Metis Sur Mer!

We had an excellent time away in Metis. I can't get over the beauty and appeal of such a remote place: the newspaper arrives 1-2 days late and TV is near impossible to watch. The internet can be picked up at the clubhouse and some parts of the Concessions. It's paradise.

Fun in Chicago and Ohio

I'm at the Dayton Airport now and I must say it's been a great weekend. On Saturday, we went to the Taste of Chicago and took a 6 person bike/vehicle onto the Chicago shoreline bike path. Besides my brother-in-law pedaling like a mad man, cutting people off left and right, it was a lot of fun. After we returned the bike, my sister noticed that her husband's fly was unzipped. It was particularly funny since we'd been riding this bike, attracting a lot of attention, all the while with his fly down! Upon hearing of her dad's faux pas, my oldest niece turns to her dad, in a completely nonchalant tone and said: "Dad, you better not let the animals out of the barn!" I think we all peed ourselves just a little bit.

We spent our last morning in Chicago by taking the elevator to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building. The views, as you can see from the pictures, were pretty unbelievable.

Back in Ohio, I was using the family computer and looked at the Google search history. It was entertaining to say the least. Recent searches included:
Pictures of Justin Beiber
Cute pictures of puppies and kittens
Pictures of fairies that you can find on the Internet

You get the idea.

One of my nieces was so cute and funny. She was telling me how the master bathroom's shower has 8 showerheads (crazy, I know!). She went on to tell me I should shower in it after her and her sisters take a shower... And she'd even let me take a shower alone! Oh my!

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium

First of all, I want to upload a picture of the really state of the art Chicago O'Hare Airport - isn't it perty?!


On the way to the aquarium, we stopped into the Taste of Chicago food festival. With temperatures nearing 100 degrees, no one was that tempted to eat in our group! On to Shedd Aquarium to see how best to survive this heat - underwater.

What a week!

Heading into 4th of July weekend and I'm a bit of an emotional mess...but THAT is besides the point! I had a relaxing work week with very little to no activity. I guess people were too busy testing out their bbqs in preparation for Independence Day. Taking advantage of the slower times was not difficult. I (of course) went to Chelsea Piers (again) to hit some golf balls. This isn't perfect form, but I'm getting better!



Going into a different mode now, my question of the day is: What is there other than love? We know we have to live a long life, or hope to at least, live a long life with a partner that we love dearly. Beyond that, what else do we know about this mystery person? When I was in college, my brother used to call me the ultimate idealist. I never saw it as a flaw, or as something that would ever change within me. At that point in my life, there was nothing more than love. Now - I'm not sure. There has to be more - mutual respect, family, goals, paths, dreams, achievements, faults, failings... there has to be so much more. And the fact that all of these aspects can come together and become part of one person is scary and confusing to me. It's going to be a thoughtful and hopefully clarifying weekend.

Motivation-less

Yesterday and today have marked two consecutive slow days at work, leading to my complete and total lack of motivation. This makes me wonder: what is the opposite of being motivated?

Lazy doesn't quite fit the bill since it's not that I'm doing NOTHING with my day. Nor do the words boredom, proscrastination, sluggish, slothful, idle, inert, or inactive work. The thesaurus only has four antonyms: depress, disconcert, discourage, dissuade. Again, none really touch on the lack of being motivated to work on non-work. My study to find the perfect description continues - and that, I am motivated about!

Wall Street Run

Wednesday night was the Annual Wall Street Run, sponsored by the American Heart Association. It was a beautiful, but extremely HOT night. I was just happy it didn't rain! At 91 degrees and over 10,000 runners, it was a little unbearable at times, but we pushed through!



The most beautiful moment of the night was at the very beginning, standing among hordes of strangers, and one lovely voice sang the National Anthem to a completely audience. Behind us stood the cranes hovering over Ground Zero. It truly was a sight to see.

Pictures from the Past Year

I'm getting ready to trade in my Palm Pre cell phone for a Blackberry. Part of that process involved downloading all of my images / video from my Palm onto my computer. I never realized how many photos I have on that silly little phone! Going through the past year's worth of shots, I pulled some of my favorites:

Metis, QC


Gagnon Art Gallery


What?! Gotta love store advertising


My favorite place setting ever (plates are from the 19th Century)


And, my newest NYJL committee, Pegs Closet


This morning, P and I went for a really good run along Riverside Park. The morning proved to be sunny but not too hot - great running weather all around. While I was running, I kept having this nagging reminder that I should do a five-Monday fast. I've wanted to do to this fast for quite some time, but the timing finally seemed right. All day, even though I wasn't deprived of food (I had fruit for breakfast and lunch, and a home-cooked dinner), I kept being reminded of the fast - what you can eat, when you can eat, what you can't eat... It was actually a really great feeling and a reminder that you don't need to consume anything and everything that crosses your mind. On top of that, I felt much more connected to God and a sense of spirituality. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of this enlightenment.

Fun in Chelsea

After a long day of work, I was excited to get the juices flowing with some golf at Chelsea Piers. Little did I realize how bright the driving range would be in the early summer evening. Facing West towards NJ, the sun was still high in the sky. Next time I will make sure to go at sunset to get some great pictures.

The boats at the pier - great view!:


The view from the second floor of the driving range:


Afterwards, P and I went for a walk through Chelsea Market. We really enjoyed going through all the specialty stores - The Lobster Place, Elenis, Sarabeths Bakery, Chelsea Market Baskets...the list goes on and on. The art installation throughout the market is "Fascinating Specimens" and they had a fake mustache picture frame to honor the exhibit. Great photo op!

Running in Riverside Park

I went for a lovely run this morning in Riverside Park. I put the Nike+ Ipod on a 5K routine, and let it guide my distance and time. Today I chose to run along the Hudson River. It was already hot at 9am so I am glad I am not out there now! (I'm not necessarily "glad" I'm sitting at work instead, but that's beside the point.) I didn't have a camera with me, but here's a pretty good look at my view during run. This picture is missing one thing that is very cool: boats galore. There are dozens of sail boats that dot the water in between Manhattan and Jersey, making for a jaw dropping view.



While I was running, I was thinking about relationships between people. Can we really hold someone to a standard they have never acheived within the relationship? I understand that people have standards, and we hold the people with whom with have relationships to those standards. But when you expect someone to behave in a certain way or acheive a specific expectation, is it fair to ask them of it when they've never done it before? For instance, your partner never takes out the trash... well, did they EVER take out the trash? Can you reasonably expect them to begin doing this task when you never asked for it to be done before? Now, that does seem like a "light" example. Perhaps the tougher questions would revolve around income, emotional expression, the ability to give, etc. But tying it all together - when is not ok to ask someone to acheive your new standard for them when they never had it before...

Lincoln Center, Dinner, Nic's Show, and Dog Sitting

It's been a fun, roller-coaster style week. On Monday night, I had dinner with NSB at Landmarc in Time Warner Center - love that place. Not only was the food great, but the restaurant is pretty entertaining. While we were enjoying our meal, we couldn't help but look over at the neighboring table where three elderly people were finishing their meal with dessert. They had an enormous batch of cotton candy, and two ice cream cones. We laughed at how ludicrous it looked (and how much more expensive it likely is to order those items in the restaurant rather than at a carnival). Our waitress convinced us to try dessert, and we opted for tiramisu. She generously brought us our own serving of cotton candy, though, and it was GOOD!

Afterwards, Nat and I went for a walk to Lincoln Center where they have a very neat light installation on their staircase:



Last night, Nic performed in a "straight play" (which means it is not a musical). She did a great job. The show ran for one night, but hopefully it gets extended.



The largest benefit of Nicole's show is that I got to watch the cutest little dog in the whole world, and I'm in love with her! Eloise is a Prince Charles Cavalier (to those who don't know what that is - including me - she's "Tramp" from "Lady and the Tramp"). Too cute. Too bad I didn't take any pictures of her!

Weekend Wind Up

Working all day (usually) on Sundays often leads me to wonder what day of the week I should consider a good day to "wind down"? I wonder if I got this it's-ok-to-work-7-days/week attitude from my dad. He doesn't miss a phone call to his cell and he doesn't miss an opportunity to do a deal. I can't help but wonder where it comes from. Maybe his grandfather since he was the ultimate businessman - property owner, politician, and business operator.

Mondays would be a great "lazy day" for me after a weekend of working-except everyone else is rejuvenated with go get 'em mentalities after a two day break.

Today I started off on the Upper East Side, them Upper West, Greenwich Village, Tribeca, and now Harlem. I slept for 12 hours last night but I'm EXHAUSTED. I think I need to go for a run before bed to make sure I sleep well after a mentally and physically exhausting day.

Rainy day in NYC

My sister is in town and I have had the opportunity to explore a lot of New York City that I normally would not, being "without child", and all. Today we started off the day on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library. The library was having a kids' event hosted by Target. This, by the way, is the perfect opportunity for parents to dump their 5 & older aged kids on the steps of a museum surrounded by highway-like traffic for an hour while they tap away on cell phones and blackberrys. Genius, Target. Sheer Genius.

After compiling an impressive amount of free red and white covered coloring books and crayons, we headed to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Spoiler Alert: there are nude statues littering the entrance to this museum. This fact makes it, of course, a great opportunity to speak to your 3, 5, & 7 year old nieces about the human anatomy. Lovely.

The afternoon treat on this already long (yet-it's-only-3pm) day was the Brooklyn Children's Museum. I was so tempted to join all the kids on this final adventure...but work was calling. And surprisingly, the call of work was LOUDER than the shrieking children, dancing in delight over what I am sure was a fun time.

Tomorrow? We conquer Canal Street!

The New York Times Building

I had an apartment closing today in the brand-spanking-new "New York Times" building located in the heart of Times Square. This experience paired perfectly with my evening activity: (insert shock value here) a DOUBLE DECKER BUS TOUR. With my sister in town, I had the opportunity to indulge my touristy side and hop on board City Sites NY bus tours. They explained a lot of things about NY (where to "x" and how to "y") -but one of the more interesting facts is that "Times Square" is named after The New York Times. The NY Times building is un-freaking-believable. From the moment you stand in front of it, you know it's unlike anything else. The lobby is immaculate with clean lines and design. After going through security, the elevator ride is nothing less than a true experience. There are no buttons in the actual elevator. There is an elevator button pad in the lobby. I pressed "32" for the floor I was going to, and a screen flashed up stating "go to Elevator K". I walked to the elevator labeled K and was immediately taken from the ground floor to the 32nd floor in less than a minute. It was absolutely amazing.
Here's the view:



A view from the Double Decker Bus (going over the Brooklyn Bridge). Blurry, but you get the idea:

Front Page of the Financial Post!

This has been an exciting 2 days - P made the front page of the business section of the Canadian newspaper, The Financial Post. Sounds like I'm qualifying this moment a lot: front page, Canadian, newspaper, name of paper, etc. The reality is - it's A HUGE DEAL! He was also invited to speak on tv, but declined. Here's a page of the article...



Go P!

Chelsea Piers

Chelsea Piers


Chelsea Piers from the boardwalk

About a month ago, I took a group golf lesson at The Golf Academy of Chelsea Piers. We spent about 45 minutes of the class indoors, learning general terminology (putting green, fairway, and other stuff I don't really remember!). We also learned the difference between a 5 iron and a 7 iron (the lower the number, the further the ball should go). After the tutorial, we went outside and hit golf balls from the 3rd floor of their driving range. The views were amazing! I'm officially addicted to the golfing at Chelsea Piers. It's by far one of the easiest activities: you show up, pay for a ball card, pay for a club and go out to hit. Couldn't be simpler.

Ups and Downs Over an Hour

Already a mixed day of emotional ups and downs and "oh, New York!" moments. To start on a sad note, I came down into the subway station to find the front page of the Post revealing the untimely death of a friend's brother. The total sadness I feel for her family is almost too much to imagine. I know they are a very close family and this can be anything short of total devastation for them. My thoughts and prayers go out to them. Caught up in that thought, I mindlessly got on the train, and had to stand for two stops. As the train started to clear out at the express stop at 96th Street, a sole seat opened up next to an older man in a WVU t-shirt. I smiled at him, took the headphones out of my ears and asked him if he was from West Virginia. John's dad was from Beckley (which I have a strong familial connection to). The conversation weaved around WV and its many beautiful attributes and random other topics John disjointedly threw in. John got off the train with the parting words: "did you kow it rains almost every other year on the day of Columbia's graduation?" I shook my head no, smiled and put my headphones back on.

Little Italy Festival

I met up with my parents on Canal Street on Friday evening. They were looking for jewelry and I was amazed to see this part of town reintroduced to me through their eyes. They knew many of the shop owners, and while I have never once walked into these stores, I now see what great jewelry they have to offer. Afterwards I led them through the winding streets of Chinatown and took them under the big green awning of the Saigon Bakery on Mott Street for one of their famous Bahn Mi sandwiches.



My father can be a man of few words at times but when I asked him if it was the best sandwich he'd ever had, he said "yes". Success! On my tour guide kick, I then took them through Chinatown over to Little Italy. There was a festival going on, and we loved walking through it, sampling gelato and taking in the sights and sounds. One savvy restaurant owner saw us walk by and addressed mom, offering her a wide selection of "vegetarian options" served at his restaurant. We just laughed and moved on. Definitely a fun time.

Adventures in Cab Land!

N and I were going to dinner a few nights ago when we hit major traffic going into midtown. Our cab driver daftly shifted lanes, but it didn't help much and we were still moving slowly. We were so engrossed in conversation, when we looked out the window, we realized we were right behind a cab with their trunk open. I immediately ask N if I should hop out in this almost stand still traffic to close it for him. She notes his hood is also popped open, "so probably not". Then N says, "Are we PUSHING that cab into a spot?" I thought she was nuts, and laughed to the point of tears, only to realize that we were pushing the cab!



Talk about a good samaritan cab driver. The funniest part was, you can see the cab driver about to wave his hand to block my shot - he thought I was going to report him - oy!

A day on the farm

Even though the sun is shining outside, it doesn't mean it's time to make hay...

From the time that first customer (apartment buyer) came into the door, he had no interest in being there. He had a British accent, which when used to speak nonchalantly about a topic comes across as though he were about to vomit at the simple thought of having to even discuss it. He wore skinny black jeans which positively had to be sewn for him to mold so perfectly to his shockingly thin frame. With long, tiered bangs softly sweeping his structures cheek bones, you cold almost see how he can seem attractive to his mate. His girlfriend was a pretty blonde with exceptionally pale skin. She was polite - and probably sounded more polite than she actually is solely due to her perfect London English accent. She tended to agree with him although her general aura was of pleasure (and not the disgust he insisted on conveying).

They were to look at two million dollar homes. By most standards, these flats are glorified (amd expensive) walk-in closets. In Manhattan, this is luxury at it's highest level.

Although he was incredibly weathly (which by default dictates importance to most in NYC) he had all the time in the world. He looked at 13 of our condos - priced from a mere $2M to as much as $10M. The entire time, it was neve clear what he could afford and what was very out of reach. He did tell me he like my nail polish though.

It just takes a little bit

Even though the sun is shining outside, it doesn't mean it's time to make hay...

From the time that first customer (apartment buyer) came into the door, he had no interest in being there. He had a British accent, which when used to speak nonchalantly about a topic comes across as though he were about to vomit at the simple thought of having to even discuss it. He wore skinny black jeans which were positively sewn onto him in order to mold so perfectly to his shockingly thin frame. With long, tiered bangs softly sweeping his structured cheek bones, you could almost see how he may seem attractive to his mate. His girlfriend was a pretty blonde with exceptionally pale skin. She was polite - and probably sounded more polite than she actually is solely due to her perfect London English accent. She tended to agree with him although her general aura was of pleasure (and not the disgust he insisted on conveying).

They were there to look at two million dollar homes. By most standards, these flats are glorified (and expensive) walk-in closets. In Manhattan, this is luxury at it's highest level.

Although he was incredibly weathly (which by default dictates importance to most in NYC) he had all the time in the world. He looked at 13 of our condos - priced from a mere $2M to as much as $10M. The entire time, it was never clear what he could afford and what was very out of reach. He did tell me he like my nail polish though. I decided I liked him from that moment forward.

Is it Wrong to Like Adam Lambert?

So, I've never been the type of person who likes the latest fad. Actually, I am the type of person who likes it pretty far down the road, after everyone is done with the fad...I finally pick it up. Mr P always says pleated shorts are going to come back into style. Now I know why we get along.

I started watching American Idol last season - right before the Adam Lambert mania began. I was there for the start of it, and I have to admit, I joined the fad! I was not cool before, but beginning to think I'm even less cool now...

Work day woes

I often wonder what people who work "9-5" jobs do before 9 and after 5...and more importantly, on the weekends. I imagine they are masters of so many trades such as hiking, home repairs, English Lit...And I bet their homes are absolutely immaculate: there's not a dust ball in sight, or any lint on the carpet. All the laundry is always done, because, what else are you going to do before 9 or after 5?

Working 7 days a week gives me such a great excuse to not be good at anything. Scary.

May 4, 2010 - The Most Random Day Ever

It started out pretty normal...and by normal, I mean, I woke up a little too late to get to work on time, and the biggest decision I had to make was whether or not to shower. I went with no shower (not cute, I know) before heading to the subway. Of course, it's 8:30am on a Tuesday, the heart of the rush hour, and the following subway intercom announcement comes on: "due to a medical emergency at 137th Street, the 1 train is running on the express track." The best part of this message was that the real human being saying it was so incredibly nonchalantly. How dare he pretend that he was not making at least 100 people on that single platform late for work? And, out of those 100 people, he was cavalier about how at least a few would likely be fired over this tardiness. Before I rushed off to find a cab, I chose a few firing candidates - on-time for work or not, these few are never going to keep their jobs based on sheer first impressions.

After leaving the subway station, I was lucky enough to share a cab with a lovely woman. She and I battled for the 14 blocks we rode together - I wanted to give her $5 and she wanted $2, if any money at all. She was in a rush to get to her gym class. She's a stay at home mom. I felt a tinge of jealousy, thinking of all the things that meant: 1. she's married. 2. she's got at least one kid. 3. she's got enough money to be married with a kid on the upper west side. 4. she's got enough money to not work and take a cab to the gym. 5. no wonder she's nice - read items 1-4.

I surprised myself at how determined I was to get to work on time. Once there, I only hated about 6 people throughout the workday, which made me feel better about myself and my attitude. Self evaluation is an amazing thing!