviate the stress.

The hot dog guy was an attractive, young blond guy. He was turning out the hot dogs at a rapid fire pace but it was obvious that he wasn't happy.
"I'll bet after the day is done, you'll never want to see another hot dog again, huh?"
"Yeah, I volunteered to help out a friend doing this. I don't know why the hell I did," he responded as he quickly squirted a thin line of ketchup along my weiner and handed it to me as he proceeded to dip his fork into the boiling hot water and pluck out another dog for the next customer.

I turned to George and said, "Man that guy is pissed! Imagine if he were to say, "Screw this!' and walk away!" The guy was a one man hot dog production line. He reminded me of the I LOVE LUCY episode where she couldn't keep up fast enough at the candy wrapping job she took on. Outta control. Target.

Posted by Alif at 4:43 AM | Permalink | Comments

I have two half-sisters from my father's first marriage who I've never met before nor have I ever spoken to. They are both married, older (obviously) and both live in the West Bank. I was on the phone yesterday with one of their's husband, Faisal, who speaks just enough English to undertand that I'm coming to visit. As I was conveying the news of my trip, I could hear a buzz of excitement, giggling and jibber jabber in the background. He even placed someone on the phone who wanted to speak to me. All she could do was giggle and, in her best broken English, was able to convey probably the only thing she knew how to say, "Hello. {giggle giggle} How are you." {more giggling}.

I come to find out from Faisal that one sister has 8 kids and the other has 6.

Does that mean I'm supposed to bring 18 gifts? In a culture this traditional, you can't show up empty handed. But what to bring!?

Posted by Alif at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

Two things I really don't enjoy especially in the summer:

1. Wearing a suit.
2. Attending weddings.

Now, put the two together and you know I'm not the happiest camper around. I have to do both tonight. What's wrong with getting married on the beach and wearings shorts, tee-shirts and some sandals?

Posted by Alif at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

I wanted to see the movie "Osama" when it out. It was even playing nearby at BAM but I never got around to seeing it in the theatre. I had read some very good reviews and was intrigued by the story. A friend of mine's wife, whose opinion I valued, said to me, "I saw 'Osama.' I really enjoy it. You should see it. I think you'd like it."

It came and left the theatres. Tonight I walk past my little local video store on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights and I happen to peer in the window at the "New Movies" section. There is 'Osama' sitting on the shelf. I don't rent videos but I felt compelled to do so this time.

I brought it home and, after dinner, popped the video into the VCR and prepared to turn off the lights for what would be an enraptured evening watching this movie filmed in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban about a girl forced to dress as a boy to support her family.

And guess what? I can't figure out how to use my damn VCR. I'm flipping back and forth between the TV/VCR buttons on both the TV and the VCR. I'm changing channels up and down left and right and trying every possible combination between the channels and TV/VCR button on the tv vs. the ones on the vcr remote control. I checked the cables and they seemed okay. I heard some sound but all I could get were dark blurry waves across my screen. I gave up. Defeated, I took the video out and put it back in the case. It's a One Day Rental. Damn.

Posted by Alif at 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Argh! We just received another rejection for a business loan. I just don't get it. In spite of the fact that George and I are sitting on $185,000 in cash that we are investing in this restaurant, we cannot seem to get a loan for $100,000 from a bank.
 
We've been rejected from supposedly consumer / business friendly banks such as:

Chase
Community Capital Bank
Commerce Bank
Citibank
and New York Development Corporation
 
The problem? "Not enough assets to cover the loan." Not enough collateral.
 
It's frustrating. In spite of the fact that we are both committed and have been since this process started, we have excellent credit scores, have management experience, won a $10,000 business plan competition, have excellent community relations, are disciplined, I also own my apartment, we have a great space and location with a great lease, blah, blah, blah... we can't get this necessary amount to give us the green light to proceed. We've got so much going for us but none of these damn banks are willing to take a chance on us. Not even Chase Bank, with whom I've done my banking with for close to 20 years was willing to give us a loan. 
 
We did meet a loan shark who has offered to get us a loan but at terms that I am very not comfortable with making that option a nonstarter.
 
I had a meeting a few months ago with a representative from the Small Business Development Corporation ("SBDC") who told me, "Banks are scum. They're not there to help the little guy. You shouldn't even bother wasting your time applying with them."
 
He wasn't kidding. Citibank, for instance, never even bothered returning my numerous phone calls and emails in spite of being told by a rep. there that the loan was practically approved. We followed up countless times, calling him at the office, on his cell, sending emails to him and to his colleagues at Citibank wondering what happened and what the status of the loan was. Nothing. I sent out a group email to Citibank last week to several contacts who were, in one way or another, connected with this loan, wanting a status report.
 
Nothing. No reply. No response. Nada. Zilch. No return calls. No return emails. It's as if we dont' even exist to them. Sadly enough, when I last met with the banker it was at an entrepreneurial workshop where we were both asked to speak. It was purely coincidental that we both were there. This was the same workshop I had taken last year from which I and George had graduated. After the workshop was over, he whispered to us, "We don't loan to these kinds of people or these kinds of businesses."  Knowing that I too was like "these people", I felt offended but didn't say anything. "Expect to hear from me next Tuesday. We're pushing this loan through for you."
 
That was in early June. I haven't heard from him since. Again, we called and sent emails. No response. None whatsoever. I guess he wasn't kidding. Citibank doesn't deal with people like us. We're too small for them. We were never even granted the professional courtesy of a phone call from them with either a 'yes' or 'no' answer.
 
We've decided to no longer beat a dead horse and have come to assume the answer is "no."
 
Silence can be louder than words.

Posted by Alif at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

I may be known as the guy who hates dogs in my apartment building but it's not true. This stems from a complaint letter I wrote to the Co-op Board about a woman on my floor who lets her dog run around the building without a leash. It once even ran into my apartment and jumped onto my bed. I repeatedly reminded her of the house rule that states that all pets on the premises must be on leashes but she would disregard it when she thought I had left the building for work.
 
It's not that I hate dogs. I don't. Dogs are cool. I just don't appreciate people letting their dogs come up to me to sniff me or  jump on me.  It seems to me that dog owners are some of the most inconsiderate people I've ever met and have very little sense of their own personal boundaries or of other's personal boundaries. I see people taking their dogs with them to restaurants - which I find personally disgusting. My neighbors bring their dogs into the supermarket with no regard to the laws around animals and food. Bringing dog's into restaurants and supermarkets, deli's, bakeries, et al is a health code violation in New York City. I once got into an argument with a woman who brought her dog into the Sweetheart Bakery on Greenwich Avenue in Manhattan. "Everyone else does it!" was her response.
 
Another one of my neighbors has a doberman pincher which, from all appearances, is friendly. The guy keeps it on one of those retractable leashes which he never retracts. He lets the dog wander where it wants to. One day it wandered up to my crotch and began sniffing.
"It's okay, he's friendly."
"Umm, I'm friendly too but how would you like me to come up and sniff your crotch inasmuch as I may want to?"
I don't think he knew how to respond to that. He pulled the dog back.  The elevator door opened and I got in. End of story.
 
Word gets around. The dog owners now see me and turn away or pull their leashes back. I must be known as the guy who hates dog now. But I don't. Really I don't.

Posted by Alif at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Many of my neighbors are codependent. Their relationship to you will be based on other's experience of you rather than their own. If you have a disagreement with one, you can bet that his or her friends who live in the building will now dislike you too regardless of whether they've ever interacted with you or not.

Living in my building sometimes feels as though I'm living through a Survivor episode.

Posted by Alif at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments