I have favorite things about the city at Christmas-time:
The sidewalks are clogged with vendors selling Christmas trees and boughs. Makeshift wooden frames keep the trees upright and wreaths are also stacked like donuts on the sidewalk. In the Village last week, a French girl sold me four boughs from a stack for "az much az you'd like to pay." (I payed three bucks.)
There is no doubt that the windows at Macy's and Rockefeller Center are tourist havens, but is there anything so quintessential? There is a reason that we go back every year to see the sights. It's comforting, even in the harshest winter winds.
The platform for the altar at Queen of All Saints is decorated with 14 evergreen trees, each at least eight feet tall. The servers look like they could start a snowball fight at any time, taking cover behind the boughs and peeking out while waiting for Monsigneur to shout "GO!"
The first snows make the city quiet and magical. On our street, children slide along, pushing themselves on old cardboard boxes. Before it all melts to slush, there is a layer of downy white on every stoop. With the first snow, delivery boys from take-out restaurants put on yellow slickers and wrap their heavy chain-link bike locks around their waist and ride their bikes through the snow delivering dinner to all the lazy New Yorkers who are doing their best to watch the delights from behind glass. I tipped five bucks for a twelve dollar pizza.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
My Random Top Ten List for 2008
Please note: This list is only in regards to living in NYC. There are certain things that supercede this (birth of child, getting signed by an agency, international debut, etc.).
10. Arthur Avenue- the Bronx. Our first trip to the Bronx was a blast. We ate a family style meal at a Dominick's Restaurant (it was good, not great) but we got to tour the "other Little Italy" with some of our favorite friends on a beautiful day. Not a bad way to begin exploring the most distant borough!
9. The Man-moon. Prior to the birth of our little girl, I had a chance to have a weekend hanging with one of my best friends from high school. On one evening we hit The Alligator for free pizza, Barcade- my favorite bar in the whole city, Union Pool for tacos from a truck and a night cap at Soda. Another night was spent drinking small batch bourbon, scotch and whiskey at Char No. 4. Nestle all that between two slices of gaming on the wii and you get yourself a great pre-baby-weekend-of-fun sandwich.
8. The Brooklyn Public Library System. For great service and a giant selection, go somewhere else. If you want to find the latest NY Times Bestseller list with very little wait, this is where to go. The service is uninspired at best, hostile at its worst.
7. The New York Public Library System. For giant selection with only a little bit of inconvenience, this is the spot. I've been having trysts with the Fine Arts Collection at Lincoln Center. This is the only library system where I can go to the branch by my office and pick up a copy of The Rake's Progress and Batman- Arkham Asylum. If you want a NY times bestseller and don't mind being hold number 845 out of 1,232 then use the NYPL, otherwise, see #8.
6. Metro North. Kitty's birthday celebration involved hopping the train to Cold Springs and traveling in the most civilized fashion upstate. We enjoyed a hike along the Hudson that went through an old stone house that was abandoned and ruined. Oh... and she did it while 6 months pregnant. That's my tough-as-nails wife! Lunch was startlingly good at the Foundry Cafe.
5. NY Comic Con. This year I went all out and got a weekend pass. Like eating 7 pounds of expensive cheese, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back to back or drinking a whole bottle of Veuve, sometimes too much is too much. This year I'm getting a ticket for Friday only. Everything in moderation.
4. The Business of Being Born. Never has a documentary so directly affected my life.
3. New York Magazine. Never has a magazine so directly affected my life.
2. The Wii. Nothing beats spending some time playing the vids and now Kitty joins in for competitive Tennis. She also has a circuit training course for me that includes Wii Boxing, crunches and pushups. After all that, I've been enjoying Super Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes and playing Medal of Honor Heroes 2 online against real life people.
1. Prosperity Dumplings. Prosperity Dumplings. Prosperity Dumplings. Never has a dumpling so directly affected my life.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
I've seen fire and I've seen rain.
With a baby on the way, Kitty and I have made a pledge not to make any plans. Really, what's the point when anything could happen at any moment. Our rational is this: Hang out together, get lots of rest, watch a bit of tv, play some WiiSports and try not to get in too much trouble. After all, the next 20 years will be a sleepless, insane mess, right? (or not, perhaps)
The Water Breaks
As it turns out, water broke last Saturday night. I walked in as Kitty was reading in bed. "Does the ceiling look a little odd to you?" she asked.
I had been upstairs talking with Ms. C, our landlord, chatting about the fun of planning and how Kitty and I were making the most (or perhaps the least) out of these last few days.
Now I looked at the ceiling- puzzled and a little bemused. I pulled a chair up and poked the ceiling. It caved damply under the pressure of my finger. "Crap." I said, as I stood on the chair.
Back up the outside stairs to Ms. C's house I raced. She was surprised at a second visit so quickly and it was getting late. As her eyes got large, she said, "Let me call my brother."
Let's all keep in mind that here in NYC, water is a both a trusted companion and a feared enemy. If a pipe bursts, it can cause millions of dollars of damage to not only your apartment, but every apartment below. An overflowed tub can cause rifts for generations. Children stop playing with "negligent" neighbors. Lawsuits are filed. Decorators cheer. Years later, teenagers will fall tragically in love across these battle lines and only their mutual suicides will bring the families back together.
Luckily, Ms. C's brother figured out that it was only a leaky radiator valve. The water dried, he replaced the ceiling drywall the next day and this evening I'm putting on the last coat of paint.
Crisis averted and the Spud is 85% less likely to avoid an untimely Romeo/Juliet demise.
It always could be worse.
On Monday I was sitting at my desk at the office. My cell rings and I see it is The Cantor, my best friend from college. I can't imagine why an esteemed member of the Hebrew Nation would be calling me mid-day so I took the call. The Cantor lives with his family on the Upper East Side near the Temple where he serves. He has a doorman and some might say he has a "dee-lux apartment in the sky."
"Hey, man, I'm sitting in a coffee shop right now and I thought I'd give you a call."
"We'll what's new?" I asked.
"Well, I'm waiting for a tow truck to pick up my car. Somebody set it on fire last night."
"HEY-SUS!" I exclaimed. (He doesn't mind so much, being Jewish and all) "Is everything OK? Did anyone get hurt?"
"No. It happened in the middle of the night. I came out to switch sides for street parking and there was the burned out shell of my car. I guess it went up at about 2 a.m. and the firetrucks were here and everything."
He certainly sounded calmer than I would have been. I decided not to worry him with my little tale of woe.
The Water Breaks
As it turns out, water broke last Saturday night. I walked in as Kitty was reading in bed. "Does the ceiling look a little odd to you?" she asked.
I had been upstairs talking with Ms. C, our landlord, chatting about the fun of planning and how Kitty and I were making the most (or perhaps the least) out of these last few days.
Now I looked at the ceiling- puzzled and a little bemused. I pulled a chair up and poked the ceiling. It caved damply under the pressure of my finger. "Crap." I said, as I stood on the chair.
Back up the outside stairs to Ms. C's house I raced. She was surprised at a second visit so quickly and it was getting late. As her eyes got large, she said, "Let me call my brother."
Let's all keep in mind that here in NYC, water is a both a trusted companion and a feared enemy. If a pipe bursts, it can cause millions of dollars of damage to not only your apartment, but every apartment below. An overflowed tub can cause rifts for generations. Children stop playing with "negligent" neighbors. Lawsuits are filed. Decorators cheer. Years later, teenagers will fall tragically in love across these battle lines and only their mutual suicides will bring the families back together.
Luckily, Ms. C's brother figured out that it was only a leaky radiator valve. The water dried, he replaced the ceiling drywall the next day and this evening I'm putting on the last coat of paint.
Crisis averted and the Spud is 85% less likely to avoid an untimely Romeo/Juliet demise.
It always could be worse.
On Monday I was sitting at my desk at the office. My cell rings and I see it is The Cantor, my best friend from college. I can't imagine why an esteemed member of the Hebrew Nation would be calling me mid-day so I took the call. The Cantor lives with his family on the Upper East Side near the Temple where he serves. He has a doorman and some might say he has a "dee-lux apartment in the sky."
"Hey, man, I'm sitting in a coffee shop right now and I thought I'd give you a call."
"We'll what's new?" I asked.
"Well, I'm waiting for a tow truck to pick up my car. Somebody set it on fire last night."
"HEY-SUS!" I exclaimed. (He doesn't mind so much, being Jewish and all) "Is everything OK? Did anyone get hurt?"
"No. It happened in the middle of the night. I came out to switch sides for street parking and there was the burned out shell of my car. I guess it went up at about 2 a.m. and the firetrucks were here and everything."
He certainly sounded calmer than I would have been. I decided not to worry him with my little tale of woe.
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