Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 116

“I was in a relationship for most of my teenage years. He...

“I was in a relationship for most of my teenage years. He wasn’t a bad guy, but I think long relationships can be toxic when you’re that young. That’s the age when you’re supposed to be figuring yourself out. And that can be hard if you’re completely focused on another person. I was always more worried about ‘us’ than I was worried about myself. I’d make decisions just to maximize our time together: the places I worked, the classes I chose, the friends I spent time with. Recently I looked through my high school photos, and I don’t have a single picture when I’m not with him. And, I don’t know… it feels like some of those memories should have been mine alone.”

“I like to shop, but I hate going to those fancy stores in...

“I like to shop, but I hate going to those fancy stores in midtown. They treat me like I don’t have any money. They’re always telling me prices when I didn’t ask. Either that, or they figure I’m coming in to steal. I went to one store recently, and as soon as I walked in the door, I saw the manager lean in to the clerk and say, ‘Watch her.’ And so this girl starts following me around, real close. She was acting like she wanted to help. If I picked up an item, she’d say: ‘Let me hold onto that for you.’ So I thought to myself: ‘I’ll give you something to hold.’ I walked around that entire store. I went on a real spree. By the time we were finished, she was holding 25 dresses. You could barely see her face. Then I led her up to the cash register and said, ‘You know what? I changed my mind. I think I’ll shop somewhere else.’”

“I came to it late in life. I was already in college. We were...

“I came to it late in life. I was already in college. We were playing a dice game in the back of a bar and my character transformed into a lion. I’ve been hooked ever since. Now I’m part of a huge role-playing community, and next week I’m going to a three-day event in Pennsylvania. Basically it’s a bunch of people getting together and pretending to be something we’re not. It’s the bonding that’s most important. The hobby is great, but you always spend more time talking then doing the hobby itself. We’re building a shared history. And each time we meet there’s more to reminisce about. It can be hard to meet people when you’re older, but I’ve made hundreds of friends in the community. When my dad got sick recently, I asked for ‘spells, prayers, and cat videos.’ The post had 111 comments and 94 emoticons.”

Really incredible update for everyone who donated to our...

Really incredible update for everyone who donated to our Rohingya fundraiser earlier this year. Thanks to the hard work of Jerome Jarre and Love Army, our expectations have been wildly exceeded. 2500 homes have been built and the remainder should be finished by next month. These houses were built by over 1500 *paid Rohingya volunteers.* Not only were they built to specification, but extra features were added to each house. Solar panels were added to every roof. (In the words of Jerome: ‘These are high quality solar panels, not cheap ones that break in two weeks.’) Lights and fans were installed. A custom cooking stove and chimney were also added, along with additional shelves for storing food. Thanks to Jerome’s obsession with controlling costs, these additional upgrades came in at just $70 per house, which Jerome funded from other sources.

Extremely thankful to Jerome and Love Army for being such good stewards. The money could not have been spent more efficiently. Jerome asked if I would mind sharing the fundraiser link again to help with routine maintenance of the houses. So if any one wishes to help more, they can be assured that their donations are in the right hands:

https://www.gofundme.com/houses4rohingya

“It’s my reboot. I have a level of confidence on the softball...

“It’s my reboot. I have a level of confidence on the softball field that I somehow need to find in the rest of my life. I’m like a puppy in the outfield. I don’t have to think about what I’m doing. You can hit the ball anywhere and I’ll track it down. I love the moment when the ball is in the air, and I’m focusing on it, and I’m not thinking about anything else. I’m not thinking about paying rent. I’m not worrying about the next audition. I’m not feeling the fear of being just a bartender. It’s my moment of Zen. I used to feel the same way when I was acting, or in front of a camera. And I still do, when I get to do it.“

“At first it was absolutely shocking. He’s up every two hours. ...

“At first it was absolutely shocking. He’s up every two hours. If all he does is grumble, there’s a good chance that he’ll fall back asleep. But if he starts gobbling out vowels and consonants, that means he’s up for good and nobody’s going back to sleep for a while. We’ve been getting some longer chunks of sleep lately. But whenever we think it’s conquered, there’s a curveball. So we’ve just had to embrace being absolutely knackered all the time. The first thing to go was our vocabularies. You know when you can’t quite think of a word, but then you suddenly get it? Well that doesn’t happen anymore. The word never comes. So now we consider it a win if we’re able to communicate a rough idea of what we mean.”

“I’m writing a Grandma Noir. The premise is this: a lady comes...

“I’m writing a Grandma Noir. The premise is this: a lady comes to an old person’s home, but nobody likes her. Suddenly she turns up dead and our protagonist Helen has to solve the mystery. There’s a motorized wheelchair chase. There’s a Viagra orgy. There’s a villain who’s faking Alzheimer’s while masterminding a pill-trading operation. It’s got everything. I sent the book to a bunch of agents. I got a nibble from one of them. She told me that she made it to page 100 before quitting, so I figure I’m on the right track.”

“My dad helped me choose my clothes until I was six years old...

“My dad helped me choose my clothes until I was six years old but then I wanted to do it myself. He’s still my main fashion inspiration. He actually brought me this scarf from India. But he mainly likes to wear man shirts with words on them. At first I didn’t have a very good sense of style. I just wore pink leggings with shorts over them. I got better when I was nine or ten. And now that I’m eleven, I think I’m finally figuring it out.”

“It was my decision to leave. There were too many problems. She...

“It was my decision to leave. There were too many problems. She hadn’t kissed me in years. We’d argue over every little thing. Our son was grown and I just didn’t see a reason to stay. So I came home from work one day, packed up my things, and left. I’ve been staying with my sister ever since. It’s been a tough two years. I’ve tried to reach out but she isn’t talking to me anymore. My son isn’t speaking to me either. They want nothing to do with me. I biked over here for Father’s Day. I was going to knock on their door but I changed my mind. I decided to just let them be. I wish I’d never left. Even though we were always fighting, it still felt like I had a home.”

“A couple weeks ago we were coming home from visiting my brother...

“A couple weeks ago we were coming home from visiting my brother in Long Island and we stopped at a burger place off the highway. He had a Junior Whopper. I had a Whopper. We split the fries. And while we were eating, he said: ‘You know what Daddy? You’re a really great Daddy. I love you Daddy.’ And that got me. I almost choked on my burger. Because it wasn’t bedtime. He wasn’t leaving for school. It was just off the cuff.”