Thievery Corporation and Buckminster Fuller

Hello friends and family, and welcome to another fabulous weekend in New York City.

The best part about working for a huge company like Time Warner, are all of the side perks. Because the company donates so much money to the various foundations and programs around the city, my little Time Warner ID badge is like a golden ticket to the wonders of the Big Apple.

Thursday, for example, I joined my cubicle neighbor, Alon, and two of his friends, Loretta and Whitney, for a benefit concert in Central Park. Because of our little badges, we got the tickets for free. The concert was headlined by a group called Thievery Corporation. Their music is a sort of world-folk-techno-pop-lounge blend that I weirded me out at first, but which I loved after I got used to it. Best of all was that I totally clicked with Loretta and Whitney and I made two wonderful new friends.

Friday, I got a little tour of Queens, which checks off borough #4 out of 5. Despite my hosts emphatic declaration that Queens is the superior borough, I remain convinced that nowhere can compare with the wonders of Manhattan.

Saturday, I met another friend from work for brunch and a tour of the Whitney Museum on the east side. Once again, that fabulous little ID badge got us in for free. At the Whitney there was also a large exhibit on the life work of a futurist inventor named Buckminster Fuller, who occasionally signed his name as "Bucky." Years ahead of his time, Fuller was all about sustainable resources and low-impact housing that utilized energy efficiency for a more environment friendly lifestyle.

After the museum we walked back through Central Park to the west side. It was one of those amazing Saturday's in the park, where it feels like the entire world has come to spend a day playing in the grass. There were teams playing softball, people rowing on the lake, kids doing flips and stunts by the fountain, and everywhere you walked you heard bits of conversation in heavily accented English.

I love living here. I love that everyone is from somewhere else, and everyone has an accent. I love that there are always a hundred things going on and that I make a new friend every day. I love that people have high hopes and big ideas about the future. I love that living in New York makes the whole world feel like a rich, diverse and exciting place.

Living in New York just makes me a little ball of love.

XOXO