New York Quotes

"When you leave New York, you ain't goin' nowhere." - Unknown

" It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story." - Agatha Christie

"The present New Yok is so powerful that the past is lost." -John Jay Chapman

"There are no available men in their thirties in New York. Giuliani had them removed along with the homeless." -Sex and the City

"I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, 'There's no place like New York. It's the most exciting city in the world now. That's the way it is. That's it.'"- Robert de Niro

"I knew I couldn't live in America and I wasn't ready to move to Europe so I moved to an island off the coast of America - New York City." - Spalding Gray

"New York is the biggest collection of villages in the world." - Alistair Cooke

"The thing that impressed me then as now about New York . . . was the sharp, and at the same time immense, contrast it showed between the dull and the shrewd, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant . . . the strong, or those who ultimately dominated, were so very strong, and the weak so very, very weak-- and so very, very many." -Theodore Dreiser

"New York is a different country. Maybe it ought to have a separate government. Everybody thinks differently, acts differently --they just don't know what the hell the rest of the United States is." - Henry Ford

"You come to New York to find the ambiance that will evoke your best. You do not necessarily know precisely what that might be, but you come to New York to discover it." - Dr. James Hillman

"A person who speaks good English in New York sounds like a foreigner." - Jackie Mason

"New York attracts the most people in the world in the arts and professions. It also attracts them in other fields. Even the bums are talented." - Edmund Love

"The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding. " - John Updike

BINGO!

So... It took me the better part of a year... but I finally made it to the fifth borough. I had a meeting for work in Staten Island today. I'm going to be honest, Staten Island is not that impressive, so I haven't been missing much, but its more the principle of the thing.

Manhattan - CHECK
Brooklyn - Check
Queens - Check
Brox - Check
Staten Island - Check.

That's five for five. Bingo!

Booker T. Washington Playground

There's a playground behind the middle school that's across the street from my apartment building. If I walk home down 107th or 108th I pass by on either side. It has space for baseball on the west end, a soccer field in the middle, and a couple of basketball half courts on the east side. If I have to go over to Broadway, I try to walk that way to watch the games, because there is always something going on.

In the summer, when I first got here, it was baseball. There is nothing quite as endearing as watching little, little kids play baseball. Trying to swing and catch and run and throw.

In the fall there was more soccer and basketball. Which just made me want to play like crazy. But that happens every fall. Years of conditioning from playing AYSO every fall for twelve years. Fall temperatures and that fall smell in the late afternoon ALWAYS make me want to play soccer.

In the winter, after fresh snow you'd see tracks and snow angels.

In the winter when the snow was melted, more soccer. Sometimes basketball.

Now in the spring, you're seeing everything. Everyone is so tired of being cooped up inside, that they fight for every inch of grass they can get. They play lacrosse, soccer, baseball, basketball, football... all at the same time, on the same field.

I can't believe someone doesn't need stitches every 10 minutes.

I love my neighborhood.

Napoleon Dynamite

I sat down in Sunday School today, and turned around to notice Jon Heder sitting behind me. Not directly behind me, more like one row back and two seats to the right.

Napoleon Dynamite, in my gospel doctrine class.

Wanting to be totally cool and not annoying, I did not stare. But I did glance a few times, just to make sure.

Family!

I adore my family. ADORE. So of course, I was beside myself when they decided to come and visit my in the City over spring break. Tragically, we were one sister short, however, as her spring break fell on a different week.

Despite being only 6 out of 7, fun times were certainly had. A small sampling...

Family in front of my church building/the Manhattan Temple...

Dad, Mom and boys on the subway...

Seth discovers Pizza...

Family at Top of the Rock, with Empire State Building...

In addition to the above, we did Times Square, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Circle Line, West Side Story on Broadway, Battery Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Trinity Church, China Town, cannoli's in Little Italy, L'arte Del Gelato, Magnolia Bakery, my apartment, shopping and general merriment. We were laughing nonstop.

Best weekend ever.

Sounds of Spring

The ghetto blasters are back.

The ghetto blasters, the street corner dance parties and the car radios with the sub woofers that shakes my building.

Apparently they all went into hybernation over the winter... that or I just kept my window closed and I couldn't hear them. But now it's warm, the windows are open and my neighborhood is out on their front steps in full force.

... which is probably why I can smell the guy down stair smoking pot.

Green Bagels

Supposedly New York is really really enthusiastic about St. Patrick's day. I heard rumors that they even tint the bagels green.

I saw no green bagels today and I was very disappointed.

I did however see three men at Gray's Papaya in kilts and one was carrying bagpipes. What kind of Irishman eats hotdogs on St. Patricks Day?! I also saw lots and lots of tourists wearing "I 'shamrock' NY" shirts. Clever.

Luckily I was indoors before the heavy drinking began.

Next year, I want my green bagel.

In House Opera

There is an opera singer that lives on the first floor of my building. Apartment 1B to be exact.

I know this because sometimes when I come home I can hear her practicing.

So New York.

I love the 80's, Part 2

Going to see Tainted Love at B.B. Kings is quite possibly the most fun I've ever had. Twice.

Tainted Love is of course the 80's tribute band out of San Francisco that we saw back in September. And I've been checking the performance schedule on their website regularly, hoping they would come back. And they did!

This time I invited, basically everyone I know, only to have them sell out half an hour before the show, meaning that most of the friends that showed up, didn't get in. BUMMER. Not wanting to be left to the mercy of the bouncers on a busy night, however, I had picked up my ticket the night before... and the few of us that did get in were not disappointed.

Their set list is loooooooooong. They play for over two hours straight...


Their guitar player rocks...


The guys in the band...


We were right up against the stage, where people were leaving their drinks on the tape that said "No drinks." Apparently illiteracy is a side effect of drunkenness?


THIS guy, I remember from last time we saw Tainted Love. He's a true fan. He even flew out the San Francisco to see them perform on New Years. Dedicated. He looks a little crazy here, but he's actually a nice guy. He gets like this when they play Journey.


Kevin made it in...


Amy did too. Isn't she too cute for words?


Outside afterwords... Dirty (because of the girl behind me that spilled her drink on me - there is nothing quite as disgusting as having beer in your hair), exhausted (this was about 2:30 am), and happy...

They even played my favorite song...

Waverly Inn

I had heard of the Waverly Inn long before I moved to New York. It's known as a mysterious enclave of incredible food, rare availability and celebrity clientele.

In other words, it's IMPOSSIBLE to get a reservation there, and if you don't have a reservation... Ha! That's funny.

So imagine my surprise when my roommate Sarah informed me that she had reservations at the Waverly Inn, on Valentine's Day, of all days. That girl has some kind of crazy voodoo magic. You would not believe the stuff she is able to pull off.

So of course, I was wickedly jealous, though very excited for her.

Then the big weekend came around. Sarah's cousin Amaya came to town for their big adventure, all was going well, memories being made at every turn... and Sarah woke up on Valentine's Day with food poisoning. TRAGIC. All the hoping and saltines in the world could not get Sarah to keep her food down that day.

An hour or so before their reservation, she begged me to go in her place.

"I..... I can't do that to you!"
"Seriously, would you please?... I cannot cannot go."
"But I... I hate to do that to you, you've been planning this for like a month."
"I know, but if no one shows up, then I'll be black balled from the Waverly Inn forever and I'll NEVER get to go."
"... ... Oh K."

Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled about the chance to unravel the mystery of the Waverly Inn. Thrilled. I just hated hated hated that it had to be at the expense of my roommates health and happiness.

... but she begged, so I went. And it was, in fact, awesome.

Here it is... Down in the West Village on the corner of Waverly and Bank...


Our waiter was charming, the food was incredible, Amaya was a ton of fun and we chatted like old friends. I saw an actor from my favorite TV show, and my experience at the Waverly Inn was complete.

Amaya snapped one picture of dessert before we were scolded for taking pictures and asked to put the camera away.


Me and Amaya outside, after our fabulous evening...


It might have been one of the best Valentines ever.

Urban Art 2, for Emily

Roadtrip!

I miss driving. I miss driving soooooooo much.

I miss driving so much that a few weeks ago I woke up on a Saturday morning and decided to rent a car, just so I could drive it around for the day. 2 hours later, me and my little Focus were cruising down Broadway.

What does one do when one has a car for the day in NYC? I thought.

One calls up their best friend, takes a spontaneous roadtrip and leaves NYC of course!

I called Melissa.

"Hey, guess what I did?"

"I'm afraid to ask, but what?"

"I rented a car for the day."

"Ha, seriously?"

"Yep. Wanna go to Philadelphia?"

"Uh, now?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"See you in 20 mins."

"Awesome."

... And off we went.

While I waited for Melissa I took an accidental cruise over to Jersey via the Holland Tunnel...


I was soooooooo happy...


Ellis Island, from the Jersey side...


Then I picked up my navigator and off we went...


The open road. I periodically started giggling with joy every few minutes...


Philadelphia Skyline. Why Philly? Why not?


First stop, Liberty Bell...


While walking through old town, found the coolest building, with is surface covered in mosaics...

On my only other trip to Philadelphia, I had a client take me to this restaurant, which I loved. So we stopped there for dinner before heading back.

It was one of my best spontaneous adventures ever.

I heart roadtrips and friends who will take roadtrips with me on 20 mintues notice.

Oh, and did I mention I love driving?

Bring On Broadway

So, I've been here... almost a year... ish... and I had yet to see a show on Broadway. So one very very very cold Saturday, I enlisted my friend Kevin to set that situation straight.

Thanks to Tkts we nabbed tickets for the matinee of "Chicago," and then wandered around Times Square to pass the time until the show started.

Still my favorite part of the City...


Kevin and me, just looking at this picture makes me cold...

(Don't get any crazy ideas, we're just friends... Family, this means you.)

There is a big M&M factory in Times Square, with a larger than life Elvis M&M, which Kevin couldn't help impersonating. Yes, he's a huge dork...


And this is how excited Kevin was to see Chicago...

See what I mean? HUGE dork.

City Snow Man

I passed this little guy on 106th street between Amsterdam and Broadway:





It's not everyday you see a Snow Guy in the city.

Snow Day

Today was my first snow day ever.

I got an email from my boss at around 7:30 saying I could work from home, because it was blizzard-ish outside. So I did.

I wrote emails and dialed into conference calls... and maybe I also watched snatches of a movie in my spare windows of time.

I like snow days.