apartment

What To Do If You Think You Have Bed Bugs

Christa Avampato

Today I’m taking a break from the regularly scheduled dose of inspiration to provide a helpful article for New Yorkers because a friend of mine is currently facing this terrible issue. She called me in tears a few days ago because she knew I had some experience with this. I thought many of you may be dealing with this as well, or know someone who is, and I want to share some info on how to get rid of bed bugs.

There are few words that strike fear into the hearts of New Yorkers more than “bed bugs”. Many of my friends have had to battle these pesky intruders, some many times over. I had a scare myself about a year ago. Thankfully, it turned out that I didn’t have them and let me tell you I let out an enormous sigh of relief when that happened!

How to know if you have bed bugs
1.) You might wake up in the morning with bites you didn’t have the night before.
2.) You may see small flecks of black on your sheets.
3.) You may actual see very tiny bugs that you can’t identify.
4.) Your neighbor has them.

If you think you might have bed bugs and you rent
1.) Do not panic and under no circumstances should you try to handle this issue yourself. One of the biggest reasons that bed bugs are such an issue in New York is that many people delay their decision to tell their landlord or management company about the problem. Before you know it, they’re spreading to nearby apartments and the problem mushrooms out of control. Tell your super the moment you think there might be a problem. Your super needs to contact an exterminator immediately to have them come by and check your home. The exterminator is their financial responsibility, not yours.
2.) Look for the bugs. You may find some in the seams of the mattress, though they are masters of getting out of sight in the daylight. If you do find one of them, carefully pick it up with tweezers (do not squish it) and place it in a Ziploc bag to give to the exterminator.
3.) Give the exterminator free reign to search through your apartment while you’re there. You want to make sure they check the mattress, the area around the bed, the molding along the floor, and the electric outlets.

If you think you might have bed bugs and you own your home 
1.) If your home is an apartment, contact the super. He or she may have recommendations on the exterminator to call. He or she may also make the appointment for you.
2.) Contact the exterminator and set an appointment as soon as possible. Again, catching the problem early is the key to solving this problem as quickly as possible. Many exterminators such as Terminix Pest Control offer free quotes through their websites.
3.) As with renters, follow step #3 above.

Many people feel embarrassed about having bed bugs. Don’t. To dispel a couple of myths:
1.) Bed bugs have nothing to do with how clean (or dirty) your house is
2.) Bed bugs have been found in every building in New York. Literally. The condition of your building is not related to whether or not you will get bed bugs. Even the Waldorf-Astoria has had infestations of these little buggers.
3.) Natural methods of getting rid of bed bugs sound wonderful. I love the environment, eating organic food, and living a clean and healthy lifestyle. Bed bugs are not to be dealt with kindly and humanely. You need an exterminator and yes, he or she is going to treat your house with chemicals. You need to get rid of these bugs before they literally set up residence in your home.

If you are facing this challenge or know someone who is, I hope this info is helpful. As my friend currently dealing with bed bugs recently said to me, “This is going to be a knock-down drag out fight, but I’m going to be the one who’s left standing.”

books, fiction, writer, writing

Beautiful: The Value of Fiction for Every Writer

Christa Avampato

0c8877b1a77b993d9857c2b5915213edEvery writer, regardless of genre, benefits from writing and reading fiction. Fiction is the place we go to find light when everything around us seems so dark. It’s our playground where anything and everything is possible. Fiction helps us to connect with our mind’s deepest secrets and desires. It’s a gateway to higher consciousness.

This weekend I started reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. I can hardly put it down and when I do, I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s one of those books that lives with you for a long time. Its bizarre tale unfolds through the eyes of Julia, a grown woman who reflects back on her youth just before and just after a fantastical event that turns the entire world on its head. It reminded me of the value of purely fictional stories and the role they play in our real lives. 

Our lives are largely works of fiction – stories we make up, stories we tell to others, and stories that others tell us. The events of our lives run through a filter that colors them, changes them, gives them meaning. That filter is responsible for our individual human experience. In this way, fiction doesn’t mean “false”; it means “with perspective”. The words of fictions are some of the truest words we can ever read or write because they come so directly and purely from the heart. Maybe that’s what makes it so difficult to write; maybe that’s why it sticks with us for so long. 

business, dogs

Beautiful: My Experience with The Spot Experience – The Best Place for Dogs in NYC

Christa Avampato

A few weeks ago I went looking for a new place to board my sweet dog, Phineas. I’ve been boarding him at a place in New York City that is expensive and mediocre when I have to go out-of-town and can’t take him with me. I don’t mind the expense, but for what I pay I want stellar service for both of us.

Enter the advice of Abigail Michaels (an apartment concierge service retained by my apartment building management company at no cost to tenants) and several of my friends who are also dog parents. They all told me to check out The Spot Experience. I called the location on the Upper West Side at 72nd Street, spoke with the incredibly friendly staff, and made an appointment for Phineas to take his temperament test the next day.

From the moment we entered The Spot Experience, I knew we found the right place. It was serene, incredibly clean and tidy, and the staff was expecting us. Lucas, the manager on duty, took us back to explore the backyard, complete with plenty of grass and a pool. I was amazed at the space that they have. It was empty as the dogs were inside resting after their afternoon of play.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“You can see them through that window right in front of you. There are about 50 dogs back there right now,” he said.

“How come I can’t hear them?” I asked.

“Because we have a ‘no bark’ philosophy.”

I looked at Lucas, completely confused.

“We believe that while your dogs are with us, we should create a calm and inviting environment for all of them,” he said.

Sure enough I took a look through the window and all of the dogs were relaxed, lounging around on cots, and enjoying their downtime. The Spot Experience has a strict cage-free policy, 24-hour professional care, a complete set of grooming, daycare, and boarding services, and a webcam so pet parents can log in from anywhere in the world and see how their dogs are doing.

Being a true dog’s dog, Phineas passed his temperament test with flying colors and began his plot to figure out how to move into The Spot Experience for good. (I must admit that I was trying to figure out how I could move in, too!) The next day, I had Phineas stay over night at Spot while I went to DC to visit friends. He waltzed in (the staff immediately greeted him by name), got his treat, and never looked back. I had a wonderful weekend with my friends and knew that Phineas was in the hands of expert caregivers. All for the same price that I paid for mediocre service at the other pet services company.

If you’re looking for a place to keep your best furry friend safe and cared for while you’re away, I encourage you to run to The Spot Experience. Phineas and I are glad we did.

animals, creativity, dogs

Beautiful: And Then, God Made a Dog

Christa Avampato

I received the link to this YouTube video from the first trainer Phin and I had when I first adopted him. It’s a short clip about the incredible aspects of dogs that make them amazing teachers and companions for all of us.

art, grateful, gratitude, writer, writing, yoga

Beautiful: A Writer’s Life is Never Boring – File This Fact Under “Grateful”

Christa Avampato

f9bdc961f153ce2076950743a7595f1aFile this one under things that make me immensely grateful. I looked at my slate of writing for this week and it includes:

1.) Making 9/11 a national holiday
2.) How to ask for help when in the midst of personal crisis
3.) Yoga
4.) Apartment Hunting in NYC
5.) How to maintain top website load times
6.) Health-supportive cooking
7.) Yoga
8.) Doggie daycare and boarding
9.) The value of digital marketing for start-ups
10.) Drones for journalism
11.) Pest control
12.) Voice-controlled image editing
13.) Book reviews – how to get press for your start-up, how computer programmers maintain a healthy lifestyle, and learn to program by building video games
14.) A fundraising appeal letter for an animal shelter

And then I’m going to wrap up the next edits for my first full-length play and work on Your Second Step. This is the life and career I’ve always dreamed of. Gratitude doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel. I wish for everyone, everywhere to have a heart this full.

Have something you want me to write about? I’d love to hear from you!

grateful, gratitude

Beautiful: Things I Didn’t Care About Yesterday – A Lesson in Perspective from 9/11

Christa Avampato
Photos at the 9/11 Memorial
Photos at the 9/11 Memorial

Things I didn’t care about yesterday:
1.) The heat, humidity, and poor air quality
2.) The noise
3.) The guy in the park who cursed at me when I smiled at him as we made eye contact
4.) The too-loud musicians on the train as I made my way home after a long day
5.) The uncertainty of a freelance life
6.) Being up until the wee hours of the morning writing to meet deadlines

There were over 3,000 people who didn’t get to have yesterday, and they won’t get to have today or tomorrow either. 3,000 people who would give anything to be able to walk these streets that they loved as much as I do. 3,000 people who would have been as happy to see their friends yesterday as I was to see mine.

The term 9/11 leaves an ache in people’s hearts. I can’t imagine that will ever change no matter how much distance we get from that awful day. There will always be something lost. But for those of us who are left, there is something to be gained, too. The inconveniences caused by the cycles of life don’t matter. In the grand scheme all that really counts is that we get today and we get to decide who to spend it with. We are so fortunate to have the time we have and there’s no point in wasting it by filling our heads and hearts with laments about our current condition. Conditions will change; they always do. What’s important is that we make the most of whatever we have before us.

election, innovation, vote

Our Election System Needs a Reboot

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

I just love it when the New York City Board of Elections goes to the trouble of sending me a postcard in the mail with the wrong polling station address. I moved in April and ever on top of their game, they sent me this postcard to inform me I needed to go to 84th Street to vote. I arrived there dripping from the heat and humidity to find out that I actually needed to go to 97th Street. I walk a lot in NYC, I’m in shape, and I’m doggedly determined to vote in a primary that has a lot at stake. If I need to walk 13 blocks out of my way in uncomfortable conditions, I’m going to do it. Goodness knows that many other people have endured worse.

But here’s why I’m fuming: how many other people got the same run around and decided not to make the trek to the correct polling station to vote? And who do we think we are to tell other people around the world how to run elections when our own Board of Elections is so mismanaged? The technology we use to vote is far older than I am. And let’s not forget that pesky little electoral college system (which thankfully is only involved when electing the highest office in the land, and the world.)

When is the innovation that is rolling full steam ahead in countless other industries going to be applied with rigor and vigor to our election process? When are free, fair, and organized elections going to hit the U.S.?

Disorganized or not, I’m going to keep voting in every election, mostly out of guilt. But when someone else says to me they don’t vote because it’s a disorganized process and they have no idea if their vote is even counted correctly because of that disorganization, I don’t have any rock solid arguments to persuade them otherwise. The only thing I know for certain is that the process is a mess and needs to be fixed.

Do you know of organizations and efforts to modernize the US voting system? I’d love to hear about them and find a way to help. 

art, beauty

Beautiful: Listen to Yourself – A Lesson from Voice Over Land

Christa Avampato

10c78142cf300f633136afbbc404dbd0To get the sound we want, we have to be willing to listen to the sound we make. And then we need to change. To get the life we want, we have to be willing to see the life we have, plainly and clearly. And then we need to change. The game of voice overs and the game of life have much in common.

Yesterday I had my second private voice over session. It was difficult because now we’re getting into finer details. My coach and I are no longer okay with good reads. We want great reads. Out of this world reads. We want winners that are going to help me nail jobs, no matter what genre they fall into, the first time out of the gate. To quote Our Town, we want it to sound “like silk off a spool”.

The best way to get there is to listen. I give a read, I listen to it, my coach asks me how I did, and I tell him. Honestly, I hate hearing myself. I want to run out of the room, or at the very least stick my fingers in my ears while screaming “la la la la la, I can’t hear you.” But that won’t help. What will help is taking a read for what it is, and trying to make it better. Over and over and over again.

Voice over is an art where perfect is a moving target. Each piece is unique and the same. It’s difficult and easy. It’s flat and cool while also being easy and breezy. It’s a smile and a serious tone. It’s a mess – there are no iron-clad rules, except when there are. Maybe. Can you hear the tracks I’m laying down? The art of voice overs. The art of life. They are the same. And the only way we learn is to listen.

decision-making, Second Step

Beautiful: To Find Our Purpose, We Have to Live the Questions

Christa Avampato

“And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” – Rilke

Questions without clear answers can paralyze us. I’ve wrestled cloudy questions to the ground many times over in an attempt to get answers I thought I needed before I could make a move. I gave up that practice 15 months ago when I left my corporate job to carve a new path of my own design. Now, I have to live the questions, answers or not.

How I made my home in New York City
I didn’t know if I should act on my idea to leave New York behind and move to California so I tried out California for 2 months without giving up my place in New York. I couldn’t just toss the question around in my mind and wait for an answer. I had to try California, I had to live the question, to find my answer. And the answer was New York.

How I started my own company
I didn’t know if I could make a living independent of a company that someone else designed. Like the California question, I kicked the tires on entrepreneurship as long as I could. To find out if it suits me, I needed to give it a go, live it. I’m still trying it; still living it. The answer is becoming clearer, but I’ve got some room to go yet. That’s how I started Chasing Down the Muse.

How I decided to follow my dream of being a writer
I don’t know if I can make a living as a writer. I’ve made part of my living as a writer for a while, but I don’t know if I can fully support myself with my tightly honed abilities to turn a phrase and meet a tight deadline. That question isn’t going to answer itself. There’s no way to know until I try. So I’m rolling the dice, taking a seat at the table, and living that question every day. The cloud cover will eventually break and I’ll have my answer. All I can do now is play it as it lies. Read about my writing by clicking here.

What questions are you living?

education, film, teaching, television

Beautiful: Finally a Reality Show that Celebrates Real Heroes – Teachers

Christa Avampato

_MG_0785bOn Friday night, I caught the airing of Teach, the new documentary by Davis Guggenheim. It gave me chills, in a very good way. As someone who was saved, literally, by my education, I know that it is a gift that can turn a life around, that can take someone in an entirely new direction beyond their wildest dreams.

Bravo to CBS for putting such an incredible piece of filmmaking on prime time TV. Kate O’Hare of Zap2it.com did a wonderful write up of the show:

“The actions of teachers unions – whether protecting bad teachers, protesting against politicians (or marching for them), and promoting education “reforms” that often seem more about social issues than the three Rs — often capture the interest of the media, overshadowing the day-to-day work of teachers trying to do the best job they can.

In 2010, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim directed and co-wrote“Waiting for Superman,” a documentary that took a frank look at the failures of the American educational system as it showed parents trying to get their children in charter schools.

Much of the media attention for the film focused on a segment that showed how teachers unions fiercely protect political alliances and policies and teachers’ job security, often at the expense of needed financial overhauls.

In a two-hour special called “Teach,”airing Friday, Sept. 6, on CBS, Guggenheim puts the focus back on exceptional teachers, following four public-school instructors through the 2012-2013 school year.

The special also kicks off an 18-month campaign by production company Participant Media, in partnership with Teach.org, to urge students and recent graduates to go into teaching.

“I believe teachers are heroes and have the ability to make an incredible impact in the long-term future of our kids,” says Guggenheim in a statement. “The airing of ‘Teach’ on CBS is another milestone in Participant’s long-term commitment to raise the visibility of the teaching profession and support efforts to recruit the next generation of great educators.”

•The teachers profiled are: Matt Johnson, a fourth-grade teacher at McGlone Elementary School in Denver; Shelby Harris, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade math at Kuna Middle School in Kuna, Idaho; 10th-grade AP world-history teacher Joel Laguna at Garfield High in Los Angeles; and Lindsay Chinn, a ninth-grade algebra teacher at MLK Early College, Denver.

•All the educators featured strive for excellence, using conventional and unconventional methods.
Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz”