Cafe Select in SoHo sells an amazing cup of coffee. The atmosphere, however, leaves little to be desired. It’s crowded and loud and definitely not the kind of place you can comfortably sit and write on your laptop over a cup of joe. I ended up sitting on that pretty red bench because I couldn’t handle it inside. It was luckily a little warmer than the previous weeks have been…and by warmer, I mean it was above the freezing point.

Moral of the story? Great for a cup of coffee TO GO.

…I’m still in awe that this is where I call home.

This was my first apartment post graduation. It was tiny…but I loved it. It was in the heart of the East Village on a quiet street but in a happening area. You’re looking at my old living room, which literally fit a futon, coffee tables and dresser. That was it. Not shown, behind me was my little galley kitchen and those three doors in the photo are the three bedrooms.

I bought those retro coffee tables at a tiny store in Red Hook, Brooklyn when I was dating a guy I worked with. He was quite possibly one of the worse human beings in the world and those coffee tables were the best thing that came of that relationship. Unfortunately, the movers broke them when I moved to Hell’s Kitchen. I tried really, really hard not to cry about it…unsuccessfully.

Luna has a lot of nicknames. Luna Belle was her original name, but I soon learned that was much too feminine and lady-like for a dog like Luna. Then, my friends at the dog park started calling her Lunatic…which turned into The Tic. We’d walk up to the park and I’d hear Michael, the owner of a sweet golden retriever, say “Uh oh…here comes The Tic!”

But the nickname that stuck the most with me was Tuna. Luna has some serious separation anxiety and for about 3 months, she just could not handle it when I left for work. She would chew everything from my dvd’s to the coffee table. One evening, I came home from work to discover that she had somehow gotten my cans of albacore tuna and punctured a hole in every one of them. Tuna juice covered my hardwood floors. From that day forward, she was Luna Tuna…or just Tuna for short.

Anyone who watches The Office might know that Jim is called Big Tuna by Andy. After seeing that episode, Luna Tuna morphed into Big Tuna.

So, I was posing Luna for this picture…only Luna’s not really used to this much attention. I kept trying to balance the can of tuna on her tummy, only Luna was really not feeling it. The can was too cold and she had to much energy. And every time she’d get up and knock the can off her stomach, I’d firmly say “No! Stay!” and place it back on her belly. This was a lot for my little autistic dog to handle and as a result, she squatted and peed. It was the first pee in the new apartment. A sacred moment. So, I settled for this image of the can of tuna at her feet.