New York City, June 17-19, 2006

Back From Another Trip to New York City

(Originally written on June 19, 2006)

I've just returned from another trip to New York City this past weekend. The main reason for the trip is because my father-in-law is involved with an amateur choral group and they gave a public performance last night. The choral group is pretty phenomenal for an amateur group and it was cool seeing my father-in-law sing along with the others.

We showed up at my in-laws' place late Saturday and we basically had a free afternoon before last evening's show. I had planned on doing some window-shopping in New York City and checking out some shops in Greenwich Village that I had heard about through ads in Haute Doll magazine and a few posts in the This is Blythe forum. Well last week I decided to check out the blog of Aimee, the founder/moderator/administrator of The Den of Angels forum and I found this entry:

I was thinking about the differences between various doll communities, at least what you see on the surface anyway. My very small impression of the Blythe community is that travel doll stories are very much encouraged, especially since the "This is Blythe" type book was the reason for the revival of Blythe, right...? and it's very much a "photos of doll in interesting places". Those of you who are into Blythe, do you find that that's true? I love that kind of thing. Just like I thought my friend Judy's photos of her Boramir (LOTR) action figure in Europe was just totally awesome and funny.

Aimee does have a point. I've seen various photostories in The Den of Angels as well as in people's doll blogs and other Asian ball-jointed doll forums and there aren't many travelogue photostories. It seems like people prefer to make these dramatic stories that feature either vampires or dolls doing extreme things like taking drugs, abusing alcohol, cutting themselves, raping other dolls, etc. Most of those stories just scream "LOOK AT ME, I'M AN ATTENTION WHORE!!!" The various photostory writers say that they need their dolls because they are supposed to be characters in a manga or novel that they are writing, most of which will never move beyond posts in The Den of Angels' Photostories forum. Of course they don't consider the fact that famous bestseller authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Dan Brown were able to successfully write, publish, and sell their novels without using Asian ball-jointed dolls during the writing process.

When I read Aimee's journal, I felt that she was throwing down a gauntlet for someone to write an ABJD travelogue photostory. Well, I decided to take that challenge. Prior to my trip, I decided to do a New York City photostory with my Orient Doll Ji. I chose Ji mainly because she's three inches (10 cm) tall so not only would she take up very little space in my suitcase but she would also be easy to carry around and photograph on the streets of New York City.

Doing a doll photostory gave me another reason to learn how to use my new Canon Digital Rebel camera. I did get plenty of practice yesterday as I took photos of Ji in Greenwich Village and Times Square. I wanted to take more photos of Ji in other locations (Fifth Avenue, Ground Zero, Strawberry Fields, and the Empire State Building were among the ones I seriously considered) but my feet gave out, plus the temperature went up to the low 90's with high humidity. (Ugh!)

So I basically took a few shots of Ji around various New York City places and I had a blast doing so. Right now I have to choose which photos I'll use for my photostory and do the usual photoediting in Adobe Photoshop (including cropping and optimizing). Once I'm done with all that, I'm going to upload the photostory to the Den of Angels' Photostories section as well as cross-post it to other appropriate doll forums. It'll be interesting to see the reaction to a photostory that will be free of dark emo gothic drama.

The Plum Fairy Takes Manhattan (A Photostory Starring Orient Doll Ji)

(Originally written and cross-posted on the Den of Angels, Dollfie Dreamland, and Zone of Zen forums on June 21, 2006)

NOTE: Click on any photos to see a larger version open in a new window.

Plum Fairy: Well, here I am in the Big Apple itself, New York City. I'm staying with a few people who have not only been gracious enough to let me stay in their home for a few days but they have even given me a new friend to take back home with me. He's an ape who's very friendly. He doesn't talk much but he likes it when I call him "Adam" so Adam will be his name.

Adam Ape: (Series of grunts.)

Plum Fairy: I am sitting at the base of this small fireman statue that was erected outside one of the many firehouses in New York City. This statue was erected to honor the firefighters from this one particular company who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Many firehouses throughout the city lost many of their own firefighters on that terrible day so many of them now display similar memorials to this one.

Plum Fairy: Here's another way that many firehouses honor the fallen. The vast majority of the plaques erected on this one firehouse are for those who died on 9/11.

Plum Fairy: It's certainly a breezy day today. In fact, flying on my tiny wings gets to be a challenge at times. I've been fortunate enough to find plenty of strangers who are willing to help a small fairy out. Well, that big blocky statue behind me is one that was erected as a memorial to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York City is filled with memorials.

Plum Fairy: Here's another way that the City of New York puts up memorials. A section of a particular street is renamed to honor a famous person instead of erecting a statue. This particular street section is right next to the ABC television network building where Peter Jennings used to be a network news anchor.

Plum Fairy: New York City is filled with such street sign memorials.

Plum Fairy: The architecture in New York City is so interesting. There are times when you come across what you think is a typical townhouse until you look up and you see reliefs chiseled in the bricks just like this one.

Plum Fairy: While I could fly from one end of Manhattan to the other, there are times when it's much faster to just take the subway than to fly on my tiny wings. I don't mind taking the subway. The one thing I love about the New York City subway system is that many stops have works of art displayed on the walls, just like this mosaic that's behind me.

Plum Fairy: Another thing I like about the subway system is that there are people who actually perform at various stops, which can be a nice relaxing diversion while you're waiting for the next subway train to arrive. During the times I rode the subway, I saw such acts as a man who played tunes on his saw using a violin bow and a Mennonite church choir.

Plum Fairy: Wow, I'm in Greenwich Village now and all this traveling is making me hungry. I'll stop in the Cupcake Cafe and grab a snack while I rest for a little bit.

Plum Fairy: The Cupcake Cafe specializes in cupcakes and it bills itself as "The Home of the Dancing Cupcakes." Well, I found the Dancing Cupcakes to be really cute and the array of different cupcakes on display was full of eye candy. It's going to be difficult to choose just one cupcake!

Plum Fairy: After much decision making, I finally chose this chocolate cupcake with white buttercream icing and a red rose on top. And it's mine, all mine! Oooohhh, it looks and smells so good.

Plum Fairy: The Cupcake Cafe's 18th Street location is adjacent to a children's bookstore. There are no walls separating the two places so people can go between the two without having to walk outside. The one really cute thing about the bookstore's exit door is that it's decorated with famous children literary characters reading books.

Plum Fairy: Greenwich Village is loaded with all kinds of stores ranging from ones that sell punk rock clothing, jewelry, and accessories to stores that sell the latest fashions from the hottest fashion designers.

Plum Fairy: Here's a place that sells Batman, Spiderman, and Chucky dolls. Oh, I hope Batman and Spiderman can keep Chucky away from me!

Plum Fairy: This is pretty amusing. A sushi restaurant that has a giant upside-down fish.

Plum Fairy: Oh, I know what's up ahead! It's Toy Tokyo. I've never been there before but I've heard a lot bout this place. I'm going to check this store out!

Plum Fairy: There's Godzilla guarding the door. He looks scary but he's inviting the general public inside the store. I don't think he'll hurt anyone.

Plum Fairy: Wow, every square inch of this store is stock with all kinds of toys, most of which are imported from Asia! There are some toys that are even smaller than me! This store also has plenty of dolls on sale. They don't carry any Asian ball-jointed dolls like me but they do carry Blythe, Pullip, and Takara Jenny. I see plenty of dolls that are just my size and they are all pleading with me to take them with me. Hmmmm...I only have an extra $20 in my tiny purse. I can afford to buy one doll that's my size. (Sorry, guys. I wish I can afford to buy every one of you.) Now I have to make a decision. Hmmmmm...I will choose that doll. Once I get done with paying for her, I'll use my fairy magic to have her teleported Star Trek style to the place where I'm currently staying at while I'm visiting New York since I'm too small to carry this doll and her box with me while I continue to explore the rest of the city.

Plum Fairy: After I used my fairy magic to transport my newly purchased friend back to where I'm staying, I decided to fly around the corner from Toy Tokyo when I came across a banner for the store fourty fifty sixty. I've heard about this store from their ad that they publish in each issue of Haute Doll magazine. In addition, one of the store's owners has occasionally written articles for that magazine. I'm going to check that store out while I'm here.

Plum Fairy: Wow, fourty fifty sixty is amazing! One side of the store is devoted to the most gorgeous jewelry you can imagine. (It's too bad that I'm too small to wear any of it.) The other side of the store is devoted to vintage dolls, most of them are Barbies ranging as far back as the late 1950's. There is even a 1950's era doll who is taller than Sakura, the Dollfie Dream who lives with me back at home. (Wait until Sakura hears about this doll!) The people there were pretty nice even though I couldn't afford to buy any of their dolls. (I blew most of my extra money purchasing a new doll friend at Toy Tokyo.)

Plum Fairy: Here's another way of telling that you're in Greenwich Village. Many of the streetlight poles are decorated with all kinds of mosaic tiles, including broken pottery and broken glass. It's a really neat thing to see in person and it's so tempting to just stand there and study a pole instead of crossing the street.

Plum Fairy: Wow! There's really a green oasis in the middle of an urban place like Greenwich Village. It's a plant store belonging to Sal Anthony The City Gardener. There are all kinds of plants for sale ranging from tiny houseplants to trees that can be grown indoors. There are lots of green plants for sale both inside and outside the store.

Plum Fairy: I'm so tired from flying around that I'm going to take a short nap on one of Sal Anthony's plants. I hope Mr. Anthony doesn't mind!

Plum Fairy: I'm pretty well rested from my nap. I'm going to take the subway to Times Square because I've heard a lot about it. Wow, the bright lights and constant moving traffic (including both cars and people walking on foot) is such a contrast to the relative quiet of Greenwich Village! The bright lights and giant monitors are amazing to see in the daytime and I can imagine that they are far more intense to see at night.

Plum Fairy: There are so many giant television screens in Times Square that it's tempting to just stand there and watch them all! Except I have a hard time deciding which giant screen I want to watch because there are so many of them and they all have their own programming. Here I am watching the giant screen that's posted on the ABC television network's Times Square studio (where many of their shows like Good Morning America are broadcast).

Plum Fairy: There is so much eye candy in Times Square that it's easy for a visitor like me to get distracted while I'm trying to go somewhere.

Plum Fairy: I'm very grateful for the people who allow me to rest in their hands because my wings get so sore after flying for a while. There's a giant Toys 'R' Us store across the street with a poster that's promoting the new Superman movie that is supposed to be released soon. I'm going to check that store out.

Plum Fairy: I can see why the front of the store is so crowded! There's Spiderman in front of me and there's Superman on the far left side. (I can recognize that red cape anywhere!) I hope I don't get crushed in the onslaught before I'm able to get inside the front door!

Plum Fairy: Wow! There's a giant ferris wheel right inside of Toys 'R' Us! I've never seen a ferris wheel inside a store before like that. What's more, people can ride on it if they want. Each car of the ferris wheel has a different theme like My Little Pony, Matchbox, Barbie, Bob the Builder, and Toy Story. It's such an amazing thing to see in person!

Plum Fairy: Wow, there's a giant two-story Barbie dollhouse right on the third floor of the store! And this dollhouse is big enough for people to walk through! I've never seen a dollhouse like this before! The Barbie dollhouse is loaded with all kinds of Barbie dolls (including very expensive limited edition versions).

Plum Fairy: Oooohhh, I remember seeing this doll on a rerun episode of the Bravo TV series Project Runway. There was a contest where the aspiring fashion designers had to design an outfit just for My Scene Barbie. Mattel would manufacture a special My Scene Barbie doll wearing the outfit of the fashion designer who got the most votes from the show's judges and the winning designer would have his photo and name be included as part of the package. It's cool seeing something from a television show in real life like that. Barbie is so lucky to have a reality show contest around her and have fashion designers make her clothes. I wish that Project Runway would have a similar contest for Asian ball-jointed dolls like me. (It would be fun to see what clothes I would get from competing aspiring fashion designers.)

Plum Fairy: I had heard that Mattel decided to stop manufacturing Ken dolls a couple of years ago and the company announced that Barbie and Ken had broken up and Barbie was seeing other male dolls. But then a few months ago Mattel announced that it was bringing back Ken and he would be reunited with Barbie. The Toys 'R' Us store in Times Square had plenty of boxes of the new Ken dolls that have special packaging and Ken is wearing a t-shirt that says "I'm Back". It's a good thing that the Soom Mini-Gem Uyoo and the other female 1/6 scale dolls who live with me at home didn't tag along for this trip because I can imagine them fighting each other for this doll!

Plum Fairy: Located near the giant Barbie dollhouse are these huge structures that were all made out of Legos! That's totally amazing! I would have a hard time constructing something like that out of Legos!

Plum Fairy: How do you like me with that Lego New York Yankees baseball hat?

Plum Fairy: There's that animatronic t-rex that I'm trying to avoid (especially his snapping jaws).

Plum Fairy: I think I'll get out of Toys 'R' Us and just explore the general Times Square area. There are a lot of stores with the kind of decor that looks like it could come out of Disneyland. That Hershey store looks very tempting and delicious!

Plum Fairy: And there's a store just for Hello Kitty fans!

Plum Fairy: There is much more to see in New York City but, after a day of exploring the Upper West Side, Greenwich Village, and Times Square, I grew very tired. Unfortunately I only have one day to visit New York City and I'm scheduled to return to Maryland the next day. In the meantime, while I'm resting from my long day of exploring, I'm going to check some souvenirs that I was able to purchase with my money then transport back to the place where I'm staying at during my visit using my fairy magic. (It would've been a bit much to carry all this stuff with me while I was out since I'm only three inches or 10 centimeters tall.)