Sharon in New York

Maggie having surgery today

2008-12-18T09:51:00.002-05:00

OH! I can't believe I didn't mention this: We took Maggie have surgery today. The week before Thanksgiving, she was playing at the dog park and must have turned wrong- she tore her ACL on her left leg. My little football player. Anyways, no doggie in the house today- it's weird. We won't pick her up until after 3 tomorrow! Poor Mags.

Back? Fer REAL???! Naahh....

2008-12-18T09:37:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm not making ANY promises this time! Especially since I've been using Facebook over the last month. Addicting, time consuming... plus I'm hoping to start a new job soon and with that, get back to Bikram since it would be nearby. I'm waiting to get an offer after my second interview this last Tuesday.

So let's see...what has happened since my last update in Feb? We moved into that phat pad I mentioned before- we have amazing amenities, a penthouse view (not to mention the view from our actual apartment), lots of space... VERY posh. We're actually saving money by doing it, too!

About the job... Well, I'd had my fill of the studio, and found out about another studio that had opened up right near my place. Lots of interviews, phone calls, details discussed- including a start date... about a week after I put in my two weeks, they moved my start date to Jan. After much going back and forth, I realized that the job wasn't actually available due to the unstable position Publishing has been in. I immediately asked a friend about his new job and lucked into an interview.

It's not in Publishing which is great! I was originally supposed to move to NY and not stay in Publishing as long as I did. I wanted to work at the studio long enough to get my bearings on the city and find a job doing something different using what I know. So, 4 years later, I have even more mad skilz (yes, I just wrote that) and I'm hoping to start work as a "Senior Producer", or uber-Project Manager, pretty much what I've been doing over the last 11 years of my life.

I'm going to be 37 this year! I want to make sure I get into something new now before I get too old! I'm going to be competing against 20 somethings who will have more energy and work for cheap. I need to breathe new life and work my way up into something I love! So, that being said, wish me luck! It's been two days and I haven't heard a thing back.

NEW PLACE!

2008-06-08T08:32:00.000-04:00

We'll be moving into the SICKEST PAD I've ever lived in! Eric, Rohan, Dave and I are splitting a 3 story, 4 bedroom 4 bath condo in Newport starting next week! I'll post photos once we get in and settled... I'll have 2-3 cams (SO excited) of amazing NYC views and one of the park below.

I cant even tell you how crazy cool this is going to be!!!!!!!

IKEA in slow motion

2008-03-09T15:54:00.005-04:00

So I was surfing through the IKEA website, checking out what kinds of new things have popped up. They did a seriously cool thing to show some bedroom setups. Click here and sift through the slow-motion videos with a sense of humor. I hope they make commercials out of these. Very cool.

Note: The first one is just ok- be sure to click "change bedroom" at the bottom right.

Not a bad weekend!

2008-02-18T22:13:00.006-05:00

Not that the 3-day weekend caught me up on all my sleep, but it sure did help enough! I stayed in all day Saturday while Dave wondered into the city in the glorious weather and visited the NY Historical Society.

A cool photo out of the bus window on his way there...

Sunday, we decided to finally get new cell phones. Away with the mysterious restarts, pulling the battery out in order to get it unfrozen and crappy battery life! We both got the "enV" phones. They have GPS navigation, a music mp3 player, they have super photo and video quality, and a full key pad for texting, downloading videos and surfing the web! Quite the upgrade for us! I also bought one of those blue tooth ear buds so I can join the army of people appearing to have a discussion with themselves while walking down the street.

Sunday night we went over to Tamara and Kevin's place for a hell of a party! (I'm still hungover Monday night at 10pm!) Lots of incriminating photos and even more videos! There was a dance-off, a weird stomach baring incident with Andrew, and a TON of laughter. We missed our last train, so we ended up staying there with everyone else overnight. In the morning, it looked like a bunch of homeless people had invaded Tam and Kevin's apartment. I also feel sorry for the neighbors...

Rohan, Dave and Kevin

A few people from the group, a little while before things got weird....

HERE'S where it starts to get weird...

Dave's "Dance of a Thousand Fools"

Back to work. I even need to still send a status to a client tonight before I go to bed. Agh.

Sewing?

2008-02-16T14:24:00.004-05:00

It's been so, very very long since I've had the time or energy keep up something creative. With this 3-day weekend, I'm catching up on my much-needed sleep and investigating a few things that inspire me.

I've decided to take a sewing class. I've had an idea stirring in my head for about a year, and I need to remember how to use a sewing machine again!

Happy Valentine's Day! <3

2008-02-14T20:16:00.009-05:00

Iphone photo

2008-02-10T13:20:00.001-05:00

Here's a great photo I just found on one of my favorite photo blogs,
Trevor Little:

Public iPhone in the East Village

Be sure to browse through some of my favorite links in the right column!

The Newest in Newport, NJ

2008-02-10T12:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was cold and gloomy. Eric Dave and I walked over to Komagashi Too for a happy sushi power lunch!

Afterwards, we walked over by the skating rink to peek in the window of the soon-to-open Morton Williams grocery store that we CAN'T WAIT for! It looks like it's going to be huge! It's stuck right in between The Shore condos and across from the new Aquablù residential building. All right outside our front door. This area is growing so fast! Very, VERY exciting.

Here's a photo off the 9th floor by the tennis courts for The Shore. The left side is the newest extension of The Shore condo building. The right is part of the new AuqaBlù building, to open sometime in 2010, I believe.
(Notice how cold and crummy it is outside)

Eric joining the household!

2008-02-10T12:20:00.000-05:00

Finally some very good news: Eric will be moving in with us for 2-3 months, either at the end of Feb or March! We asked if he would, since he's looking to move out of his place and his lease is coming up, and we're all looking pay a bunch of bills off and save as well... there's an awful lot going on at work and we want to have a cushion should anything happen.

We've all lived together before and it should work out great. (Famous last words, right?) ;)

Dave is still sleeping after staying up partying until 3am with Eric. I couldn't make it past midnight!

Dave playing out again!

2008-02-08T23:13:00.000-05:00

This is kind of a late post, but I wanted to mention that Dave was playing out again!

He was contacted by two booking managers within 2 weeks of him putting up his myspace page! He's been playing over in Chinatown at 169 Bar. (Totally overpacked on the weekends, and a great place to play and make a little money on the weekdays!)

Dave is just about ready to look for a bass player. When his band is complete, he already has an agent ready to hook him up with a ton of great places!

Overdose!

2008-02-04T18:42:00.000-05:00

This morning, Dave and I discovered that we had both given Maggie her allergy medicine independently, only ten minutes apart! The vet highly advised that someone watch her all day so make sure she had no major "overdose symptoms." Of course, I volunteered!

Throughout the day, Maggie went through a slightly drowsy state and napped on and off, and I ended up working all day from home. Bummer.

She ended up being all right by the end of the day. What a scare!

Right now she's back to her old self: "being a snork", as we call it. Wild and playful, growling and flinging toys about. Tomorrow, she's back to Doggie Daycare to burn off some energy from sleeping all day!

A warmer day...

2008-02-03T20:49:00.001-05:00

A high of 50- FINALLY! A warmer day!

Dave, Maggie and I took a very long walk down the Hudson for some fresh air:

A beautiful day walking through a park in Newport

Maggie overlooking the Hudson

The Hyatt and a peek at Exchange Place

Music Video

2008-02-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

Dave and I have started working up some ideas for creating a music video of one of his songs, so I've been "Tubing" down the internet river for more inspiration.

I came across this simple, neat music video by Vampire Weekend. It has is nothing to do with the style we have in mind, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

Digital Sculpture (YouTube)

2008-02-02T18:39:00.000-05:00

I found this on YouTube. SO amazing. I wish I could create one.

On the way to work...AGAIN...

2008-01-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

I thought I was completely delirious when I realized was shuffling behind a bunch of Mario Cart characters on the way to work this morning, so I asked to take a photo of them to prove to myself I was still ok.

MyTube

2008-01-20T19:52:00.000-05:00

One hundred years later, I've finally uploaded a few home videos onto YouTube.

For my first ones, I've just uploaded a few short videos of our English bulldog, Maggie. I'm just learning about the quality as I export. (They're looking a little low in that department.)

Here's one to test blogging with- it's of Maggie as a puppy, fully enjoying one of the few toys we did not buy...a door stopper.

Bang Camaro is back in town!

2008-01-20T09:24:00.001-05:00

You may have heard of them from Guitar Hero 2's "Lady Lightning". Or Rock Band's "Pleasure". It looks like they've been busy in 2007! Bang Camaro is heading to a town near you.

This band consists of up to 20 testosterone-filled lead singers and musicians on stage, all at once. Power riffs will fill that part of your soul that you just haven't been able to quite reach. (You know that part I'm talking about.)

We'll hopefully be seeing them at Madison Square, Maxwell's in Hoboken, and maybe even over at the Music Hall Brooklyn. I wish I could visit home and see them in Orlando at The Social, too!

Do yourself a favor and see them while you can. Check out their complete tour here.

One of our two Bang Camaro posters mounted and hanging in our place from the first time we ever saw them live. This one is in our dining room (next my favorite "Incubus, Live in Japan" poster).

23° but GE-ORGeous!

2008-01-20T09:10:00.003-05:00

Today will be a high of 23, but it's crystal clear and absolutely beautiful!

The rink is all ready and waiting for skaters!

Sumo mural on 33rd

2008-01-18T21:29:00.000-05:00

There used to be a cool Delta Airlines mural on the side of this building (done by Bruce McCall in 2004). Since then it's changed from one crappy "Motorola Razor phone" mural to another. The newest mural just finished: a very scary ad for Hyundai. What's going on here, anyway??

What's the point, here?

Happy Post-Thnxgiv'g!

2007-11-26T15:04:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

We did absolutely NOTHING these last few days, and it was everything I'd ever dreamed of.

For Thanksgiving day, Dave and I decided not to go see the Macy's parade again this year. Instead, we slept in, played Guitar Hero, and had our Turkey dinner over at Dorrian's Red Hand on Washington. They had a full pre-set Thanksgiving dinner, and it was awesome.

I'm actually home sick today, but Eric is back at work from his Thanksgiving vacation with family to take my place. The "thing" that's been going around has finally gotten to me. What really sucks is I've been out of paid days for a while, so this is another loss of wage. SUCKS. I'm still getting checks with a few days taken out from our cruise we took in September!

Christmas vacation is coming! We'll be driving all the way to Florida with Maggie to visit Dave's parents in our old town, Orlando, and then down to Palm Beach Gardens to my parent's where I grew up. Nine long days, no work...

Snovember 07!

2007-11-18T17:12:00.000-05:00

I had suggested we do a "Snow Pool" at work this year to bet on who could guess the first day of snow, but I never got a free moment to do it. With all the wacky weather, I swore up and down it would happen in November. No one believed me! And dammit, I could have won some good money! It's supposed to snow tonight, some tomorrow morning, some tomorrow night, and some the next day!!!

Last year, we didn't get any snow until mid-January. This year is looking like it could be a very chilly winter!

Blogger.com wins!

2007-11-18T14:23:00.000-05:00

That's it, I'm sticking with Blogger.com. It's been loyal, consistent and although it has it's difficulties at times, I'm willing to stick through it. I've tried using the software that was available after buying maggiesmood.com, but it's just not working out.

I'm currently pasting the last posts I did on the site. I'll be linking here directly from now on!

New website, cam and all!

2007-11-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

All right, DOUBTERS.

I've got the computer. I've got the web domain. I've got the website. I've got the CAM. I may be eventually blogging there, too!

For now, I'll stay here. I'm testing out Network Solution's many applications. It sure is easy to upload photos to, rather than going through the many steps after sending them to Flickr... We'll see.

The web site will probably take a million year to complete, but at least I've got it started!
MAGGIESMOOD.COM!

I'm BACK!

2007-11-04T18:17:00.000-05:00

This time, it IS for real! No, I SWEAR!!! This time I have it all worked out.

I just purhased a new iMac, and it should be here by the end of the week. I'm SO excited!!!!!! Dave and I even went to Home Depot this morning and had a bunch of wood custom cut so we could build a desk for the bedroom!

You have absolutely no idea how lost and miserable I've been without posting and being creative. I thought I could shake the obsession of sitting at my computer for 20 hours a week at home. Crazy.

I'll be working on my web site once again (will sharonland.com rise again?), and use my web cam to share our amazing view of the New York skyline! We moved to Newport (in Jersey City) in April and we have such a GREAT view of the city from every window in our apartment- I've been dying to broadcast it! It's finally become a reality!!

While you're waiting, the following has happened since I posted in March:

• Dave got his first tattoo for his 35th B-day in May: It's a great design of King Kong on the Empire State Building, swiping at bi-planes swarming around him...VERY awesome!

• I got my second tattoo for my 35th: a pretty decent-sized one across the nape of my neck. It's of the Incubus bird, vines with music notes/leaves branching out.

• Our English Bulldog, Maggie turned ONE in October!

• We still miss the hell out of Jeff.

• I am barely hanging on to the reigning champion title for Guitar Hero II (I haven't playing most of this year!) ...I refuse to buy Hero 3 until I fully complete 2...

• I've hardly played REAL guitar since last Christmas. =( ...cue GarageBand!!!

These last 22 months have been pretty much about work. I haven't been in a creative position since I moved to New York, very much the opposite of what I had planned. Getting back on track with blogging, illustrating and web work should help a ton while I work out the other half of my life.

Stay tuned! Expect something big to come around within two weeks! In the meantime, I'll be a'bloggin!

No way. For REALS?!

2007-03-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen… this blog was almost left for DEAD about a HUNDRED times over! The last real-time posted blog was THIRTEEN months ago! (Hey, maybe I'll seem different to you somehow. You know, like, more mature or something? Whatever.)

While I did keep spot-blogging many of our adventures, I refused to post anything until everything that happened subsequently was in place. I often thought it might be better just to let it go…But NO! I never gave up! I FOUGHT THE BIG FIGHT! And I WON, damn it!!!!

I’m pretty excited to get through the catch-up blogs and get back to my daily/weekly bloggings. Spring is almost here, personal changes are in progress, and I’ve got a CRAP LOAD amazing photos to share!

A quick list of the bigger things that happened over a year:
• While we made it through the "biggest blizzard in New York history since the 1800s" last winter, THIS winter was the WARMEST winter since the 1800s! Not a flake of snow until January 10th 2007! (And it was 70 degrees on January 6th!)

• Louie, my favorite, large orange cat, passed away in March 2006.

• Jef moved back to Orlando to be close to his kids. (We’re still moping)

• I've lost 28 pounds so far (and counting!)

• I FINALLY got my first tattoo (a new one TK this year for my 35th b-day)

• Dave became an uncle for the first time (Welcome, Emily!)

• I am the reigning champion of both Guitar Hero I and II

• Dave and I are proud parents of an English Bulldog (Welcome, Maggie!)

• I became the owner of a beautiful (and rare) Epiphone Genesis guitar

I have a TON of blogs saved that I’m going to post, but I’ll break them out by MONTH to make it easy on you. I'm currently working on uploading all the photos and will post everything soon. Give me until next weekend to finish!

Thanks for visiting again and I SWEAR to stick around this time!!!

MARCH 2006

2006-03-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

:::Catchup blog for March, 2006 (see 3/14/06 post):::

MARCH 8
Lou passes away. (written in May)

And so, it happened. In the early hours of March 8th, Louie, my big, pudgy, dog-sized, sunny-orange cat, passed away at only 8 years old. It was a very horrible event. I feel so sorry for him...

Lou’s problems began showing up when he would wander in and out of the cat box for days with visible discomfort. He appeared to have diarrhea, so the vet treated him as such. Nothing else seemed to be wrong. After two weeks, he was getting more lethargic than normal and looked like he was losing weight. He was straining in the cat box and looked uncomfortable when he walked. The second vet visit brought on an x-ray that showed he did not have diarrhea, but in fact had a severe case of constipation; they said there were about 5-6 weeks worth of feces backed up in his large intestines!

They immediately took Lou in for emergency surgery to put him under anesthesia and then manually remove what they could, taking three hours (poor Lou)! We brought him home to recover. After an hour or two he woke up, still fading in and out, and then he just…stopped breathing. That was it. It was extremely traumatic for me. I’m not sure if it was the anesthesia (he was overweight), if the surgery was too much, or it was just too late for everything…

We rushed him to an animal emergency clinic in New York by cab, but he was gone before we even left the house. It was the longest cab ride, ever. They pronounced him dead there, and after two long hours of crying a hugging him, I let them take him away. I didn’t want to leave him alone in a strange place like that. His fur and skin was still so soft…I didn’t want to believe it.

I decided to have him cremated, something I’d never done before, but I had nowhere to bury him; this still isn’t quite home to me. We bought Louie an extra special bronze box to have his ashes put into, and I’ve been keeping him close by. I’m still completely broken-hearted, even two months later.

Louie’s plaque on his box reads, “I love you, my puppy Lou”. I will miss my Lou forever.

Here is a link for more information on cat constipation. This site has excellent cat care info.

MARCH 10
Faith bought a new puppy, and is allowed to bring him to work! The boss has his dauchsand "Licker" in a few times a week, so now he's got a new best friend- Boomer! He's a long-haired chiuaua and is the smallest, cutest thing I've ever seen.

MARCH 11
Jef has headed back home to Orlando, Florida, to be near his kids again. We helped Jef pack up his truck over the weekend, and Dave kept his promise to drive back with him to help.

WE MISS YOU, JEF!!!

And then there were three.

...I also took this photo of an abandoned stuffed puppy leaning against a pole on a corner.

MARCH 23–27
Bryan, Dave's long time friend, visited from Texas to attend an Epinions music conference. We made sure to take him to one of our favorite German restaraunts, Heidelberg.

Dave had a show at the Alphanbet Lounge again- and afterwards, we headed over to a local bar to celebrate Faith's birthday!

Eric and Nate

Dave, Faith and Allison!

FEBRUARY 2006

2006-02-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

:::Catchup blog for February, 2006 (see 3/14/07 post):::

FEB 1
LA Law V-day cards
Eric found these awesome retro-styled L.A. Law Valentine’s Day cards online by Brandon Bird!

FEB 4
B&B and MOMA
This weekend we headed over to Bumble and Bumble for a haircut, and then over to MOMA to see the Pixar exhibit! What a great afternoon. (Here are a few photos of the exhibit from someone else’s blog.)

FEB 9
Jef announces his departure
Jef gave us the sad, sad news that he would be returning to Orlando to be near his kids. Jef has really become a HUGE part of our lives- he’s truly a good friend that we hope one day will return.

Fej, we MISS YOU!!!

FEB 10
Belly of A Drunken Piano
This musical tribute to Tom Waits was held in the Huron Club at SoHo Playhouse (South Village) and was absolutely one of the coolest things we’d done in a long time. The Huron Club is a dark, underground (literally!) bar with a wide, theatrical stage, so it was the perfect setting! While Eric and I have always shared a love for Tom Waits, Jef and Dave had their first taste and had a blast! The actor (Stewart D'Arrietta) played piano and sang right in style- something that’s not easy to meet.

After many drinks, I think we individually started thinking about Jef leaving, and became sad. We headed out for even more drinks at the Raccoon Lounge, a strangely upbeat bar with hunting décor and a kick-ass selection of 80’s rock on the jukebox.

I wonder how we’ll all react when Jef actually leaves?

FEB 11
Cats get a bath
Lou keeps getting dirty (from some weird bowel problem), so I think it’s time for a real cat bath. What a day! Here’s are a few pics to add interest to this entry…

FEB 12
The Blizzard!
(Blogged later)
It snowed for almost two days. It was amazing! The coolest part was that it was also the Day Eric moved into his new apartment. Why cool? Because he only moved from one building to another, and all we had to do was use the sky bridge; we never set a foot outside!

Honestly, it didn’t seem like a huge, dangerous snowstorm to us. But then again, we don’t have a car. We didn’t have to drive through it or shovel it. But then, it just didn’t remind me of the storms you see almost every year in say, Boston. Or Chicago.

I think we got about 4 1/2 feet on our porch. Here are a few photos:

A table on our porch, just as the snow started...

...And after:

Dave made a path on the porch so we could see out-

Looking out our back door...

Outside, still snowing:

I kind of wish I lived right in the middle of the city- I’ll bet it was beautiful! Here are a few photos from other sites:
Someone's Flickr photos
Photos from CNN

FEB 13
The next morning
The city the next morning was just fine. They already had everything cleaned up and organized,,. That’s the way New York runs. Any type of weird weather or other problem- the city keeps everything in running order!

Jef, Eric and Dave on the way to work

Out after work

FEB 14
Spam for Valentine’s Day!
Dave took me to Fulton Fish House in Times Square for an amazing V-Day dinner. Great view, super fancy foods… Then he gave me a surprise card with tickets for SPAMALOT in it! The show was right after dinner.

Of course, the show was great. Hank Azaria is so awesome!

FEB 20
"Goldie" in the Orlando Sentinel!
Goldie lives next door to our last apartment in Orlando. Her house sits between our old place and an enormous condo that was being built. She absolutely refused to sell it in order for the condo to have more land. We thought it was awesome. And we had no idea she was 100 years old!

This article in the Orlando Sentinel was so cool- she describes the area way before any of the building we knew of existed!

LATER…
GOD, FINALLY! A new camera!
I bought new camera- FINALLY! It’s the Canon PowerShot SD450 (Digital Elph). It’s perfectly small, takes video with sound and a million ways to shoot professionally, has a huge viewing screen, has a 12x digital zoom, and has a sh*tload of disk space! I am totally in love with it.

One of my favorite photos so far...

JANUARY 2006

2006-01-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

:::Catchup blog for January, 2006 (see 3/14/07 post):::

Jan 1
A FIGHT FOR NEW YEARS
Not a happy beginning to 2006…Eric and I got into a fight, so I didn’t feel like heading out this year. I stayed home a sulked while everyone else went out to Jef’s. Jef held a huge party with his roommate, too. Bummer.

JAN 10
WEB CAM @ VILLAGE CIGARS
I came across a web cam in the village- I’ll have to get in front of it the next time I’m picking up some cigars! ;)
Link for the live cam at Village Cigars

JAN 20
CAKE AND GOGOL BORDELLO
The Gogol Bordello/Cake concert was, of course, AWESOME! But a few of us drank a’MUCH too much and ended up squabbling a bit during Cake. (January seems like a sensitive month for all!) We got through it and had a blast in the end, anyway. We need to see Cake again to enjoy it with all smiles.

Tiny Cake

Dave and I

Marina and Jef outside (looking....something...)

Shoes (owned by Eric and I)

The ride home

JAN 21
“BABYLON BOB” IS BORN
So Bob, a co-worker and a growing friend of ours, lives out in Long Island. The Long Island Railroad from Manhattan’s Penn Station has a line that takes Bob to his stop in Merrick, and then runs aallllll the way out to Babylon- a two hour ride.

Bobby was probably in the worst shape out of all of us after the show. He was drinking his own drinks, plus the ones he went to get for us during the concert, since he couldn’t get back in through the crowd!!! (Yeah, sure, Bobby!)
After the concert, Bobby headed home on the train, but passed out, riding for two hours to the last stop, Babylon. He woke up and had to wait 45 minutes for the next train back. He passed out AGAIN on that train, and woke up at the Jamaica stop! He had to wait another hour before finally getting back on the train to take him to his stop, at 5 in the morning! (He stood up the whole ride to ensure he wouldn’t fall asleep again.) And so, “Babylon Bob” was born!

JAN 27
BOB'S B-DAY (BABYLON BOB, PART TWO)
For Bobby’s 30th birthday, a bunch of us met up with some of his oldest friends at Grassroots Tavern in the East Village. DAMN, did we drank like FOOLS! I wanted to buy Bob a shot, but every single time I looked over, his friends were placing another shot of Jägermeister in his hand!

Brad was there (a friend from work), and he talked me into trying a shot of Southern Comfort with lime. The last time I had Southern Comfort was when I was drinking it from the bottle at a party when I was 17! That was one of those times where you get so ill the next day, it takes years to even look at the culprit liquor again... Well, 16 years later, I took 3 shots by the end of the night. Eugh! And I’m so bummed… I was pretty gone myself- I didn’t even take any photos all night!

Afterward Grassroots, we found our way to Coyote Ugly. It was a blast, except that after Bobby got “the treatment” (bending backwards over the bar into a dancer’s lap where she pours a shot of tequila from her mouth and disposes it into his), Bobby spent the rest of the night hunched over a garbage can in the back hallway. It was awful! He didn’t even remember being there.

Bob and his friends took the train back to Long Island, where all three of them passed out, passing their stop, and waking up at the last stop in…where else? Babylon! They decided to just take a cab home from there.

Jan 28
BAD SEED: DIRTY URINE
I saw this sticker by the Grove Street PATH station while I was waiting for the shuttle. Could this be for REAL? Sure is! I looked it up! Crazy.

DECEMBER 2005

2005-12-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

:::Catchup blog for December, 2005 (see 3/14/07 post):::

December 14
FROM THE PSYCHIATRIST’S OFFICE LEDGE
So…I tried a physiatrist for the first time. I’d been feeling pretty down in the dumps (more than normal), and I have insurance now, so I though I’d give it a try.

The office was on the 24th floor and had an amazing view of the city! I wondered if he charged as much as he did in order to cover his office rent. Overall, the visit was crappy. He spoke more about himself and his music abilities and desperately searched for specific terms in which to label me with for his records.

On the way out I asked the receptionist if there was a good place to take a photo or two from that floor. She happily walked me out of the office into the hallway and opened the door to the fire escape. It was a simple terrace-like fire escape. There were no bars to keep me from jumping or doing anything crazy- I couldn’t believe she’d let a new patient hang out on the fire escape like that! She had no idea why I was there…scary.

Anywho, here are a few photos…

December 25
CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA
The trip to Florida for Christmas was so great! I flew into West Palm while Dave went to Orlando.

I’m starting to forget my roots! While waiting for my parents to pick me up, an SUV towing a huge boat pulled through the arrival pickup area! It seemed so foreign.

My parents had bought a new iMac for themselves online, with a little Christmas help from Eric, Dave and I. We had it shipped here where we loaded it up before I took it with me by plane. It was fun to set it up for them and play with all the new goodies that come with 10.4! VERY cool. MUST get one for myself some day…

I had a great time lounging around seeing family again. The visit was much too short! Also on Christmas, Dave drove down from Orlando and stayed for a day. It was a great vacation.

Cake and Gogol Bordello in Jan!

2005-12-13T20:04:00.000-05:00

Ooooohhhh, MAN!!!

We bought tickets for a group of people to see CAKE (:::singing::: "sheep go to heaven, goats...go to hell") GOGOL BORDELLO(:::singing::: "start wearing purple, wearing purple...") at the HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM!

Last year Cake played there we didn't get tickets in time, but we got a good peek at the theater...it's amazing!

Grab your tickets now for January 20th at 6!!!

King Kong, the movie.

2005-12-13T13:09:00.000-05:00

Ways to tell if a movie is good:
• you are welled-up with emotion more than once, barely half-way through the movie
• you have to stop and take a break from the movie several times just to breathe
• the only thing keeping you from bawling is being aware of how many people are sitting around you
• a fully-packed theater (so packed people were even sitting on the stairs) leaves in silence
• you still well up with tears an hour later
• you're still emotionally moved when talking about it the next day

...So...WOW! Sharon, Dave, Eric and Bobby approved!

It was a roller-coaster of a movie. Very violent, breathtaking, romantic and moving.

Sweet smell of NY?

2005-12-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

So at my desk this morning I smelled pancakes and maple syrup. Except no one was eating anything. It was quite strong... then Eric sent me this link...

We're off to the early King Kong premier!!!

Good weekend

2005-12-11T23:40:00.000-05:00

This weekend was pretty great. We put up our Christmas tree, Scott, Iris and Jef came over to eat and drink, I did a little X-mas shopping on Sunday, and then Jef came over and we burned our first fire up on the porch in our new barbeque grill. (That was really, really nice.)

{photos TK}

I bought tickets on Friday so I could fly home to Palm Beach Gardens (where I grew up) to see my parents for Christmas! Dave will be flying to Orlando but will be driving up to spend Christmas later in the day until fly back Monday. Eric's dad will be visiting New York for the first time in 40 (That's FORTY) years!!!! How cool!

Speaking of "cool", the weather is looking a bit cold this week! Low of 17? What! And no snow?! Hmph.

Snow, rain, sun and premier Kong tickets

2005-12-09T16:22:00.000-05:00

We woke up this morning and walked to the PATH through a lot of snowfall, arrived in NY 20 minutes later to rain, watched it snow and then rain again from my window at work, and then went out for lunch later during the beautiful, sunny afternoon!

8am

9:30am

2pm

While out for lunch, we happened to pass the Loews movie theater on 34th, and a girl was passing out free movie tickets (courtesy of Universal) to see King Kong on MONDAY, two days before the big day!That means we'll be purchasing tickets for Wednesday's Magic/Knicks game!

Here's the blog from last year's game

2005-12-09T00:55:00.000-05:00

A "Weather Pixie" to show the current weather...

...No? ...just trying it on...

KING KONG IS HERE!

2005-12-06T13:32:00.000-05:00

...Well, so far for the celebrities and other more important people, anyway...

NY had the big premier for King Kong and a press conference last night with the cast and Peter Jackson!

After the show at Kate's (which consisted of the weekly crowd plus SCOTT and IRIS ...hi, guys!!!), Dave, Eric, Brad, Bobby and I wandered the streets through the falling snow (each of us carrying a heavy buzz), in search of Kong...

Four very happy guys in front of Grand Central Station

Parking on Park Ave

This is near Central Station- a life-sized, bronze statue of a man in a business suit hailing a taxi. Of course, Eric always NOSE what to do with inanimate objects...

Times Square

...And here he is, the giant Kong, made life-size! He's actually sitting, and was still about 2 stories high. (He'd be about 3 stories if he were standing). He was very life-like, long body hair blowing in the snowy wind...EXTREMELY AWESOME.

About 5 minutes after we took these photos, they shut the lights off around the scene and started removing the "set". We'd like to thank ERIC for finding out about this and all the guys for trudging through the city late at night with us to catch it!

We found out that not only is next Wednesday the opening day for the movie, it's the same night the Orlando Magic are playing in NY! (GO, MAGIC!)

The first snow of 2005!

2005-12-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Unless it had already fallen undetected in the wee hours of some morning, TODAY is the first snow of 2005! (A few weeks earlier than last year!)

This is what we woke up to this morning:

"Sol in the Snow" (left behind from last night's soirée with the usual suspects)

We woke up about 10am. There was already a faint mist of rain falling about, but that made the snow more perfect for packing snowballs!

We made our first snowman together! [insert "Awww" here]

And, not *only* was it the first snow of this year, or our first snowman....it was our CATS' first snow! They had watched it fall by the windows last year, but have never walked through it. We were wondering which one would actually go out into it...

...and to our surprise, it was "Baby", the scardy-cat of the bunch! (Granted, the snow wasn't very high, especially after we stomped it down making our snowman, but it still was wet and cold. We're very proud of her!)

She finally walked timidly to a chair where there was less snow and tried to hunker down, but it didn't last long before she went back inside.

It's still dripping rain here and there and the snow is melting a way a bit, but our snowman still stands! We'll see what it's like to get around tomorrow. Icy, I'm sure!

Chance of snow...

2005-12-02T17:37:00.000-05:00

The time is finally here!

Now let's see if I still like it this year! (So far, I can't wait!)

Kevin A. in NYC!

2005-11-29T23:56:00.001-05:00

One of our great friends (and one of Dave's longest-time friends) Kevin, came into town from Florida on business. We (Dave, Jef, Eric and I) promptly met up with Kevin for drinks and food. Halfway through the night, it started raining and still hasn't stopped!

We walked over the Arlene's Grocery in the East Village, a most awesome place to see bands and have a few beers. Nice to finally get out at 6 and begin having fun by 6:30!

After a quick bite, we headed over to The Living Room. ...By the way, if you are ever in NYC, please take the time to see music there! Every single time we go there, we discover a new, amazing band or even new style of music. Tonight, we saw "My Brightest Diamond", a Bjork-meets-Tori Amos sound with full strings and electric band mix. They had the perfect amount of "air" in the music- not too much singing overlapping the beautiful music, and not too much overwhelming electric versus strings- they sounded very well produced, and the singer was extremely talented!

On the way back to Kevin's hotel, we came across an amazing Spanish bar/restaurant called "Oliva" that had a group of Spanish musicians jamming. Great atmosphere, really great drinks. (Especially the mojitas!)

It was so great to see Kevin again! (And very strange to see him here in NYC) We're hoping to see him again before he heads back out to his next project...

Kevin and Dave, Sharon:

Kevin! We miss you already!!!
XOXO

P.S.....

Told you I'd blog it! =p"

The Iron Monkey in J.C.

2005-11-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

Last night, Jef, Bobby, Eric, Dave and I stumbled a few blocks away from our place over to "The Iron Monkey", a restaurant with an upstairs bar and rooftop club. The bar resembled the old "Bodhisattva" in downtown Orlando. (Except that it was trendy. Oh, and full of people.) ;)

Anyway, we found out that every Tuesday night they hold an open-mic! They had someone playing last night as well. Hopefully Dave can add The Iron Monkey to his list of places to perform.

It was very cool for Bobby to ride in all the way from Long Island just to hang out! We all had a blast, although I can't remember most of what we talked about at the bar or after we all returned home! I'm still recuperating @ 6pm the next night!

I DO know that we had a hell of a great four days off.

Our Thanksgiving!

2005-11-26T14:49:00.000-05:00

What a great Thanksgiving! Four days off and lots of time to do practically nothing.

I LOVED cooking this year! I made maple-glazed sweet potatoes, mulled-wine cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes with caramelized leeks, green beans with wild mushrooms and onions, honey almond salad, candied orange and cranberry chutney with milk chocolate mousse for dessert, and of course, a turkey. (The only item that was not from scratch! It was precooked; I only had to heat it for two hours.)

Baby watched me cook the whole time...

We partied the day before and on Thanksgiving- we drank festive cosmopolitans. We had gone to the liquor store down the street we call "Helen's" (owned by Helen- we still don't know what the name of the store is), where she gave us an extra bottle of vodka as a gift!

Thanksgiving morning, Dave, Eric and I headed to the city to watch our first Macy's Day Parade! I hear New Yorkers refer to the parade as "touristy", but it didn't seem that way at all. I guess if you go year after year, it’s sort of like the Disney parades we see all the time in Orlando.

We had a blast. I felt like a little kid when I saw the Big Bird balloon!

We found a great spot to watch the parade from Broadway and 39th.

Me having fun!

Chicken Little

Guess what?

Creepy Ronald images…

Ronald McD.

"Healthy" Mr. Potato Head. He had running shoes, a water bottle and a stopwatch on his wrist. Aren't potatoes a healthy food anyway?

Dave, Sharon and Garfield's gut

Super Grover! (and me taking a phone pic)

Dave took this on the way to the PATH on 23rd (in Chelsea). It was a beautiful morning!

The weather held out for the parade, but rained later. We were supposed to get a little snow that day, but it never happened. Yesterday it was *beautiful* out, but it stayed in the 20s. Today, we have the windows open @ 45 degrees. We love it here!!!

UPDATE 12/6: I just came across some cool pics from the Macy's Parade at SatansLaundromat.com

Preparing for Thanksgiving...

2005-11-20T22:55:00.000-05:00

This weekend Dave and I did an IKEA trip and a serious grocery run. We're all set for Thanksgiving! I'm preparing a fun, gourmet dinner for our "Orphan Thanksgiving" which consists of this year's family-less Eric, Jef, Dave and I. We're going to the parade in the city in the morning (we're all excited!!), then going to watch football and have Thanksgiving together.

The trip to IKEA was almost as much as the total of our spree! Those "$19.95" vans actually cost that PLUS $1.99 a mile and gas! On the way to IKEA, we missed a turn on the way, so we end up driving through the Newark airport lot in order to get back on track, then came out right were we started in Jersey City. We ended up driving twice the distance! Ugh. Well, at least we know what NOT to do next time. Rent a regular car (between about $80 for the weekend), or just pay a cab guy (about $70 round trip, if you can get any large items you buy into the cab anyway). Buying a used car in the future has started to cross our minds...

The next few days at work are going to be packed with last-minutes fires and on the SS project, new projects, and employee reviews. We're SO looking forward to having four days off!!!

Adventures in Sharonland

2005-11-16T23:32:00.000-05:00

I’m back, and I’m blogging. FINALLY! Quite a bit had happened to keep me from blogging! In the last 39 days (HOLY CRAP!), my computer was fried and fixed, we moved apartments, had guests twice, went sailing, and we worked our asses off!

Here are the blogs of the last month and a week!!!
(See 10/12 through today)...

Day off today

2005-11-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

So I took today off. I feel like I would have gotten ill if I had gone in today. Things are going to have to wait- I need a breather. Dave, Jef and Eric were even hanging out downstairs last night whooping it up and I slept through all of it! I’m just exhausted!

Today is going to be one of the last “warm” days. I’m actually surprised how long it went on for! I’ve been wearing a jacket and scarf almost every day the last few weeks, but tonight it goes from 70 to 40… tomorrow will have a high of 47. The rest of the week will be rainy and crappy with highs in the 40s. Good thing I took off today!!!

Lou is happy I’m home today, I think…

Matchmakers in the oddest places

2005-11-15T23:21:00.000-05:00

After a long, loooong day of work, Eric, Dave and I wearily walked over to the FedEx to drop off a package and end our day. The area is over by the port- it has sort of a darker, abandoned feel around there.

As we approached, we saw a cab parked with the lights off. That usually means the taxi driver is off duty, but Eric tapped on the car window anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. After all, it’s quite a hike to 33rd, and we were all tired. The driver agreed to take us over to the PATH on Christopher Street.

The driver ended up being a happy, talkative guy and within minutes we were laughing and asking more about himself. Low and behold, he was Ahmed Ibrahim- the one and only NYC taxi matchmaker!!! Ahmed has been interviewed by all sorts of news shows, in the papers all over the US and in Europe. He showed us a few photos of others searching for love in NYC, as well of a few of couples getting married in his cab that had met through him.

Before we were dropped off, he “interviewed” Eric (by using a hand-held recorder) and took his number. Why not? I think my favorite New York quote sums it up… “It’s New York! What the hell?”

It must take luck to find this guy in a sea of cabs! Could a lone taxi cab sitting on a dark street convince fate to bring love? Who knows! I’ll keep you informed!

I’ve pulled a few sites on Ahmed for your browsing pleasure.
1. from the Seattle Times
2. a blog
3. a local story

Indian Food and Friends

2005-11-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

We went to visit our friends Scott and Iris in Stuyvesant Town and then went out for Indian food and drinks. I just want to personally thank Scott and Iris for introducing us (Dave, Eric and I) to our new, favorite Indian restaurant! Now, we’re not the connoisseurs of Indian food, but we all thought it was kick ass! Not only was the atmosphere awesome, the food was great!

The place is called “Panna II“. It’s located in the East Village on 1st Avenue, between 5th & 6th Street.

When you first approach, there are three Indian restaurants that are bunched together: Two upstairs- one to the left and one to the right, and one underneath them. All three have hosts outside talking over each other to get your attention, as they all compete to get you into their restaurant - talking up their specials, offering a table immediately, offering to throw in a free glass of water… It’s like walking through Little Italy! I heard the two Indian places upstairs were owned by two cousins that compete each night.

Anyway, get yourself right up the stairs and to the right, like you know what you’re doing- you won’t be disappointed! While I’m sure all three places have similar dishes, the atmosphere in this one is so cool! There are hundreds of strands of those red pepper lights hanging down so that you have so bend over while walking to get to your table. There’s a mirror down one side of the room and large swatches of reflective/3D wrapping paper covering the other. There are beach balls and disco balls hanging among the mess of lights. It’s a fun place that should be experienced! Note: it's BYOB, so be sure to bring a bottle of wine and/or a six pack along with!

Afterwards, we hung out at a bar down the street for a few hours, talking, playing songs on the jukebox, and feeding a dog named "Clark" snacks from the bowl at our table. It was a lazy night, and it was wonderful to see Scott and Iris again.

Dave @ Alphabet Lounge

2005-11-11T23:56:00.000-05:00

Dave played at Alphabet Lounge again tonight. He was tired, but he had turned them down each time they had called him in the last two months from being so busy at work- he didn’t want them to lose interest in him.

The few people that were there waiting to see the reggae band after Dave (maybe only 12 people) were really into his music. They all recognized his “Nurse Who Loved Me” cover (by A Perfect Circle) and really dug it when he played Tool’s “Maynard’s D*ck”! They sang along- it was cool. Afterwards, Dave, Eric and I walked back towards the PATH, but ended up shopping in a tee store after seeing a fuzzy Burt Reynolds t-shirt in the window (which I promptly purchased).

After a quick bite at a “dive-Mexican taco joint”, we headed home for some well-deserved sleep.

Sailing with Capt’n Ron II

2005-11-07T23:30:00.000-05:00

Ron decided to try and get one more sail out before winter came, so he had Demitri, Maggie (D’s puppy), Josh, Jef, Eric, Dave and I join him after work today!

The wind was crazy! We were FLYING down the Hudson- even on almost one side for about 30 minutes! Dave even got the chance to steer. We sailed all the way past the Verrazanos Narrows Bridge to the Atlantic Ocean and back again! So beautiful. Of course, since my camera is still [ahem] stuck on “night”, only one photo came out (sort of). I did manage to get a few shots with my trusty camera phone, though:

Jef looking about

Maggie on deck

The Verrazanos Narrows Bridge from below

Dave and I on the way back

As we entered the canal to get to the marina, Ron turned the key to start the engine. Nothing! We (Ron, Demitri and Josh, that is) had to tack back and forth until we reached the Marina. We quietly sailed into the full marina at night, gently pushing off poles, docks, and other boats. A man came out of one of the boats and helped us pull it into Ron’s space.

After we docked, Ron was tying up the boat but his rope got stuck, so he tugged harder… the rope let go and Ron went flying into the water! Damn, I wish I had a photo. A great end to the night. (For everyone but Ron, anyway)

Thanks AGAIN, Ron!!!!

Settling in (photos)

2005-11-06T20:44:00.000-05:00

Lou on the stairs

I know I post a lot of photos of Lou, but he’s really the only one that stays still long enough to take a good shot!

Laundry day on the porch

View of JC at night

Moon scene, close-up

Looking over to Jersey

Eric’s one year

2005-11-05T23:59:00.000-05:00

Eric arrived in NY on Nov 6th, 2004! It’s been one year!

The "party porch" with purple lights...

We had a small house party- really with just Jef, Eric, Dave and I (the usual crowd). However, after two small margaritas, I was the loser and fell asleep on my bed. Too tired!!! The guys stayed up all night.

At about 4 in the morning, I woke up in my clothes, checked the porch and grabbed my watered-down margarita, two candles, and two empty beer bottles. I was heading downstairs and wanted to check on Dave who had slept on the couch, and thought if my hands were empty, I might as well grab a few things on the way to the kitchen…

So I shuffled down the stairs, arms full o’stuff, and I almost made it. The last two steps… I slipped! Margarita everywhere, candles rolling…. My butt hit the corner of the metal stairs so hard- I now have a bruise on my ass almost as big as my ass cheek! Don’t worry, no photos. I do want you to come back and visit from time to time.

ANYWAY, Eric, CONGRATS! So much has happened in a year and there’s so much more in store this year!!!

Shouting subway Riders

2005-11-03T21:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve seen this many times before, but today in the subway there was a crazed homeless-looking man yelling out in some drunken, foreign language (unless it was gibberish) at no one in particular. I had my headphones on and I could still hear him. He was standing by one of the doors with a young woman seated right next to him. She didn’t even get up and move. She just stared out blindly like he wasn’t even there. She didn’t even really look worried or disturbed. Everyone else looked the same. They just made sure to not make eye contact with him. What if he was upset because everyone was ignoring him?

I wonder what would happen if I had the guts to act that crazy? I’ll bet it would feel pretty damn good to pull that off! And I wonder if people would ignore me or pay attention to me? It might be different for someone dressed clean and decently dressed. What if I was drunken and angry and rambled on about nothing? Would it be different since I’m a “young” woman? Would someone try and talk to me to calm me down? Or yell, [insert thick Brooklyn accent here] “HEY! Shut the hell up already!!!”

That would make for a pretty interesting test.

“Top of The Rock”

2005-11-01T14:54:00.000-05:00

New York has reopened the three open-air observation decks at the top of the Rockefeller Center as of today! They’ve been closed since 1986. We’ll be heading there some time this month!

I believe I found this photo at Satan’s Laundromat.com - a photo-blog site that covers New York and lately, Tokyo.

Misc October pics:

2005-10-31T17:30:00.000-05:00

Purple ESB

Dave in the city

Dave and the ESB

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T14:27:00.000-05:00

Again, we’re probably not going to do anything for Halloween this year. Crazy. This time of year is also when work is the most hectic. We’re all exhausted, especially with the move on top of all that! A friend of mine is taking us to the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade next year and says we’re all going to be IN it! She says it’s exhausting but a total blast. Cool! I’m all for it!!!

I took today off (I scheduled it ahead of time) so I could rest a little. Maybe Dave can take off tomorrow. I want to relax, enjoy the apartment a bit, clean up Dave’s music room, and make some space for everyone. I’m sure there are many, many parties to come!

The Day After

2005-10-30T11:20:00.000-05:00

We’re officially all moved in. We’ve been working over at the old apartment all day getting the last few miscellaneous pain in the butt items, removing nails, cleaning up, etc.

My legs are so sore I can barely walk!!! I think it’s from going up and down the spiral staircase carrying heavy things…it feels like I have shin splints in my calves!!! UGH!

Eric and Dave rented a car (and ended up getting a P.T. Cruiser!) and drove into the city to pick up the computer. I hope that thing is going to be ok. I’d hate to rely on Dave’s P.C.! (EUGH!!!! Can you imagine?) ;)

We’ll probably do a fast Target and grocery store run since we have the car. I can’t wait to get settled in and relaxed! I have MUCH blogging to catch up on!!!!!

Moving day

2005-10-29T22:33:00.000-04:00

Thank GOD Dave, Eric and Jef were still alive after last night’s (morning’s) partying! We got a lot done! Plus, it’s an “easy” move- the new apartment is in the same building, just up one flight and down the hall.

Shankar was here!

2005-10-29T10:30:00.000-04:00

The guys (Dave, Eric and Jef) went out with Shankar last night. I just couldn’t do it. We had dinner at the apartment beforehand so I had the chance to hang out and talk, but I was so ill from being worn down!

Dave, Shankar, Eric and Jef

I’m glad I DID stay home! They came back at 5:30am!!! They had an amazing time out on the town. Shankar stayed at our place- we had breakfast and ran down to sign the paperwork for the new place before he headed back to his family’s house. We’ve already started making plans to visit him in Denver in the Spring- I’m so excited to see his place downtown!

Thanks, Shankar!!!!! We miss you already, but we’ll see you soon!

Shankar, Shankar and Dave

New apartment: "yours!"

2005-10-28T18:20:00.000-04:00

We had told the apartment complex this afternoon that we were going to have to stay in our current apartment. Mostly because of money (we just got back from a business trip and a wedding, are getting the computer fixed and have to buy a new microwave), but a little for the principle as well. We were really depressed about it, really.

Later on around 3, we ran into the CEO in the bathroom while washing our hands (we happened to all come out of the stalls at the same time. Oh, and our bathroom is unisex…just to- you know…clear that up as well). She asked how the apartment was going, and we told her the story. She told us to borrow the extra money from the company and pay them back later. She said we shouldn’t give up something that makes us happy when we could just pay the money back later. We were floored (and a little emotional). We overlooked the lack of communication from the complex. We get the money back, anyway….and that means we can move tomorrow morning!!!

Dave called the apartment manager back and has set up a time to sign in the morning. AMAZING!!!!!

Shankar is in town tonight, too! No time to stop now!

New apartment: "not yours"

2005-10-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

Well, the exciting day has come for Dave and I to sign the new lease! Oh, but wait…. There’s a catch!

While sitting in the office ready to hand over our checks, we found out that there is an additional half month’s rent ($800) to tack on to add to our deposit!!! Why? Because when we moved in there was a “special” going on where we only had to pay one month’s rent for the deposit. Oh, I see. So you forgot to tell us until right now??!

We’re going to have to think on this one. We’re already shelling out $400 to get the computer fixed (thanks to them), and now we may have to give up on the apartment. They won’t even let us make two payments! Hmph. Very disappointing.

Eric’s parents are here!

2005-10-23T21:35:00.000-04:00

Eric’s parents came in a few days ago to their first non-business trip to New York City! Eric has shown them a great time!

Today Eric and I surprised them by me showing up at Eric’s place! We all hung out for an hour or two then headed over to Chelsea Piers for dinner at Café du Sole, which we found out was closed for the season, after we arrived.

We ended up eating at the Chelsea Brewing Company, which ended up being a really great meal!

Eric, Marcia and Pete (The Parents)

I know Marcia hates her photo being taken, but I think they look great!

Computer at the Docs and Mexican food

2005-10-22T23:58:00.000-04:00

Welp, we dropped off the computer to get fixed in the city! We called “our driver”, Claudio. He’s actually a self-employed driver we met a long time ago that always gives us a good price for longer trips. We call him whenever we need to get to places like the airport or IKEA.

We took the computer to Tekserve on 23rd. It’s the numero uno place to take your mac in NY if it ever gets sick, but the way. Unless you have a warrantee with an Apple store, of course. I do not.

Tekserve is still awesome, even as I announce that it’s going to cost $400 to get the computer fixed. They tried a ton of things while we were there, but it seems to be the analog board. That’s gonna cost almost $300 with about a $100 labor fee. CRAP. It should be ready in about a week. They seem to think everything on it will still be there. That’s at least good news.

Afterwards, we wandered the streets and finally ended up eating at the Caliente Cab Co in the East Village. I’ve wanted to go in there for quite some time! It turns out they have extremely tasty margaritas! The food wasn’t bad, either.

It was still rainy as we walked the streets. I really love New York. It’s so raw and alive. Dave and I are very happy living here.

Fried with a side of fried

2005-10-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

After we arrived home late and exhausted last night, we quickly realized something was wrong. Our entertainment system, our microwave, and worse- our computer- was dead. It turns out that while we were gone, out of all the buildings, this part of this building was affected due to a leak to the basement’s electric meter. The rain had been intense from before we left to the time we flew back. Some areas of NJ were flooded out and apparently, so was a very small portion of the building’s basement. The one that counted.

The entertainment system ended up being ok- the surge protector it was on actually did it’s job. The computer was the only thing that was on the other surge protector that wasn’t fine. SUCK!

I cringe now as I remember back to the slight power surges that were going on before I left, and how I left the computer on sleep, thinking everything would be fine, and how I figured Eric would be hanging out at our place with the cats, on the internet or watching tv. Damn!

GOD I hope my computer will be ok!!! I haven’t backed things up in forever, and I have so many photos and so many personal keeps!!! I will be devastated if it’s all gone…

I don’t think the apartment complex is going to pay for it. We’re going to write them and probably fight a bit about it, but we cancelled our apartment insurance when we moved since it was part of Dave’s car insurance. I guess we know better now!!!

Business and Pleasure in FL

2005-10-16T23:29:00.000-04:00

Catch-up blog:
I made it to Orlando a little stressed out and tired, but I checked into my room and headed right over to the office to try and see whoever I could before the formal meeting the next day. It was so awesome to see everyone!!! It felt like I still worked there! I was nice to be able to catch up with people and relax for a bit- I knew I wouldn’t have time the next day.

The hotel was perfect- it was at the Peabody on I-Drive (International Drive). Beautiful (and HUGE) hotel! There are even mallard ducks running around inside!

I was especially blessed to have a TV in the bathroom, above the toilet. Dave would be especially proud. If he had been there, he would have wanted me to take a picture of him with it.

The view from the room overlooked a large, untouched area (running very slim these days) with “Pointe Orlando” running next to it (my point, exactly). In the untouched area, there was a huge pond shaped like a heart with an arrow run through it

I had forgotten how flat everything is! You could see forever.

My parents stopped through on their way to visit relatives in St.Augustine, so we went out to dinner at one of my favorite Orlando places: Café TuTu Tango.

The meeting went well, the flight to Ft.Myers went well- I was just in time for the dinner party, luggage and all! Afterwards, Dave met Chris in the hotel bar to savor the moment the day before the wedding. Chris was so excited!

The wedding was awesome- Dave and his brothers looked great in their monkey suits in the wedding. Dave and I each drew a few tears during the ceremony. Chris and Vera looked so happy.

That night, Chris and Vera held a more private party at an awesome Irish Pub (McSwiggins or McCabe’s…Where was I?), where we all let loose, danced, and argued about how much we all drank. The next morning was a little rough for me, but we made it home, unscathed…sort of.

Trying to get out!

2005-10-12T23:39:00.000-04:00

It still has not stopped raining. I just made it BACK from the Newark airport. I had checked and rechecked my flight times, but by the time I made it there, my 6pm flight was moved to 11am the next day. That means I’m going to miss the chance to take my old co-workers out to lunch on the studio’s card! >=(

Getting to Penn Station today was absolutely insane. One rolling luggage bag in one hand on the NY streets while juggling an umbrella that kept flipping inside out…I eventually gave up and walked through the wind and rain. I was already wet. Boy, 3 blocks never seemed so far away!!!

I took the NJ train over to Newark- it passes right by the place I work:

It’s the one in the middle of the photo- right across from the slanted building.

Eric brought some food over and we hung out. It looks like the wind is causing some weird power surges… just little ones- the lights dim just barely- you can hardly notice it. I guess the power lines are really whipping around out there!

Anyway, I leave later in the morning. At least I’ll get a better night’s sleep. I hope my flight leaves this time…

I’m off to the business trip, the flight to the dinner reception and then the wedding on Saturday! We’ll both be back Sunday!!!

Bumble and Bumble before the flight

2005-10-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

What a completely crappy day! It’s rainy, dark, and terribly windy! My umbrella was pulled inside out more than a few times, but I made my way over to Bumble and Bumble on West 13th St to get a final cut before my flight today.

I also remembered my camera to give you a view from the window (not much on a day like today!):

By the way, I heard the bachelor party was a success (no surprise there)! Dave pulled off a great night. He rented a room at the Grand Bohemian downtown, rented a limo (which was upgraded to a stretch SUV to Dave’s surprise!), hit a few strip clubs, and then back downtown for a night of drinks and more friends!

Rainy weather-the week coming up

2005-10-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

Weather this week is supposed to be particularly crummy.

Outside the window today...

At least you can see that the leaves are changing!

It's going to be a CRAZY week. Besides the huge project we're working on (the last huge haul/Weekend work: coming right up!), Dave is flying down to Orlando on Tuesday to throw a bachelor party, and then driving over to Fort Meyers to attend the wedding. I'll be flying to Orlando Wednesday night to visit friends at my last job and to meet up with my parents who are driving up from South Florida to see me, then meeting up with my boss and a few other employees (including Eric) for a business meeting on Friday (at the same place). That night, I'm flying to Fort Meyers to meet up with Dave and his family to also attend the wedding on Saturday. Dave and I fly home on Sunday.

The week after is going to be so horrendous- we have to figure out when we're going to move, too! I guess the weekend after that? We're going to pick a weekend before the end of the month, but also fit in a weekend of work somewhere to catch up.

We’re heading into the city today so I can pick up a dress, Ugh!

We found our new apartment

2005-10-04T23:29:00.000-04:00

Dave and I finally found a larger apartment! It's the closest we've found to the one we passed up when we first looked at living in Dixon Mills. The property manager has taken us on 3 previous "tours" looking at different apartments over the last 2 months. We think we'll like this one.

It not only does it have the outside area on the top floor that we've been drooling over, but it also has a spiral staircase and two bathrooms! It's as close to perfect as I think we're going to find without missing the upcoming seasons. And it's about $300 more a month ($150 more each). But still, prettty cheap since we're not directly in the city!

I should also mention that it's in the same building we live in now, but one floor up and a bit down the hall. This will be the easiest move either of us has ever made!

We're going to turn in our paperwork tomorrow and beg to move in this upcoming weekend. I know it sounds fast, but next week Dave and I will be out of town for nearly a week (Dave to throw a bachelor's party and be the best man in a wedding, and me for business in Orlando and then to attend the wedding in Ft. Meyers). Work is also at it's PEAK! The sooner we get this done, the better it will be. If the answer is no, we may not be able to do anything until nearly the end of the month.

...And honestly... I want to get it over with because I love the apartment we're in SO much...it will be hard to see it every day. It sounds sappy, but that's how I am.

Moving on, here are a few photos:

Part of the living room, looking past the kitchen area, second bathroom to the second bedroom in the back...

The terrace in the second bedroom (which is on the 4th floor)

The spiral stairs...

The large "porch" area upstairs off the main bedroom (the 5th floor)

The view off to the right on the porch (views of Newport with peaks of Manhattan buildings)

We're excited, but I have a small amount of mixed feelings. It's just me worrying that I won't be happy; a self-doubt I always inflict on myself. I'll be fine once we move.

I'm starting to feel a bit run down. Cross your fingers that I'm not getting sick! It seems everyone at work is sharing some sort of bad cold. It's that time of year. ...Plus all the overworking and stress. And not really sleeping. Or eating. That's probably not helping much either, huh? All right, all right. I'll go to bed.

One year's worth of beer

2005-10-03T00:35:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are interested in how much beer was consumed in our apartment in exactly one year, read on. For those who are not interested, go here.

Good- You're still here! Or maybe you just came back after trying the link above because couldn't help yourself from seeing where I were to link you to had you not been interested in the blog below. Or, maybe you're just back after checking out the link because I had peaked your curiosity when hinting that the site you might click on if you weren't interested in the story below might actually be something thrilling, and you're now ready and eager to learn more about our personal drinking habits within a year’s time. Either way, we're glad you're here.

We drop 99.9% of the caps from the beer we consume in our apartment into a large glass jar. We actually kept all the caps from the previous times the jar was filled, but we noticed that the jar was filled completely up to the very rim on the very morning of our one year since moving here.

Here are all the caps separated out by "flavor" (as Dave lovingly calls it) to see what beer was drunk the most.

In total, there were 46 different "brands" of beers. The caps were sorted by "families". For instance, we counted all the Sam Adams caps (Regular, Light, Winter Brew, Octoberfest, Spring Ale, etc.) as one brand.

Here are the top 23 beer caps found in the jar. (All the other brands were under 12 beers and would have taken up the whole page to list them all!) Note: An asterisk indicated a "family" group.

Bass (12)
Grolsch (12)
Holstein (12)
Killians (12)
New Castle (12)
Corona (18)
Sapporo (18)
Stella Artois (18)
Pete’s (19)
Anchor Steam (21)
Michelob* (21)
Peroni (23)
Carlsburg (24)
Molson* (24)
Moosehead (24)
Kronenberg (27)
Dos Equis (31)
Beck's (37)
Saranac (41)
Sol (70)

Coming in at #3... Sam Adams* at 126 caps...

The runner-up... Magic Hat* at 148...

And the winner... Brooklyn Brewery* at 174 CAPS!!!

And here are the really scary facts:
- Total bottles of beer consumed: 1,040
- Average beer consumption per day: 2.85
- Average beers consumed per week: 20
- Total beer consumed: 97.5 gallons
- Total calories consumed: 124,800 (geez!)
- Total amount spent on beer (average of $9 per six pack): $1,557.00

I know how this looks... we're not drinking beer every night, and only a bit excessive once or twice a month on a weekend. ...And then there are those game time get-togethers...

Overall a very good experiment, I think. It was fun to figure out, and it will be even more fun to start the whole process again until next year! =)

One year celebration!

2005-10-02T14:56:00.000-04:00

WHEW. I have quite the hangover, and Dave is somehow worse than I am!

Dave played at Alphabet Lounge in Alphabet City last night right before "Evan Jaffe and The Feud" (not bad). It was a great music night! We all drank heartily, celebrating our first year here.

Afterwards we (Dave, Eric, Jef, Geron and his friend Mike) went over to Hop Devil (Ave. A, East Village) and drank some more! I was mostly a complete moron, but every one of us had a complete blast for our own reasons.

Here are a few pics:

Dave up on stage

Dave and I

This reads "KNURD!" That's DRUNK backwards. Bet you didn't know we spoke sdrawkcab! What? You didn't know we were latot sdren? Tnod yrrow, uoy lliw teg ot wonk su noos hguone.

Jef and I over at Hop Devil with little dwarves on our foreheads (torn from the center of the drink coasters on our table)

Around 1am, our wonderful friend SHANKAR called and I sat on the sidewalk talking to him for about 2 hours, even all during the cab ride to the WTC PATH. Shankar: If you're reading this, WE MISS YOU and can't wait to see you in a few weeks!!!

One year ago TODAY!!!

2005-10-01T13:27:00.000-04:00

Dave and I arrived in Jersey City one year ago TODAY. I'd like to call for a moment of silence...

...During this moment, take a looksie through the October posts. It contains blogs about our move, our first day as New Yorkers, our first day of work (where was my mom with her camera?) and more.

OCTOBER 1st, 2004 The 1st of October is at the bottom of the page.

NOTE: Dave is playing at the Alphabet Lounge tonight from at 8:30pm for a 45 minute set. Come help us celebrate!

Zum and Alpha Bar

2005-09-30T23:52:00.000-04:00

Tonight Dave and I headed over to Zum (Schneider), a Bavarian restaurant across the street from Alpha Bar, where Geron played (and where Dave is playing tomorrow night).

Zum always caught our eye- not just for the German food, but for how popular that place seems to be... It’s been over-packed with people inside and out, every single time we’ve walked by. So, we went after work- and it was very good- the only problem is that it's even more crammed when you're right in the middle of it! It was so loud, Dave and I had to practically scream to hear each other. The food and beer was good though, and I can guess that it’s much more enjoyable during off-peak hours.

Geron played really well- he jammed along a deep bass groove using all kinds of effects on his acoustic for one song- it was extremely creative and soothing at the same time. He's very talented!

Eric, Dave and I goofing off as usual-

Deb and Jef showed up later. Not a bad looking group, I must say... oh, minus Eric ;)

You know, as cool as everyone in this photo is, it must have been pretty weird looking with all of us standing there posing for almost ten seconds! My camera is still stuck on "night", which means everyone has to stay perfectly still until the lens sucks in all the light it needs in order to take the photo. On top of that, I placed my camera on top of my beer on the bar, then hit the timer so I could be in it. So imagine a hip group of people in a hip bar, all standing there posing for the timer, the flash and then a 5 good seconds afterwards. Ha! Oh well. It was well worth it, and I'm planning on buying a NEW camera tomorrow!

Girl’s Night out

2005-09-29T23:25:00.000-04:00

The girls (Marina, Deb, Simone, Aubrey, Sinae and I) headed out after work for dinner together over at Tea and Sympathy, a little British café in Greenwich Village. They’re known for their tea and scones, but they also serve comfort foods like casseroles, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and all sorts of pies.

It’s been so long since I had dinner with just girls- it was nice to go to a restaurant for the food (not the beer). I’d forgotten how refreshing it is! I’ll take photos next other time-I think we’re going to try and all go out at least once a month.

MARINA: Again, thanks so much for getting everyone together! =)

A photo: Out of the cab

2005-09-27T23:55:00.000-04:00

Today’s weather was GLORIOUS! FALL IS FINALLY HERE!!! It was so nice, I stuck my camera out the window of our cab on the way to work. (We’re on 31st heading towards 10th.)

I’ve finally gotten all my blogs back up to date- all the way back to September 13th! Happy reading!!!!

All those ESB photos

2005-09-26T22:15:00.000-04:00

I know I take a bazillion photos of the Empire State Building, but it’s Dave’s favorite New York building, and it’s just so mesmerizing on certain nights!

Tonight after Dave’s show at open-mic night, the sky was full of fast moving rain clouds…

Literally FIVE seconds later…

...A photo op that was too cool to pass up. It was twice as cool in person!

Septemberfest!

2005-09-24T23:59:00.000-04:00

Our great friend Bobby held Octoberfest at his place in Long Island (for those of you who don’t know, Octoberfest runs from Sept 17th through October 3rd in Germany). I wore pig-tails with green ribbons hanging down and was ready to party!

Jeff, Eric, Dave and I shut the party down and sat outside in the COLD wet air (It dropped into the 50s!) and just hung out for a few hours. It was a nice getaway.

And after all that, I didn’t even take any photos of the night except for one, really great photo of Eric passed out on the train ride back. (Which I won’t post….unless he pays me the amount I so politely demanded…)

Dave took one shot of me on the train. (NOT passed out, thank you.)

A photo on the way home (ESB)

2005-09-23T23:35:00.000-04:00

The Circle Line Cruise

2005-09-18T22:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, here’s something Dave and I have always wanted to do, but never would have if we didn’t have company: The Circle Line Cruise that well, circles– the island of Manhattan!

I’m only going to post one photo of the Brooklyn Bridge. I must have taken about 40 photos, but you’ll have to take the cruise to see the real beauty.

Later on, we strolled through the city, ending up in Columbus Circle:

Central park runs down the left in this photo

One of the statues in Columbus Circle

A long day @ Café Du Sole

2005-09-17T23:47:00.000-04:00

Today we took Dave’s parents over to Chelsea Piers via ferry and had lunch at Café du Sole. Dave’s Aunt and Uncle were meeting us there but were really late, so between the warm, salty sea air and all the beers, we were all pretty relaxed by the time they finally arrived. By the time we finished eating, we had been there for over four hours!

(FYI- for my previous blog and photos about Chelsea Piers, click here.)

Here are just a few of the sights we took in…

The walkway/park just outside the pier that leads back into the city...

The Hudson from our table

The water taxi parking right up being Dave

Dave and I

A view from above one section of the café

We left from there and wandered all over the city. Here are three more images from that night…

Here’s Hotel Chelsea- You know… “Where Sid killed Nancy”… Actually, I hear this is a pretty cool place to stay, and not too over-priced.

The Flat Iron building at night

The ESB

The weather is working on getting cooler…FALL starts next week!

Blue Man Group

2005-09-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

My first Blue Man show! It was GREAT. It’s held in the tiny Astor Place Theater in Greenwich Village.

Dave and I with two of the guys after the show (using the camera on my trusty cell phone)…

And a photo from a jaunt through Union Square afterwards…

Back to the paper mines!

2005-09-15T23:34:00.000-04:00

It’s already at that point of the project where we work long hours at no extra cost. Yup, that would be the Social Studies project again. Ahh, it feels like it was only yesterday when we were working 11-plus hours every night. That was actually from November to January last year! The hours will be heavy from now until the first week of November. (Unless they add more time on. Eugh.) Buh bye, Yoga.

Then mid-November, we’re scheduled to begin 1-2 additional SS books. Hopefully by then the design will be set and we will have grown back the hair we’ve been yanking out all this month.

Dave’s parents are back in town tomorrow morning!

Special days all around

2005-09-13T22:20:00.000-04:00

It’s both my Mom’s birthday and Dave's and my Anniversary. (Was that poor English or did I get that right?)

My parents are going taking a rain check for a mini vacation to Cape May for my mom’s birthday. Instead, Dave’s parents are visiting us this upcoming weekend.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope you have a great day and get all the loot you’ve been hoping for!

Our Sept. 11th day

2005-09-11T23:52:00.000-04:00

I ended up shopping over at Macy's while the guys watched the Bills game over at McFadden's. (Bill's Backers was too full!!!) After having dinner at Joe O's, we went to see the 9-11 memorial beams, but instead opted to see them from an emptier, quieter area with the best view around: Exchange Place, Jersey City. We were imagining the memorial scene to be an overwhelming stream of people, with the vendor stands trying to sell 9-11 "memorabilia" filling the little available spaces in the street.

We are actually at the WTC site often whenever we take the PATH to go downtown. It's only two stops (5 minutes) from Jersey City. When we pull in, we're right there in the base of it, surrounded by the old walls and pipes of the towers left behind. It's pretty incredible.

I took a few photos from today and tonight. The beams were angelic and mystical, but the beams weren't placed at the original site this time! I'll have to find out why. It seemed less symbolic. I can also imagine that many tourists were misconstrued on the whereabouts of the original site.

One more thing that was disappointing (to us)… A huge party boat came down the river with loud, pulsing dance music, dance lights, and people yelling and partying as they passed the memorial. It felt disgraceful. I wasn’t here when the tragedy happened, but it still felt offensive and disrespectful. You could hear the music a mile away, and it was driving by way too slowly. I feel like they should have had the decency to turn the music down while drifting by, if not off for just a few minutes. If anyone else saw or heard this, it was the “Queen of Hearts” party boat that leaves from the Christopher Street piers. (I looked it up.)

A “nice” note: at exactly 9:11pm, the red, white and blue lights from the Empire State Building went out, leaving it pitch black. You could still see the flashes from all the people taking photos from the top.

The ESB earlier this afternoon (More “FlySong.com” plane writing in the sky above it)

The ESB behind the "?" buildings

Later: The beams from our bedroom window overlooking the building next door

From Exchange Place, on the pier (the towers stood just to the right of the first tall buildings from the left)

From Exchange Place, on the pier outside the Hyatt

The beams shone into infinity…

Beautiful day!

2005-09-11T12:58:00.000-04:00

I've opened the windows for the first time in months, now that the weather is crisp and cooler.

Baby, my first cat (of three)

Spooky and Baby are are loving the fresh air!

But unfortunately, Lou has come down down with a cold. I've been making sure he has a lot of sun to sleep in.

We're heading over to the city in a bit to shop, watch a Bills game, and then see the Sept 11th memorial. We only arrived last October, so we weren't anywhere near the date of the September 11th attacks. I refuse to buy anything with the towers on them. I don't want to not only own anything that has buildings on it that no longer exist, but I don't feel right "remembering" an event like that I was not a part of. In other words, I don't want to buy something that has caused so much sadness to others when I was not any part of it. I hope that comes across correctly in writing it.

I'll try and post some photos of today's events and of the memorial beams. We've seen them in the sky from here for a few nights as they tested them out, but tonight, we're going to try and be there up close.

Last night at Alpha Bar

2005-09-10T12:34:00.000-04:00

...was awesome!!! Lots of people showed up to see Dave play. Dave even made 16 bucks. I didn't really try to get any photos of him, though. The stage has a weird wood bar that goes across the front of the stage, which is a good four to five feet high. I guess it's to keep people from falling off the stage or something.

Dave performed better than ever- Every show is better than the last. His voice was awesome! He played like he was having a great time, which made everyone transform into a partying mood! I can only imagine what it will be like when he begins playing in a full band!

The night continued over to Doc Holiday's. By the end of the night, lots of various beers and other concoctions had been drunk. I'm actually staying home today to recoop while Dave and Jef head over to Ron's for more partying at a giant block party in Hoboken. I know I should go, but I'm just so tired from last night and the entire week!

Here are a few photos from last night:

Alpha Bar, pre-show shots (none for me, thanks!)

Just a few of the people that were there for Dave: Steve, Marina, Bobby, Eric, me and Shannon...

Iris & Scott with Dave after the show

"Eat Me": Some hot-dog hangout (on St.Mark's St) that we passed on the way to Doc's

The weather is starting to get cooler, more crisp. It was a beautiful night and the music was amazing! Thanks, Dave!!!

Dave @ Alphabet Lounge Friday night!

2005-09-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

If you're in the area, Dave is playing at the Alphabet Lounge tomorrow night (Friday)! He'll be playing at 8:30 for a 45 minute set.

UPDATED!

2005-09-07T01:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, I can’t sleep until I load up all the "backblogs" once and for all!!!

Enjoy the updates from 8/19 through 9/6! (And I'll try to keep consistent, kids.)

New apartment coming up!?

2005-09-06T09:45:00.000-04:00

We stopped by the office after work today and learned that there are two 2-bedroom apartments down the hall from our place that will be available by the end of the month! Each of them has 1 1/2 bathrooms, a large terrace and spiral staircases! I’ll try and take some photos when we get to see them. We’re excited!!!

Bar-B-Q at Jef’s

2005-09-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

We had a great time over at Jef’s with friends last night. He had a barbeque up on his roof again. We were there around 5pm and stayed until about 1am before we hit a local bar before last call!

It was a great party: the sunset, acoustic guitar, lots of beer and spicy sausages! It was awesome. And Jef’s place is so great. THANKS SO MUCH, JEF!!!

The sunset over a part of Jersey City.

Eric, Deb and Dave

Deb and Geron singing

Manhattan and Newport @ night from the rooftop

Late night at Barrow Street bar

By the way- the Manhattan skyline is beginning to get blocked by upcoming condos being built in Jersey City and Newport. If you want to buy a place with a New York skyline view, now is the time!!!

A visit to the US OPEN!

2005-09-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

So yesterday, a friend had passed us two tickets to the US Open for tonight! Dave was totally psyched- he played tennis for quite a few years, and he’s been watching tennis with his dad since he was little. I’m not much into tennis, but this event is a really huge deal- I was looking forward to the experience.

The USTA National Tennis Center is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, and the stadium (the Arthur Ashe stadium) sits practically right beside Shea Stadium. (Go, Mets!) The old World’s Fair sits right off in the distance. The grounds are beautifully designed.

The crowd was definitely different than your typical baseball fans! We saw stars like Nicole Kidman, Amanda Peet and Tony Bennett! The food and drinks were non-typical as well: veggie wraps, mixed drinks, crepes and Hagan Daaz ice cream.

Here are a few pics:

During a match

New York sunset

The World's Fair

No daylight for us this weekend!

2005-08-28T00:57:00.000-04:00

A total bum-around weekend. Dave didn't even go outside! (For those who don't know him- that's unheard of!)

Dave hanging around the apartment

Lou hanging.

I think we have to rethink this whole job thing. It’s all fine, but the workload if almost overbearing at times. We’re too tired to do a whole lot lately. We’ve got to get back to taking care of ourselves!

After work relaxation

2005-08-26T23:55:00.000-04:00

After work tonight Dave, Eric and I walked a few blocks in a totally different direction than normal and found a café with seating off the street. It was relaxing hanging out on the street, drinking a few beers and watching the world go by. After the sun had set, we wandered through the street of Greenwich Village and passed a million bars with live music. We were even too tired to go in. Instead, we headed home, invited Jef over for a few beers and hung out all night.

An apartment building on 28th

Work for the studio

2005-08-25T21:35:00.000-04:00

I found out that the place I used to work at offered a big project to the studio I work at- as long as I am the project manager! How cool is that? And it couldn’t have come at a better time. I really hope it all works out!

If you're reading this, "THANKS PK!!!!" ;)

Ferry ride home

2005-08-24T00:48:00.000-04:00

It’s a bit out of our way, but we walked over to the ferry from work and took it over to North Hoboken. It was a beautiful day, the sun was setting, and the air was clean. Of course, I didn’t have my damn camera, but here are a few shots from my cell phone’s camera…

The sun setting on New York

NY meets JC

We hung out at the Hoboken pier and watched the Manhattan skyline light up little by little until the sun finally went down. Then we walked through Hoboken, following the river, passing parks and condos, restaurants and shops. Hoboken is a very beautiful place to live- a very healthy, active environment.

Orlando trip in October!

2005-08-23T00:47:00.000-04:00

Yea! And crap! October is already on the way! Dave is the best man in one of his best friend's wedding in mid-October, so we were on a work-out kick there for a while, but I’ve been dropping out again (due to work, as usual). I also just found out that I’ll be flying to Orlando (with Eric and my boss) a few days earlier for business… and to my old job at that! HA! I can’t wait to see everyone again! And I actually miss that job very much. How much weight can I lose in 30 days? Lets find out…

I’m With Busey DVD

2005-08-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

I’m not normally much of a tv person, but Dave and I have been watching VH1 like crazy lately! They've had some really awful but entertaining reality shows (Tommy Lee goes to College, Hogan Knows Best, etc). One of the ones we always try and catch is Celebrity Fit Club 2, which features none other than Gary Busey! I had heard of a reality show about him called “I’m with Busey” a few years back, but never saw it. So, I bought a DVD of the whole season off eBay! I’m so excited! Gary is a complete nut.

A birthday weekend at Cape May

2005-08-21T20:30:00.001-04:00

Welp, we found our newest little getaway! Cape May was awesome!!! We rented a car and drove there (it’s about 2 hours away) on Friday night and stayed for two nights at “ The Abbey ”, a Victorian Bed and Breakfast. What a cool neighborhood, too- it felt like “The Truman Show”, but with a beach!

The Abbey had rooms to lounge in that were filled with actual Victorian furniture, musical instruments and various items. I felt like I was in a museum, but I could actually touch and use everything there. I would totally stay there again.

The beach was also great. We went Saturday morning, and there were at least two dozen dolphins out there jumping and playing. They don’t get close enough to touch, but they were fun to watch!

There are multiple restaurants, shops and places to stay, all along the beach. We ate at Harry’s twice, one of the beachfront seafood places. We ate dinner at The Lobster Pot, a gigantic seafood place a few blocks away. It consists of several restaurants that sit on a pier. There’s a fancy inside restaurant, with a more laid-back one outside alongside a raw bar.

We also both went to a local spa for the day. We each got major body massages and facials. We felt like rubber when we left. Extremely awesome. I’ve been waiting for a spa day forever! Dave agreed that we should do it at least once a month.

I highly recommend Cape May for both a family and romantic getaway. Staying at The Abbey ended up costing $200 a night, but there are plenty of other affordable places to stay right down the street.

The street our place was on…

The Abbey (our room is at the very top on the other side)

One of the lounges in The Abbey

At Harry’s on Saturday

The Cape May Light House. We drove there and climbed to the top.

Dinner at Gavroche

2005-08-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

Tonight our boss took a hand-picked group of people (including Dave, Eric and I), out to eat at the fancy Gavroche on 14th street (Chelsea) to celebrate two other birthdays (I kept my birthday a secret). Gavroche is a French restaurant with an outdoor garden with beautiful lights and patio seating. Not only was the atmosphere and food exquisite, it was all paid for! (Hooray for free food!)

Happy 33rd to ME!

2005-08-16T23:30:00.000-04:00

We got up late since we were out drinking so much last night! After I got out the shower, there was a new shirt hanging on the closet door for me to wear for the day. Dave bought me a cool, rock 'n roll-looking shirt that had Incubus-type designs on it. (Note: That's Incubus- one of my very favorite bands of all time!)

Work went all right. I think it helped that it was birthday. After work, we walked over to 44th Street and checked for tickets for "Spamalot". We knew we wouldn't be able to get them, but we thought we'd check anyway. You know, just in case my lucky birthday stars were out. Or if someone got stood up by three other people. Or if one person got food poisoning from eating one of those hot dogs from a street vendor and the other two people that were supposed to go along felt bad for them and decided not to go. .....It could happen, you know.

By the way, I'd just like to add how cool it was that we walked a just few blocks and could walk right up to Spamalot. And Phantom of the Opera. And Lennon musical (which we're seeing SOON!). The Producers. Fiddler on The Roof. I love New York.

And, out of aaaall the places I could have chosen to eat in New York on my first birthday here, where do think we went? What? That expensive seafood place uptown? That trendy martini bar in the east village with the fun little finger foods that look like art pieces? Or the new, chic "Suba" that I've heard has the most amazing atmosphere and food? Nope. I chose Olive Garden. And not just ANY Olive Garden, mind you. Oh, no. I'm talkin' about the 3-story one in TIMES SQUARE! Oh, YEAH!

Actually, Olive Garden is one of my old favorites. I should probably be sent straight to hell without a hall pass since I live in New York, which in my opinion, has Italian food as close to real as you can get it without taking a flight to Italy itself. But the salad and breadsticks make me so happy! I guess I'm just easy that way.

Afterwards we wandered around Times Square. It's just 3 blocks away from where we walk to work every single day, but we rarely go there, even though it reminds me that I'm in New York more than many other places do.

We went to the Virgin store, and Eric bought me DVDs of "Dumb and Dumber" and Dumber and Dumberer". Ah, now THAT'S a special type of humor. ;)

For my big b-day gift: Dave gave me my very first iPod! Ok, I think iPod can close up shop now. Now every single person in New York owns one.

We're really getting excited about our weekend trip to Cape May! Just a few more days to go!!!

NY music scene

2005-08-15T23:56:00.000-04:00

So things went all right on Monday...sort of. I won't get into details. Everything else is crazy at work- way too many meetings going on to get everything else done!

But, whew! Open mic on Monday night was crazy! And I may have said this before, but Dave's voice has changed so much since we've moved here! Not that his voice was bad in Orlando- it’s that he’s been hitting some notes FULL VOICE that he was never able to reach before! He’s added on a whole octave since he’s been playing here!

I'm sure it has to do with him being more relaxed. The life he was living in Florida was crazy. He's also doing yoga now, and playing out at least twice a week, every week. Lots of practice. And, he's got quite the NY music network going on!

We're really getting into the music scene here, and it's so different than Orlando! (All together now: “DUH!”) The attitude is so much cooler, the networking is so incredibly strong- musicians from different bands actually play nice. They support each other. And playing out is FINALLY about the music. Not the fans, or the perfect stage performance, or the perfect vocals. It's actually real! We've missed that. And all those things make the music sound even better!

Dave has written some great stuff, and is dying to get out there as a band, rather than acoustically. He's taking his time, though. No ads to find the other musicians. Just word of mouth, meeting people at gigs, and jamming for fun. It will happen naturally.

My birthday is tomorrow! I'll be at work, though. Dave and I are working on the same project, so we can't both take tomorrow off. Plus, it's no fun sitting at home by myself!