Dorm Life!

Oh how I love apartment living!  I love being in an apartment building...most of the time.  A few days ago my neighbors decided they wanted to see if they could make themselves deaf.  I was hoping they could get it done sooner than later since it was getting close to my bedtime.

I really felt like I was living in a college dorm all over again.  The big difference was that I did not feel like I could knock on the door with a few beers and hang out.  I instead felt like the old stogy neighbor that just wanted to go to bed.  It is a funny how time can change your view of things.

This particular neighbor has been a frequent offender (OK it was just twice but I need my sleep) of my ears with late loud noise.  I guess it is all a trade off. Instead of having to cut grass and shovel snow we are listening to someone else's music when I should be listening to the sound of my ZZZs.

It is nice to have a concierge in the building that can deal with it when I do not feel like the confrontation. So I have learned that either I need to suck it up and take some drinks over or just get over myself.  In reality, I am sure I will call and complain again but such is life!

Christmas Tree Shopping

I was wondering how people would be able to get their Christmas trees here in the City.  Well, now that we are at the start of the holiday season I have my answer.  Most people are familiar with pulling into the Christmas tree lot and picking out the perfect tree.  Then the attendant loads the tree onto your car and off you go.  As with many things here, we do it a bit different.

In New York there is not any empty land for a tree lot and there are millions of people that do not have cars.  I would love to see a tree tied to the top of a taxi but find that a bit unlikely.  The bus though is an option, we have heard that people will carry their tree on the bus to get it home.

The trees are sold right on the sidewalk.  The seller looks the same as anywhere else in the country.  Having done a bit of research for this post I can verify there seems to be a couple strings of lights and a cute small dog wearing a jacket at nearly every stand you walk by.  The trees are then tied up so that they can be carried back to the apartments throughout the city.  There seem to be lots about every 10 blocks helping to ensure people do not have to carry them too far.

Life here is not always easy but it is always interesting!

A Thanksgiving Tradition in Real Time

For over thirty years we have watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade each and every Thanksgiving. We have talked for years about making the trip to New York to see the parade but just hadn't made the jump to do it. With our move here though we were able to stand in amazement of THE PARADE of all parades.

Thankfully the hardest thing we encountered on our way there was navigating a few closed streets and tolerating the cold while we waited. Our spot was in the middle of Times Square at Duffy Square which provides the tkts red steps. These steps provided a great view of the bands, floats and balloons. 

Kids around us fussed a bit as we waited but come 9:30am their eyes were as big as saucers and they were enthralled.  You could hear kids shout, "Mommy, Mommy here comes the American Guy (aka Uncle Sam)" or "Look, look it's Buzz Lightyear." Their happiest moment though was when Santa rode in on his sleigh.

The biggest surprise came though after the parade ended. We were sure the crowds would be endless and would swallow us up. Instead, we walked down the steps, across 7th Ave and the crowd thinned.  We expected a long wait for a train since 3.5 million people came out to watch the parade. Nope, the station was relatively dead and only a handful of people were waiting on trains. We were amazed and hopped on our train only after a few minutes and were home by noon.

If you have been wanting to come to see the parade yourself, it is worth the trip, just bring warm clothes and some hand warmers for the wait.

Just dropping by...

Just the other day we were watching TV and then BANG a flying rat slammed right into our balcony window.  I am all for visitors but this was not exactly what we were expecting or hoping for!  Thank goodness the pigeon was just stunned and not injured.

There are no shortage of these lovely (disgusting) birds throughout the New York.  Apparently about one million reside in the city and another 465,000 visit from Jersey each day. I guess not even the pigeons want to stay in Jersey. That means on any given day there is one pigeon per five New Yorkers. I guess this visitor was our pigeon that day.

We were sure he would not find any food and be off to another perch soon but that didn't seem to be his goal. He tried a few times to fly away but he wasn't having much luck. Unless we wanted to adopt him as a pet we were going to have to give him a little help. Thankfully he hopped on the broom we extended and flew away.

There are some in the city that look out for these birds and even bring food for them to the parks. They also yell at children for chasing them around. I am sure that they can tell me why pigeons help me out on a daily basis but I am not sure they do more than make a mess!

Who is Occupy-ing what?

Working down in the Financial District in Manhattan is amazing.  It is a very local neighborhood that is busy but relatively quiet most of the time.  The last two months have proven to be a little bit different.

This week was the official two month anniversary of the movement.  I came off of the train to hundreds of people chanting about 10 different injustices.  There were of course hundreds of police officers and another thousand people just trying to go to work.  It made for an...interesting scene.

I was thrilled to have to walk about 10 blocks out of my way and  watch people taunt the police, just begging to be formally introduced to pepper spray.  There were many times that the protesters were literally asking for the police to arrest them.  I kind of wish that would have worked out so I could have gotten to work without the tour of the entire neighborhood.  I guess if I had chosen to sleep in a park I may not mind a night in a warm dry jail cell either.

Regardless of your political views everyone has to feel bad for the local businesses that are being harmed by this protest.  I have spoken to at least 5 or 6 cart vendors (selling coffee, water and food) and restaurants that all say that business is down since late September and some have had to lay people off.  Seems that the protesters are hurting the 99% more than they realize.

The North Face in the City

When I think of The North Face, I (like most people) think of tall rugged mountains and extreme environments.  They have been marketing themselves as the best outdoor brand for years.

I have lived in mountain towns and traveled throughout most of the US.  During that time I have been in cold climates but I have NEVER seen a town so invested in one brand.  There seems to be an endless demand for The North Face!

Everywhere you look you see that name brand; down jackets of all all shapes and sizes, fleeces, boots, hats and gloves. Everyone is wearing it, even the homeless guy that's asleep on the park bench.  It seems that The North Face has quietly conquered the urban jungle while selling the brand as the slayer of Everest!

It makes sense, people want to stay warm and dry, but I was completely surprised how The North Face occupies a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers!

To travel by car or by train...

As we planned our move to New York many people were amazed when we would tell them that we were selling both of our cars. They couldn't imagine how we would live without a car.

We knew we would be able to get around just fine but did wonder how it would be to not own a car. Having driven a car every day for the past twenty some years it was a change. Relying solely on the subway is an interesting thing.

The New York subway system is amazing. I'm in awe that someone back in 1868 thought to dig an underground tunnel for the first test section between Park Place and Warren. Over a hundred years later you can travel among the five boroughs with relative ease.

5.2 million people ride the subway each week to make it the 4th most ridden subway in the world. Our new daily routine involves waiting on the train and hoping for a seat.  We definitely miss being in total control of our trip and getting to belt out the words to a favorite song.

The best thing about riding the train each day is you don't have to watch the road and you can read your book, newspaper or even eat your breakfast while commuting without worry of causing an accident. A surprise though is that there is traffic, train traffic. The dreaded announcement of the morning is that we are being held in the station due to train traffic ahead.

Overall there are moments when you miss being along in your car with the music blasting and being able to control the temperature but those moments are not often. Being able tune out and let someone else get you to work is great unless you are sitting next to the guy who hasn't showered in weeks.

It's never boring!

Central Air...Not exactly...

The vast majority of apartments here have window units for air conditioning. We were so excited when we found out we have central air.  As somebody that did not grow up in a building I take central air to mean that I have total control over the temperature of my apartment.  I have learned over the last couple weeks that this is not true.

The building manager let me know that I am done with air conditioner for the season.  No problem as long as the weather cooperates with his plan.  The weather here has been unseasonable warm lately and the AC was turned off near the start of November.  We have been coming home to a 78 degree apartment thanks to having a large window that gets afternoon sun.  I like to keep the temp at about 73 degrees when it is warm.  Needless to say this has been a bit of a problem.

After learning about how this works I have now started to wonder if a window unit isn't the better option. At least then I can still have AC when I want. Let's hope that mother nature and the building manager are on the same page when Spring comes around.

Rainy Days...

New York has its share of rainy days and these days definitely present some special challenges. There is the obvious issue of getting wet from the rain but there are SO many other odd things that happen on these most special days.

As you walk through the rain on the sidewalk you are not only dodging rain drops but more importantly the other people carrying umbrellas the size of Rhode Island.  You must stay alert or you could lose an eyeball or worse. If you come to visit up here please bring a small umbrella made for one person.  It is a dead giveaway that you are a tourist if you bring your golf umbrella.

Next, bring you rain boots or shoes that you do not care about.  Be prepared to get wet feet if your boots are at home.  There are potholes throughout the city that can hold a basketball.  They are good ankle soakers of smelly grey water.  If you don't want to encounter the grey water then stay clear of curbs as well. While waiting to cross the street if you stand to close you may end up wearing that grey smelly water on more than your feet. A splash would be bad but getting soaked...the worst!

Another bit of insight, if you need to catch a taxi in the rain you need to be ready to get aggressive.  Lots of whistling and jumping around may be necessary.  If you have a suitcase you might as well start walking back to the airport or maybe hide it until you can just dive into the cab.  Either way it will be a true adventure.

Finally, you can NOT let the rain win.  It rains here but life goes on regardless.  Embrace the rain and maybe splash in a puddle just for fun but watch out for the grey water!

Bagels...

Where to begin?  I have been avoiding food on this blog almost on purpose but I can't wait any longer.  I am going to start with an item that everyone has had but too few have experienced.  Everyone needs to have a true New York bagel.  Please let me be very clear that I am not referring to the NY style bagel place down the street from you that puts eight pounds of cream cheese on a bagel shaped piece of bread and sends you to artery clogging heaven.

I work in an office that "imports" bagels from a place in Brooklyn every couple months that are worth fighting for any day of the week.  They are crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  They are good without being toasted or tampered with in any way.  If you choose to add toppings to them you will still know you have a superior carrier.

The bagel shops here almost burned down City Hall when they threatened to change the composition of the water thus altering the NY bagel.  City Hall eventually agreed with the bakers and left well enough alone.

I am not sure how to tell you to find the perfect bagel when in NY other than to say that the sketchier the shop the better the bagels.  Happy Hunting!

All Aboard!

One my biggest surprises during my time in the soon to be FREEZING northeast has been train travel.  I have been on a few different trips from work to personal that have allowed me to take a train.  It has been a great experience.  I wish they had offered this convenient form of transportation when I was growing up in the south.  I have to believe that it would have been more fun than those long boring car rides! Running up and down to the dining car would have been more fun than asking "are we there yet?" a hundred times.

Arriving 10 minutes before your departure time and hopping on a train is a true pleasure. I do not miss arriving at the airport 2 hours early, the security lines, and the expensive bad food at the airport.  The food on the train is still horrible but it's cheap.  Besides the cheaper food the train offers free wi-fi and some awesome views.  The best thing may be that there is no middle seat to worry about.

If you have not tried it before come on up and take a ride!

Free Delivery

Free Delivery!  It's a funny thing how you can get anything delivered in this town.  Since arriving in New York we have had all sorts of things delivered to our apartment.  For instance on a normal week my family gets our groceries and any large paper goods dropped off.

When we hosted an office party we had all of the food brought in as well as all of the beer.  I actually found a web site called BeerRightNow.Com that claims beer delivery 24/7!  The scary thing is that they actually dropped beer at my place at 8AM on the dot as promised.  Is this a good or bad thing?  I am not sure yet.  OK, it's probably a good thing!

I have made one major error by not having something delivered.  A couple months ago I decided not to pay 35 dollars to have something brought over from Manhattan but I paid another price!  Upon purchasing a large set of shelves (weighing about 75 pounds and measuring 6 feet by 3 feet) I made the poor choice of lugging it home on a small collapsable dolly.  After walking up and down about 10 flights of stairs, on and off two different subway trains and getting stares of another kind I finally made it home.  The last 5 blocks of walking made me realize that paying for delivery was not a bad thing!

When we found our kitchen chairs last week you can bet they were delivered by professionals.  Even though I am sure I could have made it!

Out for a jog?

Today was the ING New York Marathon.  We were very excited to watch the race from right in front of our building today.  It was amazing to see all of the neighbors trickle out of their homes on a chilly Sunday morning to support runners they had never met.

One of the best parts of the race had to be the bands that were set up all around the race course.  There were three near us within a 10 block radius.  It was a really festive atmosphere (at least for those of us drinking coffee on the sidelines).  For nearly four hours runners went by giving the thumbs up and sharing big smiles.  It was definitely exciting to see people out there giving it their all.

On a side note, people did not miss the chance to play in the street since it was closed until late afternoon.  There were bikers, soccer games, and of course a little baseball happening on the avenue!  Not to mention, people are still talking about how great it is that the city got EVERY piece of litter off the sidewalk and street after the race.  Sometimes the best gifts are the things that are missing!

Trick or Treat...

Everyone remembers being a kid and going trick or treating.  Roaming your neighborhood with your parents grabbing all of the candy that you can possibly carry away in an old pillowcase. Thats not how they do it in the city...

After getting your ghost, goblin, or princess into their costume it's time to head out into the city to visit  local bars, restaurants, and shops of all types. They each have a big bucket of treats and they happily greet the kids.  It is one the greatest marketing plots of all time not to mention they can write of the candy as a business expense.  Not to mention it takes away the creepy factor of what will happen at each unknown house.

Once the kids have their fill of candy its time to head off to the Halloween parade!  Not the one that you saw on Yahoo on November 1st but a true family parade.  All of the kids are encouraged to participate and the firemen pass out candy!  

As a parent, the best part was that we got to go as a family.  We didn't have to split up to greet trick or treaters coming to the apartment. Instead everyone takes to the streets.  Just another joy of living in a building!

Another great surprise!