So. We're back.
We spent a couple of days in Paris. We spent one week visiting my family.
It's always good to see family.
My grandmother was glad to see us. She really likes Jon who learned to speak quite a bit more French than the first and second times we visited.
I already miss them. They are the nicest people you could want for family.
I always hate leaving them yet I always find it comforting to be home; to be back in our own bed.
Pictures will follow, most likely on Facebook.
May 28, 2009
May 19, 2009
We Are in Paris
We arrived yesterday in Paris. We saw the Luxembourg Gardens. We're staying right near by. I took pictures but accidentally erased all of them this morning.
Today we went to the Musee D'Orsay. And I got my fill of great art. Tonight, we're going to see the Eiffel Tower. And then tomrrow, we're headed up north to see my family.
Today we went to the Musee D'Orsay. And I got my fill of great art. Tonight, we're going to see the Eiffel Tower. And then tomrrow, we're headed up north to see my family.
May 15, 2009
Star Trek
Jon took me to see the new Star Trek film.
It did not disappoint. JJ Abrams seemed to go out of his way to get the Star Trek lore accurate and what wasn't could be explained away by one of the premises of the film.
I'll wait until more people have seen it before I start in on the spoilers. It's still a little too new.
I will say this. The casting is great - especially for McCoy. The story is great. The Leonard Nimoy cameo was well thought out and worked well within the context of the story. The special effects are terrific.
Look for the guy in the red shirt.
It did not disappoint. JJ Abrams seemed to go out of his way to get the Star Trek lore accurate and what wasn't could be explained away by one of the premises of the film.
I'll wait until more people have seen it before I start in on the spoilers. It's still a little too new.
I will say this. The casting is great - especially for McCoy. The story is great. The Leonard Nimoy cameo was well thought out and worked well within the context of the story. The special effects are terrific.
Look for the guy in the red shirt.
May 13, 2009
A Change
I've been playing with the idea of changing the blog around. You may have noticed it looks a little different. I guess I'm sick of all the searches for Willie Aames; the book cover for the first Tarzan book; Superman and Lois and all the searches for any TV show I've written about particularly the episode of the Sopranos where Tony kills Christopher. Those four subjects are what brings the most people to this site.
Now if you come here, I'm pretty sure you're coming here because you know me and you are interested in seeing what I'm up to.
Here's what I've been up to.
Sunday
Jon and I went to my parents' house. My parents were watching my niece and nephew for my brother and his wife who are renovating their new house. It was a fun day. My niece is just the cutest two year old ever. My nephew is five years old now and he speaks in complete sentences. He's even reading already. So smart.
My nephew and I spent some nice time together. We watched Feivel Goes West on VHS. I noticed for the first time that voices were provided by Dom Deluise and Jimmy Stewart. Of course I haven't seen the movie in forever. We also worked together in the garden. I taught him how to identify and pull wild onions out of the ground.
My niece adores Jon and pronounces his name perfectly. My name has always been challenging for little children. She pronounces it Va-ee.
Later in the day, my brother and sister-in-law met us at my parents' house and we all had dinner together.
Monday
Jon and I spent a good day together doing lots of things we enjoy. First we went bike riding. Then we went for a walk. Then we worked in the garden (which at this means pulling weeds still) and then we attended a Monday night trivia game at Shades of Green. Our team won (as if you had to ask).
Tuesday
Last night I worked at a show which will remain nameless for now. I handed out a whole lot of headsets. Only two people complained. They sat in the only two seats where the headsets weren't working. Those two people were offered a solution by the house manager who gave them different seats but they chose to leave anyway. The play ran longer than advertised and even though it started at 7pm, I didn't get home until after 11. It was a long night.
Today we are planning on getting a product called Preen which stops new plants from germinating and should take care of our reoccurring weed problem. Once we put that into the ground, we won't be able to grow plants from seed but we will be able to put in plants that have already been established.
Have a nice day.
Now if you come here, I'm pretty sure you're coming here because you know me and you are interested in seeing what I'm up to.
Here's what I've been up to.
Sunday
Jon and I went to my parents' house. My parents were watching my niece and nephew for my brother and his wife who are renovating their new house. It was a fun day. My niece is just the cutest two year old ever. My nephew is five years old now and he speaks in complete sentences. He's even reading already. So smart.
My nephew and I spent some nice time together. We watched Feivel Goes West on VHS. I noticed for the first time that voices were provided by Dom Deluise and Jimmy Stewart. Of course I haven't seen the movie in forever. We also worked together in the garden. I taught him how to identify and pull wild onions out of the ground.
My niece adores Jon and pronounces his name perfectly. My name has always been challenging for little children. She pronounces it Va-ee.
Later in the day, my brother and sister-in-law met us at my parents' house and we all had dinner together.
Monday
Jon and I spent a good day together doing lots of things we enjoy. First we went bike riding. Then we went for a walk. Then we worked in the garden (which at this means pulling weeds still) and then we attended a Monday night trivia game at Shades of Green. Our team won (as if you had to ask).
Tuesday
Last night I worked at a show which will remain nameless for now. I handed out a whole lot of headsets. Only two people complained. They sat in the only two seats where the headsets weren't working. Those two people were offered a solution by the house manager who gave them different seats but they chose to leave anyway. The play ran longer than advertised and even though it started at 7pm, I didn't get home until after 11. It was a long night.
Today we are planning on getting a product called Preen which stops new plants from germinating and should take care of our reoccurring weed problem. Once we put that into the ground, we won't be able to grow plants from seed but we will be able to put in plants that have already been established.
Have a nice day.
May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
For my mother, mother-in-law, my aunts and aunts-in-law, my grandma in France, my cousins and cousins-in-law and my sister-in-law.
For all the mothers celebrating their first mother's days.
To all the women who wish to be mothers.
To all the women who have been adopted as mothers by younger friends.
Happy Mother's Day!!!!
For all the mothers celebrating their first mother's days.
To all the women who wish to be mothers.
To all the women who have been adopted as mothers by younger friends.
Happy Mother's Day!!!!
May 09, 2009
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
I just saw Phillip Seymour Hoffman - the second time this month. He was trying to get a taxi in midtown and he wasn't having any luck. That makes me feel a little better knowing that even celebrities have trouble getting cabs. The first time I saw him was at West Side Story. He asked me where his seat was and I told him as much as I loved to help him, I didn't know where his seat was.
He seemed like a good guy. I don't think people realize what a big star he is because he was incredibly unencumbered by fans. I understand if people don't recognize him from his theater work or the smaller films he's done but he was Mission Impossible III, which I've never seen, but that was a huge movie.
He seemed like a good guy. I don't think people realize what a big star he is because he was incredibly unencumbered by fans. I understand if people don't recognize him from his theater work or the smaller films he's done but he was Mission Impossible III, which I've never seen, but that was a huge movie.
April 29, 2009
Spring Cold or Swine Flue
I managed to remain cold free the entire winter so it makes sense that as soon as the weather started turning nice, I would catch a cold. A week ago Sunday night, I developed a tickle in my throat and the rest is history. I was congested all last week.
This week the congestion is coming and going but now I'm coughing. For me, coughing signals a cold on its way out. So hopefully, I won't have this cold too much longer.
Today is a congested day.
This week the congestion is coming and going but now I'm coughing. For me, coughing signals a cold on its way out. So hopefully, I won't have this cold too much longer.
Today is a congested day.
April 18, 2009
Moderated Comments
Has anyone else been getting excessively spammed in their comment section?
I was. So now, I'm using Blogger's Comment Moderation function.
I apologize for this because I know it kills the spontaneity of leaving comments but I was getting really tired of the spam.
I was. So now, I'm using Blogger's Comment Moderation function.
I apologize for this because I know it kills the spontaneity of leaving comments but I was getting really tired of the spam.
April 15, 2009
West Side Story
This week I'm working at West Side Story. Last night was my first night there.
It's very good.
The Spanish speaking characters speak Spanish to each other. This is difficult to understand but makes perfect sense, that when alone, people who speak Spanish would not speak English with an accent but acutally converse in their native tongue.
Karen Olivo plays Anita. I am a big fan of hers. She dances great. She has a great sense of humor. And she's really good at combining acting with singing. She's the whole package and she's a lot of fun to watch. She originated the role of Vanessa in "In the Heights" where I first saw her.
Last night's show featured the understudies in the leading roles but if I hadn't known that I wouldn't have been disappointed. But I am looking forward to seeing the regular leads.
The dancing is spectacular. The sets are minimal. The performances are consistently great. The music is tremendous and the orchestrations are emotionally charged.
My only point of reference is a performance of West Side Story at Hofstra University, that I saw many, many years ago, by the Grey Wig theater group. As enjoyable as that was, it was not a Broadway production. It wouldn't be fair to compare.
If you were to ask me if this production was worth the full ticket price, I would have to advise you that West Side Story is definitely worth it.
Note: My favorite number in West Side Story is the "A Boy Like That" duet with Anita and Maria. Last night, I cried because it was so moving. The actresses were that good.
It's very good.
The Spanish speaking characters speak Spanish to each other. This is difficult to understand but makes perfect sense, that when alone, people who speak Spanish would not speak English with an accent but acutally converse in their native tongue.
Karen Olivo plays Anita. I am a big fan of hers. She dances great. She has a great sense of humor. And she's really good at combining acting with singing. She's the whole package and she's a lot of fun to watch. She originated the role of Vanessa in "In the Heights" where I first saw her.
Last night's show featured the understudies in the leading roles but if I hadn't known that I wouldn't have been disappointed. But I am looking forward to seeing the regular leads.
The dancing is spectacular. The sets are minimal. The performances are consistently great. The music is tremendous and the orchestrations are emotionally charged.
My only point of reference is a performance of West Side Story at Hofstra University, that I saw many, many years ago, by the Grey Wig theater group. As enjoyable as that was, it was not a Broadway production. It wouldn't be fair to compare.
If you were to ask me if this production was worth the full ticket price, I would have to advise you that West Side Story is definitely worth it.
Note: My favorite number in West Side Story is the "A Boy Like That" duet with Anita and Maria. Last night, I cried because it was so moving. The actresses were that good.
April 14, 2009
Home At Last
It's nice to finally feel at home in my home.
It's so quiet in here right now. All I hear is the hum of my computer's harddrive, reminding me that I should probably blow some air in there to make sure the fans don't get clogged up.
Normally, this time of day in our last apartment, the children's grandmother from upstairs would be returning with her charges in a flurry of noisy activity. Today, at the same time, I heard the guy upstairs walk on a squeaky floor board. The floor board squeaked once. Maybe, I heard him talking on his phone but that was so faint, I can't even be sure the noise came from him. Maybe it was television.
I've been sleeping later and later every day - except for Sunday to Monday. In the wee hours of Monday, I woke up and had to lull myself back to sleep on the couch with the help of the distracting television. The brief attack of insomnia could have been brought on by the impending interview I had later in the morning - or it could have just been a random attack as happens when you have problems with sleep.
The interview went so well that I came across as overqualified for the position. No need spending the energy on describing to you this job which I wasn't sure about anyway because I'm not getting it.
Besides, tomorrow I have a second interview for a job I'm seriously considering. It's a phone interview. I have to call in at 2pm. It makes sense, since most of the job will be spent talking on the phone.
It's so quiet in here right now. All I hear is the hum of my computer's harddrive, reminding me that I should probably blow some air in there to make sure the fans don't get clogged up.
Normally, this time of day in our last apartment, the children's grandmother from upstairs would be returning with her charges in a flurry of noisy activity. Today, at the same time, I heard the guy upstairs walk on a squeaky floor board. The floor board squeaked once. Maybe, I heard him talking on his phone but that was so faint, I can't even be sure the noise came from him. Maybe it was television.
I've been sleeping later and later every day - except for Sunday to Monday. In the wee hours of Monday, I woke up and had to lull myself back to sleep on the couch with the help of the distracting television. The brief attack of insomnia could have been brought on by the impending interview I had later in the morning - or it could have just been a random attack as happens when you have problems with sleep.
The interview went so well that I came across as overqualified for the position. No need spending the energy on describing to you this job which I wasn't sure about anyway because I'm not getting it.
Besides, tomorrow I have a second interview for a job I'm seriously considering. It's a phone interview. I have to call in at 2pm. It makes sense, since most of the job will be spent talking on the phone.
April 11, 2009
Weekending - April 10, 2009
This was a somewhat busy week.
Monday night, as I mentioned before, Jon hosted a trivia game. I played on a team with my friend Kory and his girlfriend. We came in third place out of four teams. Not my best showing at trivia, but then again my most knowlegeable teammate was hosting the game and couldn't play with me.
The rest of the week:
Tuesday, I ran errands in Astoria, using the bus system which takes a lot of time but does get you where you need to go. One of those errands was finding a hand rake so I could do some gardening in the front yard. At this point, gardening involved cleaning up leaf litter. Tuesday I spent an hour gathering my third bag. The front yard is starting to look better but still needs a lot of cleanup.
Wednesday I dedicated to Passover at my parents' house in Long Beach. I got there early in the day so I could help my mother and we worked together to create a successful Seder. For me, the preparation is the best part - especially when you have somebody with you.
Thursday, my mother dedicated to helping Jon and me with our window treatments. This involved a lot of driving around. My mom and I went to Home Depot, spent some time getting blinds for our windows. She and I hung the blinds, then we hung a curtain, then we went to Staples so I could print out multiple copies of my resume for Friday's interview. She was with me the whole day. She's a good mom.
Friday, I dedicated to my job interview. Even though it was at 11:30, I left the whole day open for it because you never know if you're going to get that second interview on the same day. But it wasn't necessary because the interview went quickly. And I still got the second interview. Yay! That is scheduled for this coming Wednesday. After the interview, I came home just in time for Time Warner Cable's 5th visit to our house. Jon and the technician finally found a solution for frequent and annoying internet outages. Last night, I was incredibly bored which coincided with being incredibly tired so. It worked out.
Today, I've already done laundry. I woke up at 7 to do it and wouldn't you know it? By 7:30 the laundry was already crowded. Amazing since it opens at 7.
And now I've blogged.
Next on the list is ironing, Facebook and a shift of work tonight.
Monday night, as I mentioned before, Jon hosted a trivia game. I played on a team with my friend Kory and his girlfriend. We came in third place out of four teams. Not my best showing at trivia, but then again my most knowlegeable teammate was hosting the game and couldn't play with me.
The rest of the week:
Tuesday, I ran errands in Astoria, using the bus system which takes a lot of time but does get you where you need to go. One of those errands was finding a hand rake so I could do some gardening in the front yard. At this point, gardening involved cleaning up leaf litter. Tuesday I spent an hour gathering my third bag. The front yard is starting to look better but still needs a lot of cleanup.
Wednesday I dedicated to Passover at my parents' house in Long Beach. I got there early in the day so I could help my mother and we worked together to create a successful Seder. For me, the preparation is the best part - especially when you have somebody with you.
Thursday, my mother dedicated to helping Jon and me with our window treatments. This involved a lot of driving around. My mom and I went to Home Depot, spent some time getting blinds for our windows. She and I hung the blinds, then we hung a curtain, then we went to Staples so I could print out multiple copies of my resume for Friday's interview. She was with me the whole day. She's a good mom.
Friday, I dedicated to my job interview. Even though it was at 11:30, I left the whole day open for it because you never know if you're going to get that second interview on the same day. But it wasn't necessary because the interview went quickly. And I still got the second interview. Yay! That is scheduled for this coming Wednesday. After the interview, I came home just in time for Time Warner Cable's 5th visit to our house. Jon and the technician finally found a solution for frequent and annoying internet outages. Last night, I was incredibly bored which coincided with being incredibly tired so. It worked out.
Today, I've already done laundry. I woke up at 7 to do it and wouldn't you know it? By 7:30 the laundry was already crowded. Amazing since it opens at 7.
And now I've blogged.
Next on the list is ironing, Facebook and a shift of work tonight.
April 07, 2009
Shades of Green - Monday Night Trivia
Jon led one of 5 rounds at Shades of Green's Monday night trivia. Tony Hightower led the other four.
Both men did a great job.
My team came in third place. Our team name was "Birthday of a Nation" because one of our team members was celebrating his birthday.
Fun was had by all.
Both men did a great job.
My team came in third place. Our team name was "Birthday of a Nation" because one of our team members was celebrating his birthday.
Fun was had by all.
April 05, 2009
Creativity Returns
Moving out of our old apartment has improved my spirits. Improved spirits means writing on a regular basis can resume!! Depression can be so pervasive. I was depressed living in that old apartment. And when I am depressed I cease participating in activities that I find enjoyable. I should have known I was that depressed but I didn't until now. I just didn't feel like writing because all I could think of writing about was how unhappy I was. Of course, now I seem to be devoting hundreds of words, blogpost after blogpost, to my previous sadness.
But it's therapeutic.
And I might write a few more posts about it.
And I might write a few preachy posts about taking responsibility for your happiness, because Jon and I did that when we moved.
If you are unhappy in a situation - truly, deeply unhappy - to the point where it is effecting your life in a negative way, you are responsible to get yourself out of it or to change things. It's hard but that's what it means to take care of yourself, to work on yourself.
But it's therapeutic.
And I might write a few more posts about it.
And I might write a few preachy posts about taking responsibility for your happiness, because Jon and I did that when we moved.
If you are unhappy in a situation - truly, deeply unhappy - to the point where it is effecting your life in a negative way, you are responsible to get yourself out of it or to change things. It's hard but that's what it means to take care of yourself, to work on yourself.
April 04, 2009
Shades of Green - Monday Night Trivia
Our friend Tony started a new pub quiz at Shades of Green in New York City. It's on 15th Street and Irving Place.
Jon is hosting with Tony and it should be good. Although I know Jon's category, he's not telling me what he's doing so I'm completely in the dark. Meaning, I can play on your team but you won't have an advantage. It's not cheating. Or if I play on your team, I could sit out Jon's round.
Anyway, just go and have some fun.
Shades of Green - 9 p.m.
Jon is hosting with Tony and it should be good. Although I know Jon's category, he's not telling me what he's doing so I'm completely in the dark. Meaning, I can play on your team but you won't have an advantage. It's not cheating. Or if I play on your team, I could sit out Jon's round.
Anyway, just go and have some fun.
Shades of Green - 9 p.m.
There's No Place Like Home
I'm finally starting to feel comfortable in our new place. The old apartment is becoming a distant memory. Sleeping late is not coming naturally yet. I'm still on the schedule kept by the children of our previous upstairs neighbours. I wake up one minute before they do, expecting to hear the two year old falling down and crying or the four year old running and then jumping into his parents' bed. I'm conditioned in the same way I used to be when the alarm clock woke me every morning for my office job. One minute before the alarm clock would go off, I would wake up expecting it to ring.
There's nothing to wake me now except the expectation of something that is no longer going to happen, so hopefully, I'll make the appropriate adjustments and learn to sleep late once again.
With that said, I feel more relaxed than I have since before we moved into the "nightmare apartment". We only lived there 10 months but they were 10 long months, the last five of which were particularly hard.
Every day at 1 p.m., our downstairs neighbour would come home and start shouting at his wife or into his cell phone. Every morning, I could hear the two of them starting there day off on the wrong foot, always angry words and doors slamming. And when they had company, it used to sound like they were visiting in our living room, they were so loud. They also had an obnoxious habit of watching the same homemade video at the same time every day, loud enough that I could hear their recorded family members talking in a language that sounded like Greek. And they hated us. They were always banging on their ceiling because we walked too loudly. I'm still walking toe-heel, toe-heel to keep my footsteps quiet.
Every night, our first next door neighbour would have people over to watch her very sophisticated HD television with those speakers that can be placed anywhere but hers were placed against our shared wall. When her and her friends cranked that thing up, it sounded like they were watching TV in our apartment. And I would complain like the nerd that I am. But hey, we weren't living in a college dorm. It was an apartment building with rules about not make loud noises after 11 p.m. She ended up moving back to Chicago because she lost her job. She also ended up being the least of our problems in the end. She ended up spending a lot of time at her boyfriend's house. The noises that used to eminate from her place, disappeared.
Every day, our other next door neighbour would smoke copious amounts of pot - enough to stink up the entrance way to our apartment. Because of the stink, every night at 1 a.m., he would turn on his air conditioner which made sleeping in our former bedroom like sitting on the wing of an airplane. It woke me up every time it came on. I don't think I've had a decent night's sleep in months and months and months.
Now I'm sleeping deeply. I just have to work on sleeping past 7 a.m.
There's nothing to wake me now except the expectation of something that is no longer going to happen, so hopefully, I'll make the appropriate adjustments and learn to sleep late once again.
With that said, I feel more relaxed than I have since before we moved into the "nightmare apartment". We only lived there 10 months but they were 10 long months, the last five of which were particularly hard.
Every day at 1 p.m., our downstairs neighbour would come home and start shouting at his wife or into his cell phone. Every morning, I could hear the two of them starting there day off on the wrong foot, always angry words and doors slamming. And when they had company, it used to sound like they were visiting in our living room, they were so loud. They also had an obnoxious habit of watching the same homemade video at the same time every day, loud enough that I could hear their recorded family members talking in a language that sounded like Greek. And they hated us. They were always banging on their ceiling because we walked too loudly. I'm still walking toe-heel, toe-heel to keep my footsteps quiet.
Every night, our first next door neighbour would have people over to watch her very sophisticated HD television with those speakers that can be placed anywhere but hers were placed against our shared wall. When her and her friends cranked that thing up, it sounded like they were watching TV in our apartment. And I would complain like the nerd that I am. But hey, we weren't living in a college dorm. It was an apartment building with rules about not make loud noises after 11 p.m. She ended up moving back to Chicago because she lost her job. She also ended up being the least of our problems in the end. She ended up spending a lot of time at her boyfriend's house. The noises that used to eminate from her place, disappeared.
Every day, our other next door neighbour would smoke copious amounts of pot - enough to stink up the entrance way to our apartment. Because of the stink, every night at 1 a.m., he would turn on his air conditioner which made sleeping in our former bedroom like sitting on the wing of an airplane. It woke me up every time it came on. I don't think I've had a decent night's sleep in months and months and months.
Now I'm sleeping deeply. I just have to work on sleeping past 7 a.m.
April 03, 2009
It's So Quiet In Here
It's so freakin' quiet in here. It's wonderfully quiet, like a hotel. You know how hotel rooms are really, really quiet? Well it's quiet like that. I'm having trouble getting used to it.
April 02, 2009
We Have Moved
On Monday, the move went smoothly the most part. With the blessed help of two friends, we were able to return the moving van by 3. The most stressful part of the move was moving the couch.
The mover's friend with the truck did not show up on Monday which was very scary. But the mover assured us that the couch would be moved the next day. When we double checked with him on the phone on Monday night, he did not sound 100% confident that his friend with the truck was reliable. So on Tuesday morning, as soon as the internet was enabled, I found four movers who could perform the task should we need it.
But it turned out not to be necessary.
We thought it had to be carried up and down 10 flights of steps and across the roof of our former building. Our movers managed to get the couch into the elevator. At first, I thought that we were overpaying because the move ended up being easier. But then the movers got to our new place. And guess what. The couch didn't fit through the front door.
The mover took our window apart and that is how our 85 inch long couch was transferred from the great outdoors to the cozy interiour of our new home.
It is now enjoying the same new quiet life we are.
The mover's friend with the truck did not show up on Monday which was very scary. But the mover assured us that the couch would be moved the next day. When we double checked with him on the phone on Monday night, he did not sound 100% confident that his friend with the truck was reliable. So on Tuesday morning, as soon as the internet was enabled, I found four movers who could perform the task should we need it.
But it turned out not to be necessary.
We thought it had to be carried up and down 10 flights of steps and across the roof of our former building. Our movers managed to get the couch into the elevator. At first, I thought that we were overpaying because the move ended up being easier. But then the movers got to our new place. And guess what. The couch didn't fit through the front door.
The mover took our window apart and that is how our 85 inch long couch was transferred from the great outdoors to the cozy interiour of our new home.
It is now enjoying the same new quiet life we are.
March 29, 2009
Moving Day Monday
Monday is moving day and I'm a nervous wreck.
I'm not sure why really.
All that is getting moved tomorrow is the furniture. Everything else is already at the new place.
My parents came by today and helped us move every little thing that isn't furniture.
It's all set. We have plenty of help. We hired someone to move our couch. The U-haul is rented.
The new place is an absolute disaster. I started setting up the kitchen tonight but started to get overwhelmed. Hopefully, I'll have mostly everything put away and organized by the end of the week.
I'm not sure why really.
All that is getting moved tomorrow is the furniture. Everything else is already at the new place.
My parents came by today and helped us move every little thing that isn't furniture.
It's all set. We have plenty of help. We hired someone to move our couch. The U-haul is rented.
The new place is an absolute disaster. I started setting up the kitchen tonight but started to get overwhelmed. Hopefully, I'll have mostly everything put away and organized by the end of the week.
Social Saturday
Jon and I took a break from our monotonous moving schedule and spent the day with family and friends.
In the morning, we went to a Bar-Mitzvah at an Orthodox temple, where the women sat two stories above the men. That was the first time I attended a service like this. Much to my annoyance there was no ladies room up there on the third floor where the ladies were sitting. Our synogogue was conservative when I was growing up. Everyone prayed together and the bathrooms were on the same level.
The Bar-Mitzvah boy read his portion well and gave a lovely speech. The affair afterwards was at the Regency hotel on Park Avenue. The food was scrumptious but the affair was chaotic and crowded with people talking everywhere and children running around. It was possibly the most hectic Bar-Mitzvah I've been to. But it was great fun. We saw a lot our family which is very important.
Then in the afternoon we celebrated with our good friend on the occasion of her birthday. This party was at another hotel - the Algonquin - on 44th St between 5th & 6th avenues. I had two fabulous martinis and participated in several amazing conversations. It felt like a real good old-fashioned New York literary party. I remember attending one of those in the early 90's. What I mean by this is that most of the guests were writers and the discussions were superbly intelligent and challenging and friendly and all those other good things that make getting to know people interesting.
I was pretty wiped out when we got home last night. And it was absolutely fabulous not to think about moving once the whole day.
My parents are coming today. They have a car and I'm hoping that in three trips we'll be able to move our remaining boxes and our clothing. Maybe even our computers.
Tomorrow, ideally, Jon and his friends will only be moving our furniture.
In the morning, we went to a Bar-Mitzvah at an Orthodox temple, where the women sat two stories above the men. That was the first time I attended a service like this. Much to my annoyance there was no ladies room up there on the third floor where the ladies were sitting. Our synogogue was conservative when I was growing up. Everyone prayed together and the bathrooms were on the same level.
The Bar-Mitzvah boy read his portion well and gave a lovely speech. The affair afterwards was at the Regency hotel on Park Avenue. The food was scrumptious but the affair was chaotic and crowded with people talking everywhere and children running around. It was possibly the most hectic Bar-Mitzvah I've been to. But it was great fun. We saw a lot our family which is very important.
Then in the afternoon we celebrated with our good friend on the occasion of her birthday. This party was at another hotel - the Algonquin - on 44th St between 5th & 6th avenues. I had two fabulous martinis and participated in several amazing conversations. It felt like a real good old-fashioned New York literary party. I remember attending one of those in the early 90's. What I mean by this is that most of the guests were writers and the discussions were superbly intelligent and challenging and friendly and all those other good things that make getting to know people interesting.
I was pretty wiped out when we got home last night. And it was absolutely fabulous not to think about moving once the whole day.
My parents are coming today. They have a car and I'm hoping that in three trips we'll be able to move our remaining boxes and our clothing. Maybe even our computers.
Tomorrow, ideally, Jon and his friends will only be moving our furniture.
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