Coach Sue

The big news today is all the snow. The forcast predicted a gross rainy day with a slight chance of snow-not what we got. We had to run some errands today to prepare Jen for hospitality at church tomorrow and my Halloween Party at work tonight so we had no choice but to go out and get gross and wet. This pic is of the park we pass on the way to the E train being covered in snow. The neighborhood was much more covered on our way back home but it was too hard to take pics with our bags and I didn't want to get my new phone wet.

Ahh, my new phone. I have the Samsung Stratosphere 4G LTE Android phone (for those of you who understand what all that means, lol) and I love it! It's so handy to have everything at your fingertips. Writing this today is the first time my poor computer has been used since I got the phone.

Tonight I'm going as the evil Coach Sue Silvester from the TV show Glee. I bought her signature red Adidas tracksuit and whistle and am making a bullhorn to go with it. Most of my friends loved the idea when I showed some pics of me in the suit... or incorrectly guessed I was going as Run DMC or Ali G. Hopefully my accessories and nametag will help make it more obvious. I'll let you know how the party goes, it's one of the most out of control nights at Bourbon St. every year.

Celeb Spotting

Just want to give you another celeb sighting update. Leaving work Saturday night, coworker Erin walked through a group of celebrities leaving the un-named VIP bar on 46th st. We didn't want to gawk but two that we recognized with just one pass were Steve Guttenberg and Richard Kind. We knew Steve Guttenberg's name and luckily he yelled "goodnight Richard" as he got into a cab so I was able to look Mr. Kind up when I got home. The group of ladies they were with were less recognizable, but who knows. 

My new cellphone should be back to Texas sometime tomorrow (where it was originally shipped from) from it's incorrect journey to the billing address in Clearwater, FL. It's then supposedly going to be shipped out to me at the proper delivery address and arrive by Friday. Gotta love the organization of Walmart.com.

Speakeasy's

Tonight we refused to let the rain keep us from having fun on one of our only nights together all week and hit the town for some beverages. In the East Village neighborhood there are a few pretty hidden clubs/bars that were once secret speakeasy's and have been getting alot of publicity lately. Because it's the middle of the week, we were surprised that both PDT (Please Don't Tell) and Death and Co. had waits of around an hour. I guess everyone had the same idea we did. It was fun just trying to find PDT which involved entering a phone booth in a random hot dog shop and calling the host who opened the other side of the booth to let you in. There were no signs for this place anywhere. We settled for drinks at a "normal" place next door called Ten Degrees. After telling the bartender what I typically like, he whipped up a custom cocktail for me which turned out delicious. Jen's "fruit loaded" Sangria came with an orange slice which was disappointing, the fruit's the best part! It was a good time though. This pic is of Jen providing the entertainment as we waited for the 7 train on the way out.

Pan Am

Because I had the day off and the Pan Am set was just around the corner, I got to be nosey as I came and went throughout the day. There were two black passenger vans to shuttle the cast the one block between the trailers and set all day but when I saw them moving they were empty. There were many cool old cars parked along the street (pic) but from what I could see most of the filming happened inside the Plaxal building. The offices and staircase, which are visible from the street, look like they haven't been touched since the 60's which would make sense for the show. By ten tonight they seemed to be either cleaning up or reorganizing for another scene. The big fancy star trailer is still within view from our bedroom window as we call it a night. The permits give them until 2 a.m so they might be out until then.

My coworker and aspiring actor Linda actually had a small part in the show which filmed a few weeks ago. If you watch, it should be in the next episode that she plays a student who's registering for classes at Berkeley

Brooklyn Baked Goods

Apparently ‘tis the season for eating out so I’ve been working a little more and later lately. I’m grateful for the extra dough but with a Thursday- Sunday night schedule most weeks, it’s hard to squeeze fun things with Jen into the weekend. This Saturday we got up and first consulted our Time Out NY magazine to see what cool things were going on in the city. We decided to hit up a bake sale in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for brunch that the article claimed to be “a bake sale on steroids,” was an editor’s pick for the weekend, and spanning a few blocks. Typical of anything we get ourselves into, we had a good laugh when we arrived. It was so small we almost missed the quite average sized bake sale which spanned the length of a few tables. The people were very nice and it benefited something good in the community, but it’s funny how much Time Out hyped it up. The bake sale people must know someone.  

After our interesting morning biking across boroughs we rushed into the city (me ready to go straight to work afterward) for a free walking tour around Union Square. It’s the area in the city we would most like to live in (maybe in June when our lease is up!) so we wanted to learn more. This Time Out NY suggested event was much less hyped up and much more worth it. Our tour guide was great and I would totally pay for a tour she was leading in the future.

Sunday, after getting up at 6:30 am to help with setup at church, I came back home and slept until one-ish. Before heading to work tonight (crazy, I know) I finally ordered a new phone online. Through walmart.com (I miss you walmart) I got a 4G LTE, Android Stratosphere by Samsung that seems to be close to the model that Jen has which I really like. The difference is, mine was free! (my favorite number by the way). It should come Wednesday and (no worries naysayers) I have two weeks to make sure I like it. I’ll keep you posted, hopefully easily from my new phone next week.

The TV show Pan Am is filming in LIC all day tomorrow. Tonight the streets around our apartment were eerily cleared of all parked cars except for a few classic 60’s sedans at our corner. The shooting may be that close! Pictures to come…

Megabust to DC





Row houses in Ashley's hood.

 

I’m writing this post from our bus back to NYC from DC. Among many other perks, Jen has every other Friday off from work (crazy right?) which happened to line up with Columbus Day, which she also had off, giving her a four day weekend. As soon as we realized this, I also took the weekend off so that we could plan something fun. We contacted some friends that live in the Northeast and our friend Ashley in DC was available. Her roommate was also out of town for a wedding, making room for us to stay…. just meant to be.



Future Mr. and Mrs. President at the White House

This being our third time in DC, we didn’t really do many touristy things like tours, museums, or purposeful monument visits (you can’t help but pass them, they’re everywhere!).  We rented bikes through the DC Bike Share for a bit which was fun. Through this company you get a nice 3-speed bike for about $5/hour and can pick up and drop off at any of the many locations around the city. We were also in town during the Taste of DC food and drink festival and got to sample lots of good local grub. The bacon, tomato, cheese and the banana, chocolate waffles were totally worth the half hour wait! Saturday night we went to karaoke in Adam’s Morgan (lots of night life) with Ashley and friends to watch and sing along ONLY. Ha. It was a great trip but we missed our Pup, who was being watched by our wonderful neighbors over the weekend. Enjoy the pix



Us with Ashley and our bikes on Capitol Hill



 Back to the bus. Flying or even taking a train to DC this weekend was so expensive that it just wasn't an option. I had heard mixed things about these really cheap "Chinatown buses" you could take from NYC to NE cities like Boston, Rhode Island, and DC. After doing some research on the many different companies we settled on Megabus because of the price, hourly departures, and the advertised free wifi and power outlets at every row. The ride to DC, although we forgot to pack snacks and were starving, was perfect.

The way back, on the other hand, was delayed. Some of the reasons include an extra stop because the bus bathroom became out of order (after Jen used it- no joke, ha), traffic, and a late departure from DC. The Wifi and power outlets were also out on this bus back home so people were getting quite antsy. This didn’t really affect us though, as we were smart and brought things to read. We also made sure to pack lots of snacks for the journey back. You get what you pay for but for less than $100 for two, round trip, it was not bad and I think we would do it again. Not a "Megabust" you could say. hehe.  Next time we might try Bolt Bus which is rumored to be a little better and compare the two.  

Samuel L. Jackson

The pics do most of the talking in this post but I'll elaborate. Thursday night after work, as I was passing the restaurant Orzo, I heard a British tourist ask a group of men beside me what street she was on. One guy answered, "This is 46th St." She thanked him and went on her with no clue she had just gotten directions from Samuel L. Jackson!  I recognized his voice right away, followed by his signature Kangol hat. I also recognized the custom-rimmed Cadillac Escalade he and his posse got into, which means they must dine there often.  Of all his movies, all I remember him by is Snakes on a Plane, a true classic.

Friday I took the night off from work to catch up with a couple of “my boys.” We went bowling at The Gutter - a very old school, dingy, and kind of hipster alley in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Afterwards, while checking out my friend Chris’s new place in Sunnyside (my old ‘hood!) we found the movie Drive on his computer and watched it on his new TV. It just came out in theaters… no big deal. 

Jen’s new Schwinn bicycle came Friday! We tried putting it together ourselves when I got home around midnight Friday but that didn’t go so well.  Exhaustion plus cryptic instructions does not equal a properly assembled bike.  We decided to leave it to the pro’s and took it to the bike shop in our hood the next morning. We had a good laugh when the shop owner’s first words were, “Why is it backwards?” Lol. Apparently we had put the front fork on backwards but they fixed it right up while we were at a friend’s house warming party.  Too bad the weather was too bad for Jen to give it a test drive.  But, today was a perfect bike riding day and ride we did. As luck would have it, someone took my shift at work today so Jen and I got to spend the day together.  I actually forgot my phone at work Saturday night so we decided to ride our bike over the Queensborough Bridge into the City to pick it up (an ambitions ride for Jen’s first time on a bike in about ten years).   Jen was nervous but I’m proud because she made it back alive (although she claims she almost died several times today). We also stopped at a bike shop and bought a basket, one Pup will fit in.  I tested her bike out too and, must say, it’s a comfy ride.  Our next big ride will be to Central Park once all the leaves change.  Can’t wait.