Snowflakes

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in NYC. Although I did make the mistake of entering a retail store before work on Black Friday, I mostly hung out in LIC which was being decked in Christmas decorations. This pic was taken on our street! The cab ride home from work last night was beautiful too with all the lights and giant snowflakes hung at intersections.


Speaking of work, I’ve been getting some praise from management lately which is always welcomed. Yesterday, a four star review of the restaurant was posted to Yelp (a major rating website). The review was brief but specifically mentioned that “Matt’s service was perfect.” Whoop Whoop! I also sold the first and so far only raffle ticket for our Home for the Holidays fundraiser. I know this paragraph is already so humble, but I’m not done yet. I started a collection (which is over $100 now) to get our awesome busser a Babies R Us gift-card. His wife is delivering on Tuesday. Ok, I’m done now, you can go vomit if needed.

My plan to take a nap this afternoon was stymied (love that word) after choosing to drink 3 cups of coffee at brunch with friend’s PJ and Bernauer at El Ay Si. I’m typing pretty inaccurately but at warp speed. Jen comes back tomorrow night from her FL-Thanksgiving vaca. She’s having a great time but misses her Boo and Pup.

Gobble Gobble

I had to start today a little early, 5:30 am, as I rode with Jen to the airport to get her home for Thanksgiving. I walked her in and to the security line when I ran into an old friend from FSU. She’s living in Brooklyn and in pharmacy school. Me seeing someone I know everywhere is getting a little ridiculous; it’s such a small world! It turned out they were on the same flight together which was nice. The sunrise from LaGuardia was beautiful but not enough to keep me up, I went right back to bed when I got home.

Today I think I’ll watch the Macy’s parade (which is so far pretty lame) at home like everyone else because it’s quite cold out. I work tonight but I’m surprisingly ok with that. I have fun with my coworkers and tonight we get a free traditional thanksgiving meal. Of course I’d rather be like three other places but there’s no point in whining. Here’s a pic of the restaurant all decked out for Christmas. It’s really nice inside but too dark to show up on my phone.

Oh! Our one year wedding anniversary extravaganza ended with dinner at a French restaurant in the city and a horse and carriage ride through Central Park. It was as perfect as it sounds. We came home to have a slice of our three-times defrosted, year old wedding cake and braced ourselves for the nastiness that might ensue. I can’t believe it myself but that top tier was delicious! High five to Publix (the best grocer in the world) for making a cake that won’t got bad, even if you inconsistently refrigerate, throw it in a Tupperware container unwrapped with a lid that doesn’t fit quite right, and wait one whole year.

One year!

Wow, this week just flew by and I didn’t even have a chance to write. As you may know, our anniversary is tomorrow, November 22, so we spent the latter part of last week trying to plan a trip for this weekend. We knew we would have fun no matter what we did but we never have a whole weekend off together so there was some pressure to make it a good one. We changed our plans a million times and made a decision last minute so we literally rented a car and booked a room at a bed and breakfast Saturday morning and were on the road by ten. Talk about spontaneity!

River Run B&B, built in the late 1800’s, is located in the Catskill Mountains about 3 hrs from NYC. It was clean, cozy, and we couldn’t get over how quiet it was, especially compared NYC. It made us want to whisper all the time. We went to bed around 9:30 and had the best sleep we’ve had in a long time. This morning we were served a great breakfast where we met and chatted with some Physical Therapists that were in town for another PT’s wedding. The place is dog friendly so Jen managed to step in dog poo in the bathroom! The smell literally made her gag. The owners were extremely embarrassed but no harm done. The house also had a large back yard with a hammock (too cold to enjoy) and a beautiful stream that ran right through it. If the water was warm we could have put our feet in it.

Gnomes!

While in the mountains we went to an old country auction where they sold things like an old saddle, antique yard sticks, a 1970s Sesame Street lunchbox full of crayons, a variety of hideous knick-knacks, and lots of shotgun shells. We were the truly rare find in that place and didn’t even bother registering.

We also went hiking on a very aggressive trail. If we were skiing it would be a black diamond and Jen got a high five for not hurting herself. She did, however, have a hard time adjusting to the altitude and hyperventilated a little when she couldn’t catch her breath. The trail was about 3.5 miles round trip.
The most civilized experience of our getaway was a couple’s massage (which we booked only hours ahead of time) at the Emerson Resort and Spa. We could look out our relaxation room to the babbling brook outside and the mountains behind it. Our full-body treatments were customized using aromatherapy (mine was for detox and Jen’s for relaxation) and they were amazing. It took everything in us to get back in the car to drive home.

Overall the trip was not bad for something that we might have spent an hour in total planning. We would recommend it all!

Mr. Wan

There's never a dull moment in our neighborhood, or lives for that matter. Jen has a story to share: Last night I was walking home from the grocery store and almost tripped over a man who was passed out on the street.  I freaked out and ran to the other side of the road because I assumed it was a bum but as I was passing him I realized it was a normal guy.  I didn't want to approach him alone (ya never know) so I called my neighbor, Ricky, to come help me out because Matt was at work.  The guy had his phone to his ear like he was talking on the phone and just passed out.  Ricky and I thought he was dead because he looked so wan and stiff!  We called 911 and they used their specialized training to detect that he was, in fact, alive.  It took awhile to wake him up and he couldn't stand on his own.  They said he was probably just drunk because he was so close to a bar but I think there was more to it.  I was relived though.  I had been creating stories in my head while we were waiting for the ambulance.  I was sure he was on the phone with his wife when he had an aneurysm and she was going crazy trying to find him!  But apparently he's just a lush.  Anyway, I'm glad he was ok.  

Coming home from work last night I spotted a bride and groom and a few groomsmen staggering out of LIC bar which I thought was a little strange considering it was like 2am and their wedding night.

While out and about in the 'hood today we noticed this new spot coming to Vernon Blvd. It's exciting to see more and more businesses coming down towards our end of downtown.

                                                 

Katrina II

It was business as usual at work Wednesday night until the food runner pointed behind me and said, “Oh my God, does Ian (manager) know about that?” I turned around to find water pouring in around the exit sign and by the time I located the manager it was coming in through every hole in the ceiling. Not everyone’s section was being flooded, just mine actually. All my guests scattered to other tables, most of which had reservations on them, so food was being brought up to flooded empty tables creating complete chaos. One table insisted on a discount so I just informed them that it was their entertainment for the evening, think Rainforest Café, and left them their check. I was on the second floor practically wading to my tables with cocktails that were getting, what I hoped was clean, water dripped into them. It turns out that a woman in the French Quarter Hotel above us was sitting on the porcelain pedestal sink doing her makeup or something when it cracked and ripped the pipes from the wall, flooding the rooms in about six inches of water. The hotel had some trouble locating the cut-off valve on the roof so the restaurant got what we think was around 100 gallons of water before it was over. It was as crazy as it sounds. Someone even asked, “Is this Katrina?!”


Yesterday, I rushed home to meet some Craiglister’s who bought Jen’s old desk from us for $50. I’m so surprised we got that much! Friday night we got a group together for happy hour at local El Ay Si and then headed to Astoria to see “Morning Glory.” It was pretty funny, although I wish Diane Keaton had a greater role in it.

Race Day

The street outside our apartment is usually quite busy, but today for a much more fun reason, the NYC Marathon! From right outside our front door (and fire-escape which Jen climbed out on) we cheered on the Chilean miner, Chef Bobby Flay, and friends competing in the run. What’s cool it that each participant is given a chip to attach to their shoe so you can track their location online and know when they’re getting close. We tried tracking Jen's friend Anna who was here from FL for the race, but must have missed her. As you can see in the pics it was a beautiful, crisp day. Also pictured is one of the designated PowerAde hydration stations about a block away.

It was a big deal that left tons of litter behind, so I was surprised to see that by this evening the streets were all cleaned up and it was back to normal for Vernon Blvd. For dinner tonight we used one of our Groupon coupons at El Ay Si down the street. $30 certificate for $15, whoop!

Cheap Cuts and Crabs

Today I took the 6 train to China for a haircut. Ok, Chinatown, but on the tiny side street of Prell in Manhattan you really feel like you’ve left the country. I found the barber shop on yelp (an online rating website) while searching for cheap cuts and it had really great reviews. No offense to our friend Ashley who’s local and does an awesome job, but I just can’t afford the $30 trim every month. :) Anyway, my cut came out well enough, especially for $7. Ha. The walk was annoying today because of the cold, rainy weather but would usually be a fun area to visit. This pic is of crabs that were in front of one of the big fish markets, some of them alive and trying to jump out of the barrels!


By the time I got home my jeans were soaked thanks to the side-ways rain so our apartment, which usually has us boiling, felt warm and cozy. Once I was dry and Pup had received a little attention, my intent was to take yoga but after 20 minutes of waiting the 7 never showed. At this point I decided to give up the fight against the weather by staying in, brewing some tea, and updating my Chill Radio station on Pandora.

After work yesterday I rushed downtown to my interview for Animal Care and Control. They said they could use my help which was great, I got an AC&C t-shirt and leash, and headed home. Last night Jen and I watched another Hitchcock film, Birds! To me it was more funny than creepy and I kept wondering why no one in that town had a gun. Tonight and Saturday night I’ll be at the restaurant. It was a VERY slow week, I’m guessing because of the chilly weather, so I have some catching up to do.