Another new section to the blog as of 9/28/10
Updated 10/13/10 Today I bought my de rigueur New Yorker woman's uniform. A pair of stretch black stirrup pants and a pair of black leggings. Now I can be out on the street like millions of other NYC women with their black covered legs and boots. The look is actually flattering on the majority of women so I see why it's so popular, Anyway, I feel like I'm now able to go out in public and be one with my new people: the WOMEN of NYC.
Updated 10/11/10 It's best I think if one develops a deep (or at least) deeper appreciation of the fine arts or classical style of the arts. The venues for seeing art work, symphony, orchestra, ballet, opera, etc are so magnificent and the talent that performs in NYC is world class. Not a time to say "Not my thing" or "I'm not into that." Taking it all in is the far better approach.
Updated 10/1/10 I will likely be buying my first pair of high fashion galoshes (rain boots) in preparation for the upcoming weather. Seems you can't be a true New York City woman without them. The choices in all the major shops is astounding and designers have a lot of fun with the patterns and colors. Don't know how bold I will be but it'll be fun shopping for them.
Updated 9/30/10 I suppose if I wanted to be a real New Yorker, I would need to get a pocket pooch as they are called here. NYC is definitely the Land of Very Small Dogs. They are tiny and they are everywhere. It's kind of funny to see big hulking men walking their itsy bitsy chihuahuas. There is the occasional Big Dog that you see now and then and I can't really imagine how people can share their tiny to small apartments with an animal of any normal size.
9/28/10 A recent transplant who thinks after 7 months he is a New Yorker tells me that a Yellow Light at a crosswalk means "you can still go."
I tell a friend from Seattle who just recently went to the new South Lake Union Park how nice that is that Seattle has another park then proceed to tell him about the FABULOUS and WORLD REKNOWN New York Botanical Gardens that we visited earlier in the day. He asks how it compares to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens and I tell him the NYBG makes the BBG looks like someone's backyard. He then tells me, "You're becoming one of the THOSE TYPES of NEW YORKERS." And yes, I am, it's so easy to do when so much of everything here IS world reknown and without comparison to the rest of the country. It's just that way here!!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Things to do even if you don't live in NYC--Rose's picks
New section to the blog as of 9/28/10
9/30/10 Watch 30 Rock, so the wit comes fast and furious, they still have it strong going into their 5th season
9/28/10 Catfish is a very interesting movie, pair it with a viewing of The Social Network, the two will make you think twice or more about online socializing.
Watch GLEE.......so much FUN!!!
Good Wife starts tonight (finally!!!), another excellent TV drama
9/30/10 Watch 30 Rock, so the wit comes fast and furious, they still have it strong going into their 5th season
9/28/10 Catfish is a very interesting movie, pair it with a viewing of The Social Network, the two will make you think twice or more about online socializing.
Watch GLEE.......so much FUN!!!
Good Wife starts tonight (finally!!!), another excellent TV drama
Friday, September 17, 2010
NYC's seductive qualities
9/30/10 Just became a member of Theatre Mania Gold Club where for an initial fee you get lots of complimentary tickets (read that you just pay for the $4.50 service charge fee) to all kinds of plays and performances (music, comedy, special events) and discounts to a lot of the major Broadway shows (though the discounts aren't any better than what I am getting on Playbill.com, another discount website). We also got two free tickets (read that no charge at all) for the Broadway show Chicago just for joining. It's fun. I am hoping we take advantage of the complimentary opportunities to get a good survey of lots of different entertainment events for really cheap while we live here. Really want to make the most of our time here especially since we are living so centrally in Manhattan.
9/27/10 So much going on, it's hard to keep up with posting all that is happening. The New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx are exceptional. So vast with so many ecosystems represented. It was a really outstanding outing for both of us.
Taking advantage of the Morgan Stanley freebies is gonna be nice...........free admission to the NYBG instead of paying $20 bucks each admission. NYBG does offer free admission on Wednesdays and between 10am and noon on Saturdays so it's not totally elitist. MS has lots of free admissions to a host of NYC landmark museums and attractions........the best part is Bob can take others for free to alot of these places so when visitors come, they too can take advantage
9/21/10 I love it that I can walk out the back exit of my apartment building, step into the 7-11 convenience store right next door and do all my banking that I can't do electronically. It's crazy convenient, hardly ever any wait and it's open 24-7!!! We kept our Seattle Credit Union account because I so believe in WSECU and their mission and with so much done electronically, it's easy to do. And now with being able to deposit checks at the V-com kiosk and get photos of the deposits, it's pretty cool. There is also a post office station just across the street, another fabulous advantage to living urban in mid-town.
9/20/10 The West Village and Lower Chelsea are so very lovely...........we love walking around those neighborhoods.It feels so European and quaint. If we were to live elsewhere in the city, I think we would probably want to live there. It's not as conveniently located as where we are now but maybe in time that won't matter as much. It would be a nice cap to our time in NYC if we did live in the west village towards the end of our stay here..................
Another good example of how this city just pulls you is just how fun it is to walk down the streets and see the greatest mix of people living their lives...........so I am walking down 47th street at around 8pm trying to find this bakery I read about and on my walk, I pass by this group of Latino men with their table and chairs set up on the sidewalk playing some very serious dominos........they are all laughing and slamming dominos and having a great time on this balmy evening and then just further down the street is a mixed race gay couple sharing a very intimate kiss. It's all just there on the street mixing it up..........I love it.
I get out and walk so much more here, partly I obviously have so much more time now to get out and do things but mostly I know there will always be something really interesting to see and so it's more fun to be out than in.
9/16/10 Okay, so WOW, I had the most seducing experience on Wednesday evening thus far. I say thus far because I am just sure there is more to come. I decided to get out for a walk around 5pm-ish because I hadn't been out all day and Bob was going to be at hot yoga til early evening anyway. So I decide to take a walk along my new love--the Hudson River, and it did not disappointment me one bit. The evening weather was perfect, the sun was still warm and there was a gentle breeze blowing. I decided to walk north and the riverfront path winds around to these very sweet small parks with lawns, chairs, fishing stools, etc, that are strung along the riverfront. Eventually the path meets up with the South Riverside Park which is absolutely heaven on such an evening. I don't think tourists either know about this part of NYC or just aren't interested to get off the main drag to check it out. So here is the really fabulous outdoor venue and walk and it's not crazy crowded or loud like so much of Manhattan can be. The river is wide and beautiful here with lots of leisure crafts, kayaks, sail boats. The sun setting on it is so beautiful and serene. There is a great open air cafe with umbrellas and tables with a good affordable menu of food, desserts, and beverages. The cafe is the starting point for Pier 1 which goes way out and in the summer they have open air concerts there. NYC really likes to party in the summer with free music and cultural events everywhere. I am quite looking forward to next summer already.
After walking a leisurely two miles up to that point, I decided to take the steps up to 72nd street and come back by way of the upper west side. Bob and I had initially thought we wanted to live around this area and while it is definitely more architectally lovelier and cleaner, it does come across with a certain sterileness that is not as appealing, at least not yet anyway, of living in Mid-town which has lots more warts but also tons more character and diversity. We are really happy with our current location. The really fun thing about coming back the way I did was being able to stop by the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts. This is where Fashion Week is finishing up and there was a lot of activity going on, more than usual, on the plaza near the big fountain. There were lots of camera people and fans hoping to get a glimpse of all the celebrities that attend that function. The buildings and surrounding area are very cool to check out and just hang out on the steps. Lots of students from the Julliard School for the performing arts tend to be there. It's so oozing with a great energy.
I will share a weird thing I saw that was quirky and therefore appealing to me...as I was walking past 51st street parallel to the West End Highway, I see Larry Flynt's Hustler nightclub (that's not the quirky or appealing part of this story). What is the quirky thing is that it's situated in kind of warehouse district and from the outside, mainly looks like one big giant warehouse, but on top of this warehouse structure is some very fancy and overdone Greek Panthenon like look building plopped right on top of it. The building is so out of context and so weird.........I decide to go online to see if there is anything written about it.....truly that is the only reason I would ever google Larry Flynt's website. Turns out that is where the really high rollers go for a good time. It's called the Dome Room. The other thing I found out by researching this, which is way cooler, is that Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is filmed just down the block from the Hustler Club. Supposedly, JS has a sign on the window of his studio that says "If you are looking for Larry Flynt's Hustler club, it's down the block." I am going to try to figure out how to get tickets to be in the live audience because I love Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
9/27/10 So much going on, it's hard to keep up with posting all that is happening. The New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx are exceptional. So vast with so many ecosystems represented. It was a really outstanding outing for both of us.
Taking advantage of the Morgan Stanley freebies is gonna be nice...........free admission to the NYBG instead of paying $20 bucks each admission. NYBG does offer free admission on Wednesdays and between 10am and noon on Saturdays so it's not totally elitist. MS has lots of free admissions to a host of NYC landmark museums and attractions........the best part is Bob can take others for free to alot of these places so when visitors come, they too can take advantage
9/21/10 I love it that I can walk out the back exit of my apartment building, step into the 7-11 convenience store right next door and do all my banking that I can't do electronically. It's crazy convenient, hardly ever any wait and it's open 24-7!!! We kept our Seattle Credit Union account because I so believe in WSECU and their mission and with so much done electronically, it's easy to do. And now with being able to deposit checks at the V-com kiosk and get photos of the deposits, it's pretty cool. There is also a post office station just across the street, another fabulous advantage to living urban in mid-town.
9/20/10 The West Village and Lower Chelsea are so very lovely...........we love walking around those neighborhoods.It feels so European and quaint. If we were to live elsewhere in the city, I think we would probably want to live there. It's not as conveniently located as where we are now but maybe in time that won't matter as much. It would be a nice cap to our time in NYC if we did live in the west village towards the end of our stay here..................
Another good example of how this city just pulls you is just how fun it is to walk down the streets and see the greatest mix of people living their lives...........so I am walking down 47th street at around 8pm trying to find this bakery I read about and on my walk, I pass by this group of Latino men with their table and chairs set up on the sidewalk playing some very serious dominos........they are all laughing and slamming dominos and having a great time on this balmy evening and then just further down the street is a mixed race gay couple sharing a very intimate kiss. It's all just there on the street mixing it up..........I love it.
I get out and walk so much more here, partly I obviously have so much more time now to get out and do things but mostly I know there will always be something really interesting to see and so it's more fun to be out than in.
9/16/10 Okay, so WOW, I had the most seducing experience on Wednesday evening thus far. I say thus far because I am just sure there is more to come. I decided to get out for a walk around 5pm-ish because I hadn't been out all day and Bob was going to be at hot yoga til early evening anyway. So I decide to take a walk along my new love--the Hudson River, and it did not disappointment me one bit. The evening weather was perfect, the sun was still warm and there was a gentle breeze blowing. I decided to walk north and the riverfront path winds around to these very sweet small parks with lawns, chairs, fishing stools, etc, that are strung along the riverfront. Eventually the path meets up with the South Riverside Park which is absolutely heaven on such an evening. I don't think tourists either know about this part of NYC or just aren't interested to get off the main drag to check it out. So here is the really fabulous outdoor venue and walk and it's not crazy crowded or loud like so much of Manhattan can be. The river is wide and beautiful here with lots of leisure crafts, kayaks, sail boats. The sun setting on it is so beautiful and serene. There is a great open air cafe with umbrellas and tables with a good affordable menu of food, desserts, and beverages. The cafe is the starting point for Pier 1 which goes way out and in the summer they have open air concerts there. NYC really likes to party in the summer with free music and cultural events everywhere. I am quite looking forward to next summer already.
After walking a leisurely two miles up to that point, I decided to take the steps up to 72nd street and come back by way of the upper west side. Bob and I had initially thought we wanted to live around this area and while it is definitely more architectally lovelier and cleaner, it does come across with a certain sterileness that is not as appealing, at least not yet anyway, of living in Mid-town which has lots more warts but also tons more character and diversity. We are really happy with our current location. The really fun thing about coming back the way I did was being able to stop by the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts. This is where Fashion Week is finishing up and there was a lot of activity going on, more than usual, on the plaza near the big fountain. There were lots of camera people and fans hoping to get a glimpse of all the celebrities that attend that function. The buildings and surrounding area are very cool to check out and just hang out on the steps. Lots of students from the Julliard School for the performing arts tend to be there. It's so oozing with a great energy.
I will share a weird thing I saw that was quirky and therefore appealing to me...as I was walking past 51st street parallel to the West End Highway, I see Larry Flynt's Hustler nightclub (that's not the quirky or appealing part of this story). What is the quirky thing is that it's situated in kind of warehouse district and from the outside, mainly looks like one big giant warehouse, but on top of this warehouse structure is some very fancy and overdone Greek Panthenon like look building plopped right on top of it. The building is so out of context and so weird.........I decide to go online to see if there is anything written about it.....truly that is the only reason I would ever google Larry Flynt's website. Turns out that is where the really high rollers go for a good time. It's called the Dome Room. The other thing I found out by researching this, which is way cooler, is that Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is filmed just down the block from the Hustler Club. Supposedly, JS has a sign on the window of his studio that says "If you are looking for Larry Flynt's Hustler club, it's down the block." I am going to try to figure out how to get tickets to be in the live audience because I love Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Mundane and Sublime and random things inbetween---observations as a function of attending to daily life in NYC
10/11 and 13/10 It's been a while since I've given attention to additions to my blahg (as I am referring to it). I have the good fortune of having a connection to an up and coming director for live theatre thru my friend Darrow. His nephew, Andy Donald, works with a company Naked Angels to produce new plays. I went to a reading which was directed by Andy. It was a great opportunity to see the process of bringing a play to off broadway or Broadway. The actress in the lead role for the reading was Alison Pill, a quite talented up and coming TV and movie actress. The reading was in a very small venue allowing the audience to be very close to the actors. Heather and Luke were in town visiting and in my walk with Heather we found "little India" in east mid-town, found an amazing Indian grocery store, Kalustyan. Heather and Luke's son, Jason, and his partner, Sherwin hosted a brunch at their loft near Chinatown. It was interesting to see someone else's living space, they have about twice as much room as our place but I like our location and views better. Sherwin's brother-in-law Adam offered to show me around Brooklyn. I plan to take him up on that, I've actually found a lot of interesting things to do in Brooklyn. It's attraction is starting to grow on me.
Bob and I went to the Museum of Modern Art on Saturday to see the Matisse exhibit which gave a progression of his work as it became increasingly more abstract. There was also a great exhibit of modern abstractionists. Rothko, Pollack, de Koning, Rousseau, Picasso (great collection showing his progression as well), etc. The Sculpture garden is really lovely, a great place to take a break when feeling "arted out." We went to our first Carnegie Hall performance to see virtuoso violinist, Alexander Markov. He's an extraordinary performer in that he loves playing both classical and rock music, which we saw him perform both. The acoustics at Carnegie are amazing...even in the nose bleed balcony seats we were in, the clarity and beauty of the notes he played for the Tchaikovsky piece was evident even way up there.
We are giving our first dinner party this Saturday night. In Seattle, my friends eventually became Bob's friends, it may be the other way around here. It's Bob's work friends we are having over. I am looking forward to meeting new people.
10/3/10 Yesterday we walked thru Central Park and wound up on the Upper West Side (UWS). There was a streetfair going on and this had to be about as opposite of what occurs in mid-town. The booths at the UWS fair were all high end jewelry, designer artwear fashion. high art, etc. There were no food booths or booths blaring music. Bob and I were thinking that if this is how street fairs go in the UWS does the Upper East Side (UES) even have street fairs???
Bob is so mellow and uuassuming. He rode in the elevator of our building today with an academy and emmy award winning actress who is staying in the building while she is doing an off broadway show. Bob mentioned to her that she looked familiar to him and asked whether he might know her in some way. She said that he probably recognized her because she was in movies and tv. Bob asked what her name is and she told him. He then said, oh, that's what you do for a living? She said yes. Then as she was getting off the elevator, she asked him his name and he told her and she said good bye. I am hoping that she will leave tickets for her show with the doorman in Bob's name! Such is our life here in NYC.
We explored a bit of Chinatown this afternoon, Columbus Park was really interesting. It was literally packed with older Chinese people there playing and singing very traditional music, palying card games of some sort and a game with small discs and a board similar to a checkborad but it wasn't checkers. Some of those playing had big crowds around them and there was a lot of concentration and animation. Bob and I would like to go back and just be witness to this cultural gathering. It felt like we had been transported to another country.
9/30/10 I love the weather here at night, so balmy and fantastically windy. Even though humidity makes my hair look like Rosanne Rosannadanna's I still love it!
9/27/10 I will need to expand on these things later but just want to get them entered for now, and further expounded on 9/30/10 Finally get a chance to give a little more detail on these entries.
Lexington Avenue--a really great upper eastside street, if a dowager could be a street, she would be Lexington avenue. At least in my mind. It feels more like a real street than say Park Avenue or Madison Avenue. Those streets have been all dolled up with the outrageously expensive stores and shopping, while Lexington serves the more day to day needs of the Upper East side. It has it's share of discreet expensive shops but it also has the hardware stores, small grocery stores, butchers, etc.. It feels older, more lived in but still with a certain feeling of elegance and taste not seen in mid-town despite many of the day-to-day stores selling the same things.
Luke's Lobster on East 81st street really does have an Uber great lobster roll--it truely lives up to the hype (I suspended my vegetarianism for a day). I highly recommend it if you are a lobster lover or want to experience really good lobster for the first time. It's a very simple place, mainly does take out but has some seating as well.
Metropolitan Museum tours are so worth the time -- makes a huge difference to know what you are looking at and why it's a masterpiece and deserves to be seen by millions. I took the museum highlights tour that takes you through 5000 years of art landmarks. The docent was an older woman who was rail thin and very simply but elegantly dressed. Made me think of the saying "You can never be too thin or too rich." She seemed so nervous talking but managed to get the info out in a very accessible explanation. It was so helpful to have this intro to the artwork at this world famous museum. The Met offers about 10 different tours, most specializing in a particular art period or type of art. I plan to eventually take all 10 tours, I've always only experienced art on a visceral level so to understand it on an intellectual level will so enrich my experience.
Next to Normal--Broadway musical depicting significant mental illness and family dysfunction--topic is handled realistically and respectfully. This is a play that several friends have recommended and I am so glad we went to see it. It does a good job of depicting the impact of severe mental illness on the individual and their family and truthfully, coming from someone in the business, there are truly humorous moments that occur within what can be a devestating life course. The song lyrics were so spot on. Highly recommend it if you get a chance to see it.
Completely inundated with reading material, between the weekly New Yorker, New York magazine, Friday, Saturday and Sunday New York times and different editions of Edible Manhattan, Brooklyn and East End. I totally over did with subscriptions!!! There is just no way I am keeping up with all the reading I signed up for plus on the email announcements for the god knows how many various NYC related websites I signed up for. At some point I am thinking the info will just repeat itself and I won't feel so bad about not reading every article on everything happening in this city. For now, I am taking it at a topographic level, getting the terrain of the land before getting too immersed in the details. I've started tearing out pages of magazines and the newspaper and putting them in a big folder labeled "THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE WE LEAVE NYC" better yet, I hope to do a lot of these things when friends and family are visiting.
Perhaps once the novelty wears off or the weather gets just awful, I will finally be able to read a list of books I've wanted to read for a very long time. Right now, it just doesn't seem possible. It's kind of silly how I use to do so much when I was working a lot of hours and now that I am not working, I feel like I absolutely do not have enough time in the day to get done all the things I want to do. I am joking with Bob that I don't think I will have time to work for a long time!! Or really perhaps if I did work, I might actually be more productive with my time. It's a strange life I am living now.........
The Nanny pick up scene at an elementary school on the upper east side--I felt like I was witness to a classic New York moment. I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt that these were the kids' mothers but it's kind of hard to do that when all the ladies there picking up kids are of very distinct ethnicities while the kids showed not even a hint of biracial or biethnic appearance. There were lines and lines and lines of nannies--so interesting. It was rather endearing to see all these little ones so happy to see their nannies and walking off hand in hand to the nearby ice cream truck. There was the occasional parent there to pick up their child and one conversation I overheard was a boy asking his dad if he had time to have a piece of pizza with him before going back to the office and then whether he would see him before bedtime. The dad was sweet and answered yes they could have a piece of pizza together before he headed back to the office but he couldn't be as definitive about seeing him before bedtime.
I thought it would be kind of fun to see how the other half of .01 percent lives so went to the designer shoe floor at Saks Fifth Avenue (it has its own zipcode). The Prada shoes at Saks are absolutely beautiful, practically works of art, I can definitely see the appeal and had to watch that my drool didn't touch the shoes for fear of being made to pay for them. The price tag for a pair of anklet boots was close to $2000, and on a Thursday late morning, this section of the store is full of people--lots with foreign accents. Between checking out the high end stores and perusing the New York Times ads, it's seems that the recession just hasn't touched some people.
9/20/10 Last Friday night I went to a free concert at Bryant Park, it was a 90 minute performance by the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra. They did a really fabulous review of WAR songs and the lead singers were amazing. It was so much fun and people of all dimensions of diversity were having a very good time of it all.
We took the car out on Saturday to get it tested for the emissions and safety standards required by NY and of course got stuck with a major bill in the process since they "found" a bunch of things wrong with the car. Some of the stuff I suppose is legitimate since I've not really had much service done to my car in the 8 years I've had it but some was a rip off for sure (I have my ways of knowing). Anyway, it's done now and hopefully it won't need any more work on it for a while. While we had the car out of the parking garage, we decided to check out the South Bronx Food Coop since I am still yearning for a PCC type of place to grocery shop. Anyway, going to the Bronx was a real eye opener. I now have a much better understanding of why it has the reputation that it does. People have to be tough there for a reason. Much of it has to do with how run down it all looks and feels and there is very little relief as you drive through the streets. I don't think I could live there despite my previous statements elsewhere that at least right now, I prefered the grittiness of mid-town to the upper west side. The Bronx makes mid-town seem like the upper west side. It was quite an important experience in really getting to know NYC as a whole and not just Manhattan. The SBXFC was a bust as far as what I was looking for but I have to give them tons of KUDOS for successfully pulling off what they do have in the neighborhood it's located in. They have my total respect if not my business.....ultimately though, even if it had been a great place to shop, it was way too out of the way to have been able to go with any regularity.
I think our only other forays into the Bronx will be to see a baseball game at Yankee Stadium and to go the NY Botanaical Gardens......supposedly the gardens are one of the most beautiful in the world. We are going for my birthday next weekend.
Later that night we went to the West Village to see a wonderful play at the New School Cherry Pit Theater called the Awesome Dance. The Director and Lighting person are very good friends with our very good friend Paul so that was a cool connection. The village is such a lovely neighborhood, everytime we are there for whatever reason, it stimulates fantansies of someday owning a flat there. It feels very European. On Sunday we had every intention to explore Chinatown but there was a MILE long street fair going on just outside our apartment running the length of 8th Avenue from 42nd street to 58th Street on both sides. The city shuts down the main avenue and leaves the cross streets open to traffic. These street fairs happen a lot in Manhattan, I had not been to one yet despite their frequency and because this one was literally right out the front door of our apartment building (well okay at the corner) we decided to DO the street fair instead. It's pretty fun for people watching and eating but there is so much repetition of the booths selling the same t-shirts, dresses, hats, REAL bug key chains, big chunky glass pendants (these were literally about every 100 feet or so), and selling lots of the same food. Every once in a while you would come across a booth selling more unique/original wares. I have to say that the Carribean/Reggie CD booths are a lot of fun to hang out at. The guys who are selling the CDs are really having fun with the music and customers, dancing and singing, and making their very special sales deals JUST FOR YOU!! I liked those booths the very best. We were looking for a good street fair deal (supposedly, the street fair deal is THE cheapest deal you can get) on the NY Times and signed up for the weekend plan for less that $4 a week, that's pretty good considering that just the Sunday edition runs five bucks at the newstands. We even got a NY Times t-shirt and water bottle for signing up. Christmas gifts for the lucky few!
One more thing.........shopping at Macy's at Herald Square (home to the Miracle on 34th Street movie) is crazy.....that place has more deals and discounts than seems possible. They must make a profit on sheer volume of sales because it never seems that you ever pay full price for anything. I never shopped at Macy's in Seattle but it is such an institution here, seems like you just can't not shop at the one here.
I've gotten some important feedback on my blog.....ADD PHOTOS!! Will do as soon as I can figure that out and have the equipment. BTW almost switched from Blackberry to an IPhone but just couldn't go thru with it........too many fees and added yearly costs. Despite the coolness factor, just couldn't justify it.
I think the diners in NYC are way over rated..........still looking for one with stand out quality....they all just seem pretty much the same despite being voted or touted as THE BEST DINER!!! The search goes on.
9/17/10 Okay, I have to say that I am getting more and more comfortable with not working.....there I admitted it. Now maybe I can start to let go of so much of the guilt I feel knowing only too well how hard my friends and former colleagues are working. I don't expect my unemployed status to last forever but I am finally settling into in a bit more each day for what it has to offer. I still try to be productive with at least a few things every day be that wrapping up work tasks, errands for Bob, doing things for the apartment, attending to details in getting us settled on all fronts, etc. But the thing I like best about not being so pressed for time and having more energy is that I can finally be a nicer and kinder person. I finally have the time and energy to make positive notice of people's efforts, to be more friendly with people, to say hello and please and thank you more consistently, to be less irritated or actually quite okay if things take longer than I thought they would, to not feel I always have to make a beeline to wherever I am going and instead can stop and cross the street to look at something if it interests me or go completely out of my way on a whim. I've not had that sense of freedom from workaday pressure in so long. I'm sleeping a lot better these days too. I know other people who do all these things even though they work really hard, I just wasn't able to be one of those people. I have a one trackedness about my behavior which can be really good in some ways and not so good in other ways. Anyway, I am learning some important life lessons right now, quite a luxury indeed and I am very thankful for this opportunity.
9/15/10 A wise man told me today that life is a series of iterations.....hmmmm, still wondering what my end result is supposed to be with this iteration
I am already developing a love for the Hudson River. It's one hard working river and even from my apartment window, I see barges, ferries, cruise ships, and the like traversing in one direction or another throughout the day. I know it provides the water source for all that great farming up and down the Hudson River Valley. It helps soothe my view as it forms the backdrop to the skyscrapers and traffic in the forefront. The Hudson Riverwalk is pretty fantastic and we will soon rent bikes to ride along side the Hudson the full north to south Manhattan trek. Hudson is a really good name for Dave and Jean's son.... I more fully get it now.
One other very fun find that I will also list below in the Things to do in Manhattan section is from the book Darrow gave us, The Back Stage Guide to Broadway by Robert Viagas. It mentioned Shubert Alley situated between West 44th and 45th Streets and Broadway and 8th Ave. It's hardly an alley as many of us think of alleys...it's really a very cool (and very clean and airy) passage way which is lined with fabulous full sheet posters of most of the plays currently showing on Broadway. I don't think I would have found it on my own very easily.
Bob and I have really been enjoying the proximity of where we live, work, and play. It makes it very easy to have a date night. We joined up at Bryant Park last night for the free performance, walked over to check out Shubert Alley and were both quite charmed by it, then headed to dinner at Zen Palate, a good and relatively inexpensive vegetarian restaurant, and then to Amy's Bakery across the street. Amy's is Bob's FAVORITE bakery after having tried probably close to at least half a dozen other bakeries. He's got an internal radar for that place.
9/15/10 During my many walks, I've noticed that the street people tend to be, in general, well read. I often see them reading a variety of newspapers and having rather indepth conversations with those who stop and chat with them. I may have a biased view of street people in Seattle because I mainly was exposed to homeless youth on the Ave who were not reading or having indepth conversations.
The other thing that Bob and I have yet to understand is why New Yorkers have such a negative reputation for being rude or cold. We've not found either to be true at all. People here are, as a whole, very helpful, social, and kind. We had the same experience when travelling in France......we found the French also very warm and friendly and eager to make our experience of travel there a pleasant one. I would say the only time we've found people to be rather aloof and cool and not interested in being helpful is in the big stores like Home Depot, Best Buy, etc. Customer service is just not a priority in these places while I would say the opposite for Seattle--at least the part about finding help in big stores. Okay, I'm kind of getting my sections a bit blurred now.......it's hard to keep them separate.
9/14/10 Why is it that in Manhattan, I do not have any issue with walking anywhere from 1 to 4 miles to take care of an errand or get to an activity, yet would not have even thought of doing that in Seattle? I think that walking in Manhattan is really reinforcing because you feel like you are always making so much progress as the numbered streets just keep whizzing by and you are constantly being given feedback on your progress to reaching your goal. I like it! I think too that there is so much stimulation and visual distraction that it's easy to get caught up in the sights and be at your destination before you know it. Walking here is as much process oriented as it is goal directed.
9/11/10 On Saturday while out succumbing to the many temptations NYC has to offer and trying desperately to keep the indulgences down to only 2 a day, I saw a young boy, maybe only 4 or 5 years old at the most, singing rather loudly but very much in tune with the song Empire State of Mind--the part that Alicia Keys sings as the refrain that was being played in a shoe store. It was really great--he was so into it, already a true New Yorker, born and bred! He had found his theme song.
Major concerning observation--money flies out of your pocket at incredible speed! It's like the streets have a magnetic force and vacuum sucking power unknown to me before. It's always best to leave with the apartment with no credit card, no debit card, and only 20 bucks and a metro card!
9/13/10 Yikes! I've only been really living here for less than a week and I already have a pet peeve! When I am out taking my granny cart for whirl to get groceries or whatever, it really bugs me when there are two or more people standing right at the corner curb with clearly no intention to cross in either direction. They've just decided to plant themselves there and chat it up while taking up precious passing space or access to the curb ramp for easy rolling up and down the curb when crossing streets. What's up with that? (I hope, some of you at least, are now free associating to the SNL skit with that line being the center piece---I love that series of skits).
Also I think there should be separate lanes on all the sidewalks, one for people who live in the city and want to get to places in a timely fashion and the other for people who are just making a day for themselves getting to know NYC. I would certainly be a high user of each depending on the day and activity.
Bob and I went to the Museum of Modern Art on Saturday to see the Matisse exhibit which gave a progression of his work as it became increasingly more abstract. There was also a great exhibit of modern abstractionists. Rothko, Pollack, de Koning, Rousseau, Picasso (great collection showing his progression as well), etc. The Sculpture garden is really lovely, a great place to take a break when feeling "arted out." We went to our first Carnegie Hall performance to see virtuoso violinist, Alexander Markov. He's an extraordinary performer in that he loves playing both classical and rock music, which we saw him perform both. The acoustics at Carnegie are amazing...even in the nose bleed balcony seats we were in, the clarity and beauty of the notes he played for the Tchaikovsky piece was evident even way up there.
We are giving our first dinner party this Saturday night. In Seattle, my friends eventually became Bob's friends, it may be the other way around here. It's Bob's work friends we are having over. I am looking forward to meeting new people.
10/3/10 Yesterday we walked thru Central Park and wound up on the Upper West Side (UWS). There was a streetfair going on and this had to be about as opposite of what occurs in mid-town. The booths at the UWS fair were all high end jewelry, designer artwear fashion. high art, etc. There were no food booths or booths blaring music. Bob and I were thinking that if this is how street fairs go in the UWS does the Upper East Side (UES) even have street fairs???
Bob is so mellow and uuassuming. He rode in the elevator of our building today with an academy and emmy award winning actress who is staying in the building while she is doing an off broadway show. Bob mentioned to her that she looked familiar to him and asked whether he might know her in some way. She said that he probably recognized her because she was in movies and tv. Bob asked what her name is and she told him. He then said, oh, that's what you do for a living? She said yes. Then as she was getting off the elevator, she asked him his name and he told her and she said good bye. I am hoping that she will leave tickets for her show with the doorman in Bob's name! Such is our life here in NYC.
We explored a bit of Chinatown this afternoon, Columbus Park was really interesting. It was literally packed with older Chinese people there playing and singing very traditional music, palying card games of some sort and a game with small discs and a board similar to a checkborad but it wasn't checkers. Some of those playing had big crowds around them and there was a lot of concentration and animation. Bob and I would like to go back and just be witness to this cultural gathering. It felt like we had been transported to another country.
9/30/10 I love the weather here at night, so balmy and fantastically windy. Even though humidity makes my hair look like Rosanne Rosannadanna's I still love it!
9/27/10 I will need to expand on these things later but just want to get them entered for now, and further expounded on 9/30/10 Finally get a chance to give a little more detail on these entries.
Lexington Avenue--a really great upper eastside street, if a dowager could be a street, she would be Lexington avenue. At least in my mind. It feels more like a real street than say Park Avenue or Madison Avenue. Those streets have been all dolled up with the outrageously expensive stores and shopping, while Lexington serves the more day to day needs of the Upper East side. It has it's share of discreet expensive shops but it also has the hardware stores, small grocery stores, butchers, etc.. It feels older, more lived in but still with a certain feeling of elegance and taste not seen in mid-town despite many of the day-to-day stores selling the same things.
Luke's Lobster on East 81st street really does have an Uber great lobster roll--it truely lives up to the hype (I suspended my vegetarianism for a day). I highly recommend it if you are a lobster lover or want to experience really good lobster for the first time. It's a very simple place, mainly does take out but has some seating as well.
Metropolitan Museum tours are so worth the time -- makes a huge difference to know what you are looking at and why it's a masterpiece and deserves to be seen by millions. I took the museum highlights tour that takes you through 5000 years of art landmarks. The docent was an older woman who was rail thin and very simply but elegantly dressed. Made me think of the saying "You can never be too thin or too rich." She seemed so nervous talking but managed to get the info out in a very accessible explanation. It was so helpful to have this intro to the artwork at this world famous museum. The Met offers about 10 different tours, most specializing in a particular art period or type of art. I plan to eventually take all 10 tours, I've always only experienced art on a visceral level so to understand it on an intellectual level will so enrich my experience.
Next to Normal--Broadway musical depicting significant mental illness and family dysfunction--topic is handled realistically and respectfully. This is a play that several friends have recommended and I am so glad we went to see it. It does a good job of depicting the impact of severe mental illness on the individual and their family and truthfully, coming from someone in the business, there are truly humorous moments that occur within what can be a devestating life course. The song lyrics were so spot on. Highly recommend it if you get a chance to see it.
Completely inundated with reading material, between the weekly New Yorker, New York magazine, Friday, Saturday and Sunday New York times and different editions of Edible Manhattan, Brooklyn and East End. I totally over did with subscriptions!!! There is just no way I am keeping up with all the reading I signed up for plus on the email announcements for the god knows how many various NYC related websites I signed up for. At some point I am thinking the info will just repeat itself and I won't feel so bad about not reading every article on everything happening in this city. For now, I am taking it at a topographic level, getting the terrain of the land before getting too immersed in the details. I've started tearing out pages of magazines and the newspaper and putting them in a big folder labeled "THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE WE LEAVE NYC" better yet, I hope to do a lot of these things when friends and family are visiting.
Perhaps once the novelty wears off or the weather gets just awful, I will finally be able to read a list of books I've wanted to read for a very long time. Right now, it just doesn't seem possible. It's kind of silly how I use to do so much when I was working a lot of hours and now that I am not working, I feel like I absolutely do not have enough time in the day to get done all the things I want to do. I am joking with Bob that I don't think I will have time to work for a long time!! Or really perhaps if I did work, I might actually be more productive with my time. It's a strange life I am living now.........
The Nanny pick up scene at an elementary school on the upper east side--I felt like I was witness to a classic New York moment. I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt that these were the kids' mothers but it's kind of hard to do that when all the ladies there picking up kids are of very distinct ethnicities while the kids showed not even a hint of biracial or biethnic appearance. There were lines and lines and lines of nannies--so interesting. It was rather endearing to see all these little ones so happy to see their nannies and walking off hand in hand to the nearby ice cream truck. There was the occasional parent there to pick up their child and one conversation I overheard was a boy asking his dad if he had time to have a piece of pizza with him before going back to the office and then whether he would see him before bedtime. The dad was sweet and answered yes they could have a piece of pizza together before he headed back to the office but he couldn't be as definitive about seeing him before bedtime.
I thought it would be kind of fun to see how the other half of .01 percent lives so went to the designer shoe floor at Saks Fifth Avenue (it has its own zipcode). The Prada shoes at Saks are absolutely beautiful, practically works of art, I can definitely see the appeal and had to watch that my drool didn't touch the shoes for fear of being made to pay for them. The price tag for a pair of anklet boots was close to $2000, and on a Thursday late morning, this section of the store is full of people--lots with foreign accents. Between checking out the high end stores and perusing the New York Times ads, it's seems that the recession just hasn't touched some people.
9/20/10 Last Friday night I went to a free concert at Bryant Park, it was a 90 minute performance by the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra. They did a really fabulous review of WAR songs and the lead singers were amazing. It was so much fun and people of all dimensions of diversity were having a very good time of it all.
We took the car out on Saturday to get it tested for the emissions and safety standards required by NY and of course got stuck with a major bill in the process since they "found" a bunch of things wrong with the car. Some of the stuff I suppose is legitimate since I've not really had much service done to my car in the 8 years I've had it but some was a rip off for sure (I have my ways of knowing). Anyway, it's done now and hopefully it won't need any more work on it for a while. While we had the car out of the parking garage, we decided to check out the South Bronx Food Coop since I am still yearning for a PCC type of place to grocery shop. Anyway, going to the Bronx was a real eye opener. I now have a much better understanding of why it has the reputation that it does. People have to be tough there for a reason. Much of it has to do with how run down it all looks and feels and there is very little relief as you drive through the streets. I don't think I could live there despite my previous statements elsewhere that at least right now, I prefered the grittiness of mid-town to the upper west side. The Bronx makes mid-town seem like the upper west side. It was quite an important experience in really getting to know NYC as a whole and not just Manhattan. The SBXFC was a bust as far as what I was looking for but I have to give them tons of KUDOS for successfully pulling off what they do have in the neighborhood it's located in. They have my total respect if not my business.....ultimately though, even if it had been a great place to shop, it was way too out of the way to have been able to go with any regularity.
I think our only other forays into the Bronx will be to see a baseball game at Yankee Stadium and to go the NY Botanaical Gardens......supposedly the gardens are one of the most beautiful in the world. We are going for my birthday next weekend.
Later that night we went to the West Village to see a wonderful play at the New School Cherry Pit Theater called the Awesome Dance. The Director and Lighting person are very good friends with our very good friend Paul so that was a cool connection. The village is such a lovely neighborhood, everytime we are there for whatever reason, it stimulates fantansies of someday owning a flat there. It feels very European. On Sunday we had every intention to explore Chinatown but there was a MILE long street fair going on just outside our apartment running the length of 8th Avenue from 42nd street to 58th Street on both sides. The city shuts down the main avenue and leaves the cross streets open to traffic. These street fairs happen a lot in Manhattan, I had not been to one yet despite their frequency and because this one was literally right out the front door of our apartment building (well okay at the corner) we decided to DO the street fair instead. It's pretty fun for people watching and eating but there is so much repetition of the booths selling the same t-shirts, dresses, hats, REAL bug key chains, big chunky glass pendants (these were literally about every 100 feet or so), and selling lots of the same food. Every once in a while you would come across a booth selling more unique/original wares. I have to say that the Carribean/Reggie CD booths are a lot of fun to hang out at. The guys who are selling the CDs are really having fun with the music and customers, dancing and singing, and making their very special sales deals JUST FOR YOU!! I liked those booths the very best. We were looking for a good street fair deal (supposedly, the street fair deal is THE cheapest deal you can get) on the NY Times and signed up for the weekend plan for less that $4 a week, that's pretty good considering that just the Sunday edition runs five bucks at the newstands. We even got a NY Times t-shirt and water bottle for signing up. Christmas gifts for the lucky few!
One more thing.........shopping at Macy's at Herald Square (home to the Miracle on 34th Street movie) is crazy.....that place has more deals and discounts than seems possible. They must make a profit on sheer volume of sales because it never seems that you ever pay full price for anything. I never shopped at Macy's in Seattle but it is such an institution here, seems like you just can't not shop at the one here.
I've gotten some important feedback on my blog.....ADD PHOTOS!! Will do as soon as I can figure that out and have the equipment. BTW almost switched from Blackberry to an IPhone but just couldn't go thru with it........too many fees and added yearly costs. Despite the coolness factor, just couldn't justify it.
I think the diners in NYC are way over rated..........still looking for one with stand out quality....they all just seem pretty much the same despite being voted or touted as THE BEST DINER!!! The search goes on.
9/17/10 Okay, I have to say that I am getting more and more comfortable with not working.....there I admitted it. Now maybe I can start to let go of so much of the guilt I feel knowing only too well how hard my friends and former colleagues are working. I don't expect my unemployed status to last forever but I am finally settling into in a bit more each day for what it has to offer. I still try to be productive with at least a few things every day be that wrapping up work tasks, errands for Bob, doing things for the apartment, attending to details in getting us settled on all fronts, etc. But the thing I like best about not being so pressed for time and having more energy is that I can finally be a nicer and kinder person. I finally have the time and energy to make positive notice of people's efforts, to be more friendly with people, to say hello and please and thank you more consistently, to be less irritated or actually quite okay if things take longer than I thought they would, to not feel I always have to make a beeline to wherever I am going and instead can stop and cross the street to look at something if it interests me or go completely out of my way on a whim. I've not had that sense of freedom from workaday pressure in so long. I'm sleeping a lot better these days too. I know other people who do all these things even though they work really hard, I just wasn't able to be one of those people. I have a one trackedness about my behavior which can be really good in some ways and not so good in other ways. Anyway, I am learning some important life lessons right now, quite a luxury indeed and I am very thankful for this opportunity.
9/15/10 A wise man told me today that life is a series of iterations.....hmmmm, still wondering what my end result is supposed to be with this iteration
I am already developing a love for the Hudson River. It's one hard working river and even from my apartment window, I see barges, ferries, cruise ships, and the like traversing in one direction or another throughout the day. I know it provides the water source for all that great farming up and down the Hudson River Valley. It helps soothe my view as it forms the backdrop to the skyscrapers and traffic in the forefront. The Hudson Riverwalk is pretty fantastic and we will soon rent bikes to ride along side the Hudson the full north to south Manhattan trek. Hudson is a really good name for Dave and Jean's son.... I more fully get it now.
One other very fun find that I will also list below in the Things to do in Manhattan section is from the book Darrow gave us, The Back Stage Guide to Broadway by Robert Viagas. It mentioned Shubert Alley situated between West 44th and 45th Streets and Broadway and 8th Ave. It's hardly an alley as many of us think of alleys...it's really a very cool (and very clean and airy) passage way which is lined with fabulous full sheet posters of most of the plays currently showing on Broadway. I don't think I would have found it on my own very easily.
Bob and I have really been enjoying the proximity of where we live, work, and play. It makes it very easy to have a date night. We joined up at Bryant Park last night for the free performance, walked over to check out Shubert Alley and were both quite charmed by it, then headed to dinner at Zen Palate, a good and relatively inexpensive vegetarian restaurant, and then to Amy's Bakery across the street. Amy's is Bob's FAVORITE bakery after having tried probably close to at least half a dozen other bakeries. He's got an internal radar for that place.
9/15/10 During my many walks, I've noticed that the street people tend to be, in general, well read. I often see them reading a variety of newspapers and having rather indepth conversations with those who stop and chat with them. I may have a biased view of street people in Seattle because I mainly was exposed to homeless youth on the Ave who were not reading or having indepth conversations.
The other thing that Bob and I have yet to understand is why New Yorkers have such a negative reputation for being rude or cold. We've not found either to be true at all. People here are, as a whole, very helpful, social, and kind. We had the same experience when travelling in France......we found the French also very warm and friendly and eager to make our experience of travel there a pleasant one. I would say the only time we've found people to be rather aloof and cool and not interested in being helpful is in the big stores like Home Depot, Best Buy, etc. Customer service is just not a priority in these places while I would say the opposite for Seattle--at least the part about finding help in big stores. Okay, I'm kind of getting my sections a bit blurred now.......it's hard to keep them separate.
9/14/10 Why is it that in Manhattan, I do not have any issue with walking anywhere from 1 to 4 miles to take care of an errand or get to an activity, yet would not have even thought of doing that in Seattle? I think that walking in Manhattan is really reinforcing because you feel like you are always making so much progress as the numbered streets just keep whizzing by and you are constantly being given feedback on your progress to reaching your goal. I like it! I think too that there is so much stimulation and visual distraction that it's easy to get caught up in the sights and be at your destination before you know it. Walking here is as much process oriented as it is goal directed.
9/11/10 On Saturday while out succumbing to the many temptations NYC has to offer and trying desperately to keep the indulgences down to only 2 a day, I saw a young boy, maybe only 4 or 5 years old at the most, singing rather loudly but very much in tune with the song Empire State of Mind--the part that Alicia Keys sings as the refrain that was being played in a shoe store. It was really great--he was so into it, already a true New Yorker, born and bred! He had found his theme song.
Major concerning observation--money flies out of your pocket at incredible speed! It's like the streets have a magnetic force and vacuum sucking power unknown to me before. It's always best to leave with the apartment with no credit card, no debit card, and only 20 bucks and a metro card!
9/13/10 Yikes! I've only been really living here for less than a week and I already have a pet peeve! When I am out taking my granny cart for whirl to get groceries or whatever, it really bugs me when there are two or more people standing right at the corner curb with clearly no intention to cross in either direction. They've just decided to plant themselves there and chat it up while taking up precious passing space or access to the curb ramp for easy rolling up and down the curb when crossing streets. What's up with that? (I hope, some of you at least, are now free associating to the SNL skit with that line being the center piece---I love that series of skits).
Also I think there should be separate lanes on all the sidewalks, one for people who live in the city and want to get to places in a timely fashion and the other for people who are just making a day for themselves getting to know NYC. I would certainly be a high user of each depending on the day and activity.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Please give this your attention
International Peace Day is September 21st. Check out how it is changing the world http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/ and what you can do to contribute to peace in today's world.
Things you should do in Manhattan if you've never done them and do them again even if you've done them before. I'll share my ideas if you share yours.
Of course, my first listings will be all the obvious points of attraction, but over time, I am hoping I will get to know the city well enough to really hone down to some very specific spots less known. I've got some great books for walking tours of the city and when Paul comes to visit, we plan to walk every street of Manhattan.......Plus with others contributions to the blog, it will take me no time at all to become intimate with NYC. I'm easy that way ; > So here we go>>>>>>
10/11/10 See a performance at Carnegie Hall. (see further comments in the Mundane and Sublime section). Visit the Museum of Modern Art, they have an amazing collection of Picassos (all phases of his career). The sculpture garden with it's fountain and pond is lovely oasis.
9/27/10 New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx is a must see.........spectacular
9/17/10 Hang out at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, you don't even have to see a performance to feel more cultured, just being there in the midst of the Center is pretty transforming
9/15 updates
Chelsea Market
Shubert Alley (see above for more details)
If you love to hear really good story telling, check out the NYC Moth website and link http://www.themoth.org/ Thanks to OtO for that recommendation
Also, Dave turned me on to the KEXP radio live streaming to NYC on 91.5 FM with John Richards doing his morning show. I listened this morning and it was wonderful! Seattle does do some things really right!
Jessica suggested an out of town excursion to Saratoga Springs and the Lake George area.
Deb also suggested exploring the North Fork on Long Island. In August when I was just a visitor to the area, we went to Long Island on a reconnaissance mission of sorts and came up a bit empty handed. This is good to get more specifics. Also, I have started receiving copies of Edible Long Island and so now know lots more of what to be exploring on Long Island.
Also check out the website for an artist we met on our High Line Park walk, especially if you have young childrens or are expecting a baby, her artwork is so enchanting........... http://www.edieart.com/ or http://www.edieart.etsy.com/ I think it comes off better when you see it in person but her website gives you some inkling of it all the same.
First listings on this blog:
High Line Park, but don't just go, pay for a membership to support this great city park project
Bryant park is Fabulous, I love the Carousel and the Reading Room, just the feel of the park with the cafe tables and chairs, the tree lined walk ways, the various table games, and all the free entertainment they offer
The walkway/bikeway along the Hudson River
Walking around Chelsea and the Village
All things Central Park
The Clinton Community Neighborhood Garden and P-Patch
Integral Yoga Institute on 8th and West 13th--great little bookstore, organic health food store and herb/supplement shop.
10/11/10 See a performance at Carnegie Hall. (see further comments in the Mundane and Sublime section). Visit the Museum of Modern Art, they have an amazing collection of Picassos (all phases of his career). The sculpture garden with it's fountain and pond is lovely oasis.
9/27/10 New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx is a must see.........spectacular
9/17/10 Hang out at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, you don't even have to see a performance to feel more cultured, just being there in the midst of the Center is pretty transforming
9/15 updates
Chelsea Market
Shubert Alley (see above for more details)
If you love to hear really good story telling, check out the NYC Moth website and link http://www.themoth.org/ Thanks to OtO for that recommendation
Also, Dave turned me on to the KEXP radio live streaming to NYC on 91.5 FM with John Richards doing his morning show. I listened this morning and it was wonderful! Seattle does do some things really right!
Jessica suggested an out of town excursion to Saratoga Springs and the Lake George area.
Deb also suggested exploring the North Fork on Long Island. In August when I was just a visitor to the area, we went to Long Island on a reconnaissance mission of sorts and came up a bit empty handed. This is good to get more specifics. Also, I have started receiving copies of Edible Long Island and so now know lots more of what to be exploring on Long Island.
Also check out the website for an artist we met on our High Line Park walk, especially if you have young childrens or are expecting a baby, her artwork is so enchanting........... http://www.edieart.com/ or http://www.edieart.etsy.com/ I think it comes off better when you see it in person but her website gives you some inkling of it all the same.
First listings on this blog:
High Line Park, but don't just go, pay for a membership to support this great city park project
Bryant park is Fabulous, I love the Carousel and the Reading Room, just the feel of the park with the cafe tables and chairs, the tree lined walk ways, the various table games, and all the free entertainment they offer
The walkway/bikeway along the Hudson River
Walking around Chelsea and the Village
All things Central Park
The Clinton Community Neighborhood Garden and P-Patch
Integral Yoga Institute on 8th and West 13th--great little bookstore, organic health food store and herb/supplement shop.
There will always be comparisons.....here's what I think, what about you?
I am generating a list of Seattle/WA state versus NYC/NY State, giving my preference and asking for yours.........I will continue to add to this list and you add to it too! Disagree, agree, add your own commentary
Updated 10/1/10 Rain in NYC is really different than rain in Seattle. It's kind of like NYC just has to make everything flashier, more dramatic, loud, and something to talk about, including their rain. Having lived in Seattle for 30 years, I saw a lot of rain but it was mostly just depressing when it rained a lot there. Here the storms are filled with PELTING rain, loud cracks of thunder, lightening bolts that light up the sky, wind that makes your hair fly horizontal. It feels like another big showbiz production. You have to own special umbrellas and galoshes are high fashion here. The choice of galoshes is amazing, really fun patterns and styles. I am kind of excited to get my first pair!
Updated 9/27/10 East coast toll roads suck, west coast freeways win hands down (just applied for an automated EZ pass that will makes things easier and cheaper but it still costs--without the EZ pass it's $8 dollars to drive into Manhattan, with it, I think it reduces to $6). It would be less painful to pay the tolls if the roads were in good condition but they are awful, not at all well maintained so it seems a double whammy--paying tolls and driving on bad roads.
Stone material is used everywhere here for building anything, Bob and I love stone for use as building material, so for us, stone wins over wood
Seattle Satsang is so much better organized as far as email communication and posting notices compared to the NY/NJ satsang
Updated 9/20/10 Diners in Seattle are better--I'll try to keep an open mind and searching in NYC but so far, Seattle wins.
Mechanics I think are the same the world over, they know they have you over a barrel and you just have to trust them. It sucks.
Macy's in Herald's Square is way cooler than Macy's in Seattle downtown or Northgate mall.
Updated 9/17/10 Department of Motor Vehicles Seattle any day of the week! The DMV office I went to get my NY state drivers license and transfer my vehicle registration felt like it came out of an SNL skit. I spent 3 hours there and had oh so much time to observe all of the incredulous treatment of people. Lines and lines of people at the mercy of these state workers who most look like they are sick of their jobs of pushing the same paperwork day in and day out and answering the same questions probably a billion times over. Wow, do they need some fresh blood in that office. I do have to give a shout out to the person who helped with my paperwork. He was pretty fabulous, a rarity in that whole place and it is BIG!
law enforcement transportation NYC has cops on beautiful horses right in Times Square--love it! But I suppose the bicycle riding cops in Seattle's downtown deserve a shout out too.
waterfalls New York, hands down--How can WA top Niagara Falls??
mountains Washington State, hands down but the rolling hills of NY state are quite lovely and soothing
organic food Seattle, hands down, no comparison, the thing that I miss the most (thing not people!). people really don't know how spoiled they are there
weather Summers may be muggy and Winters colder but overall, NY looks like it's gonna be the winner--lot's more sunny days and the evenings are so welcoming to be outside for at least 6 months of the year
city parks New York City by far--the parks here (big and tiny) are really very central places for people to gather, visit, talk, eat, enjoy entertainment. NYC just knows its people need to be out of their apartments and gives them lots of places to gather. The parks here, regardless of size, remind me of the zocalos in Mexico and the plazas in Europe
nature Hmmm this one is probably a tie between the states, each has their tremendous beauty, I don't think people associate New York State with having so much wilderness while it is easy to conjure that up when you think of Washington State. Probably the inverse happens in that Seattle doesn't get as much credit as it should for being a big metropolitan city--everybody thinks rain gear and hiking books, where as New York City gets too associated with New York State and nobody thinks about the state's nature and wilderness
dining I haven't gone out that much yet, but I will say that I did a lot of really fine dining in Seattle and they provide very stiff competition for any other city in the world. It's gonna take a lot for NYC to make me think they are significantly better
public transportation NYC and all points out of the city by far...there is no competition here
diversity Again, no competition, NYC is truely the melting pot of all cities, it's very cool
fashion I am just starting to explore this but pretty much anything goes on the streets--it's fun and it gives me way more courage and inspiration to break loose a bit--we will see if I make any real leaps
entertainment It's absolutely everywhere here in NYC--plenty of free entertainment and plenty to pay for
pizza Okay, so Bob and I are hitting lots of pizza places but we have to admit that we still quite partial to Tom Douglas' Serious Pie in Seattle. We ate at an organic pizza place in Chelsea called Slice that was really good--it's just that the crust didn't even come close to the one at Serious Pie. We are eating our way through several recommendations so the jury is out on this one.
recycling/green awareness This one is Seattle hands down, absolutely no competition. The waste is obscene here
housing Housing is expensive both in NYC and Seattle but probably NYC is the clear winner
state fair Even though Puyallup is not a state fair, I gotta go with it for being a better fair experience. Maybe the NY state fair was just too big for us to see all that it has to offer but from what we did see, Puyallup does it better
shopping NYC is like entering the DANGER ZONE for shopping.........need I say more
carousels NYC seems to have a bit of a love affair with carousels, and since I love them too, gotta go with NYC/NY
billboards New York State must have some laws about not having billboards on main stretches of thru ways because we hardlly saw any on our recent road trip upstate and we covered over 1000 miles. Not having them mar the scenery was really nice.
universities New York City and State are crazy for universities and colleges---it's very impressive
gasoline prices For whatever reason, gas is cheaper in NYC and NY state than Seattle and WA. The gas station near our apartment always has about a dozen or more taxis filling up there......it must be a good place!
I will continue to add to this list and you add to it too! Disagree, agree, add your own commentary
Updated 10/1/10 Rain in NYC is really different than rain in Seattle. It's kind of like NYC just has to make everything flashier, more dramatic, loud, and something to talk about, including their rain. Having lived in Seattle for 30 years, I saw a lot of rain but it was mostly just depressing when it rained a lot there. Here the storms are filled with PELTING rain, loud cracks of thunder, lightening bolts that light up the sky, wind that makes your hair fly horizontal. It feels like another big showbiz production. You have to own special umbrellas and galoshes are high fashion here. The choice of galoshes is amazing, really fun patterns and styles. I am kind of excited to get my first pair!
Updated 9/27/10 East coast toll roads suck, west coast freeways win hands down (just applied for an automated EZ pass that will makes things easier and cheaper but it still costs--without the EZ pass it's $8 dollars to drive into Manhattan, with it, I think it reduces to $6). It would be less painful to pay the tolls if the roads were in good condition but they are awful, not at all well maintained so it seems a double whammy--paying tolls and driving on bad roads.
Stone material is used everywhere here for building anything, Bob and I love stone for use as building material, so for us, stone wins over wood
Seattle Satsang is so much better organized as far as email communication and posting notices compared to the NY/NJ satsang
Updated 9/20/10 Diners in Seattle are better--I'll try to keep an open mind and searching in NYC but so far, Seattle wins.
Mechanics I think are the same the world over, they know they have you over a barrel and you just have to trust them. It sucks.
Macy's in Herald's Square is way cooler than Macy's in Seattle downtown or Northgate mall.
Updated 9/17/10 Department of Motor Vehicles Seattle any day of the week! The DMV office I went to get my NY state drivers license and transfer my vehicle registration felt like it came out of an SNL skit. I spent 3 hours there and had oh so much time to observe all of the incredulous treatment of people. Lines and lines of people at the mercy of these state workers who most look like they are sick of their jobs of pushing the same paperwork day in and day out and answering the same questions probably a billion times over. Wow, do they need some fresh blood in that office. I do have to give a shout out to the person who helped with my paperwork. He was pretty fabulous, a rarity in that whole place and it is BIG!
law enforcement transportation NYC has cops on beautiful horses right in Times Square--love it! But I suppose the bicycle riding cops in Seattle's downtown deserve a shout out too.
waterfalls New York, hands down--How can WA top Niagara Falls??
mountains Washington State, hands down but the rolling hills of NY state are quite lovely and soothing
organic food Seattle, hands down, no comparison, the thing that I miss the most (thing not people!). people really don't know how spoiled they are there
weather Summers may be muggy and Winters colder but overall, NY looks like it's gonna be the winner--lot's more sunny days and the evenings are so welcoming to be outside for at least 6 months of the year
city parks New York City by far--the parks here (big and tiny) are really very central places for people to gather, visit, talk, eat, enjoy entertainment. NYC just knows its people need to be out of their apartments and gives them lots of places to gather. The parks here, regardless of size, remind me of the zocalos in Mexico and the plazas in Europe
nature Hmmm this one is probably a tie between the states, each has their tremendous beauty, I don't think people associate New York State with having so much wilderness while it is easy to conjure that up when you think of Washington State. Probably the inverse happens in that Seattle doesn't get as much credit as it should for being a big metropolitan city--everybody thinks rain gear and hiking books, where as New York City gets too associated with New York State and nobody thinks about the state's nature and wilderness
dining I haven't gone out that much yet, but I will say that I did a lot of really fine dining in Seattle and they provide very stiff competition for any other city in the world. It's gonna take a lot for NYC to make me think they are significantly better
public transportation NYC and all points out of the city by far...there is no competition here
diversity Again, no competition, NYC is truely the melting pot of all cities, it's very cool
fashion I am just starting to explore this but pretty much anything goes on the streets--it's fun and it gives me way more courage and inspiration to break loose a bit--we will see if I make any real leaps
entertainment It's absolutely everywhere here in NYC--plenty of free entertainment and plenty to pay for
pizza Okay, so Bob and I are hitting lots of pizza places but we have to admit that we still quite partial to Tom Douglas' Serious Pie in Seattle. We ate at an organic pizza place in Chelsea called Slice that was really good--it's just that the crust didn't even come close to the one at Serious Pie. We are eating our way through several recommendations so the jury is out on this one.
recycling/green awareness This one is Seattle hands down, absolutely no competition. The waste is obscene here
housing Housing is expensive both in NYC and Seattle but probably NYC is the clear winner
state fair Even though Puyallup is not a state fair, I gotta go with it for being a better fair experience. Maybe the NY state fair was just too big for us to see all that it has to offer but from what we did see, Puyallup does it better
shopping NYC is like entering the DANGER ZONE for shopping.........need I say more
carousels NYC seems to have a bit of a love affair with carousels, and since I love them too, gotta go with NYC/NY
billboards New York State must have some laws about not having billboards on main stretches of thru ways because we hardlly saw any on our recent road trip upstate and we covered over 1000 miles. Not having them mar the scenery was really nice.
universities New York City and State are crazy for universities and colleges---it's very impressive
gasoline prices For whatever reason, gas is cheaper in NYC and NY state than Seattle and WA. The gas station near our apartment always has about a dozen or more taxis filling up there......it must be a good place!
I will continue to add to this list and you add to it too! Disagree, agree, add your own commentary
"Don't Rule Out Brooklyn" says Omar the Oracle, "Convince me" I say
Being new to Manhattan I want to fully embrace Manhattan, but I keep hearing about Brooklyn being the new Manhattan......any thoughts on this? A hip 24 year old whispered in my ear "Brooklyn thinks it's the new Manhattan but it's not."
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