Trader Joe's

 

Living in New York City necessitates that you live on tight budget (unless you're part of the 1%, which in that case means rent is only pennies in your opinion).  Aside from my housing, food has been the biggest expense.  In this respect Trader Joe's has proven to be a life saver.  First of all the people there are awesome (there really is no other way to explain them).  One time I had a guy who explained to me the whole process of trying to make it on Broadway, anther check out guy and I had a conversation about drugs that started with caffeine (he was really tired) and then concluded with his wanting to buy pot in the park with his friends.  There was also a time on Halloween when the guy was dressed as Adam, and noticing all my apples asked if I would be he Eve.  I politely declined, commenting that it was a pomegranate (not an apple).  That sparked a discussion about the origins of various fruits and vegetables, which consequently led to his recommending "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan, which I am currently in the middle of reading.  Needless to say each time has proven to be an adventure, and the best part...they have everything I need at "Everyday low prices".

These are a few of my favorite things...

Listening to my very first CD (The Beatles)

Chocolate pumpkin muffins with pumpkin spice buttercream frosting mailed to me from a friend

City art

Paddywax Candle: Henry Thoreau "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined"

Time with family

...and friends!

 

New York Rangers

It is amazing how busy everything is during the holiday season.  I swear that yesterday was the first and I had all the time in the world to buy Christmas gifts (not that I am no longer a student, but a paralegal with a steady income, it only feels right-given the Christmas Spirit and all, which is surprisingly lacking in New York with the exception of a few Christmas tree infested blocks and colored lights strong haphazardly on balconies-to bring a little bit of the City to Ohio.  Anyways, given the chaos both at work and in my personal life, I made a conscious decision to not be bested by the stress, and opted instead to look through the pictures that I have taken of New York since my arrival back in June (which seems like ages ago).

I happened upon a couple of pictures from a Rangers game.  It had to have been fate when I look back on that October day because I remember thinking that it had been awhile since I had talked to my friend Katie.  Almost instantaneously (I kid you not) she sent me a text to see if I would be interested in going to a Rangers game with her that coming Sunday night.  Needless to say she did not have to ask twice.  We had a great time grabbing a bite to eat at Mustang Harry's, where we got caught up on each others' personal and work lives before heading over to Madison Square Garden to watch the game (she even let me wear her jersey and taught me the "goal" song!)

 

Expect the Unexpected...

 

I have, unfortunately, been somewhat discouraged this holiday season.  First, I was unable to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, which are inflated the night before Thanksgiving a block away from my apartment, due to a torrential downpour of rain, and I overslept the following day to get a decent spot to view the parade.  It didn't really matter, however, because I went to the top of Rockefeller Center with my parents instead and spent an hour on the observation deck trying to permanently imprint to my memory the astonishingly breathtaking views.

 

I have resolved to do as much touristy stuff as possible while living in New York, so although I was unable to see the Macy's balloons, not to be discouraged, I determined to see the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center the following Wednesday on November 30th.  Well wouldn't you know it, apparently President Obama decided last minute to ditch his responsibilities at the White House and make a surprise appearance.  Consequentially, the security was so tight that it was literally impossible to see the tree.  As one police officer informed us, "You might as well go home, we are literally sending you in circles.  The tree will still be here after January 1st, so go home"...geeze talk about a real Scrooge.  Anyways in order to embrace the holiday festivities we went to go look at the windows at Bergdorf (which are allegedly the best window displays because they take up an entire block-the them was the Animal Carnival).  

 

Lessons learned from this experience: 1). In a city as busy as New York you better learn to be flexible because things are constantly changing at a rapid pace. 2).  New Yorkers are shockingly grouchy during the holidays.

 

 

Top of the Rock

During the two and a half days that my parents were in New York City, we managed to keep ourselves busy.  Tuesday night we dined at the Union Square Cafe, Wednesday night we went and saw "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" starring Daniel Radcliffe (who will always and forever be Harry Potter to me), and then Thursday (in addition to stuffing our faces with all the Thanksgiving goodies) we went to the top of Rockefeller Center.  

My mom managed to get timed tickets so that we could go both during the day and at night.  After having been to the top of both Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building, I would definitely recommend going to the top of Rockefeller Center (assuming you can only do one and not both).  The reason for my selection is because the Top of the Rock provides a much more breathtaking view of downtown, and then also a much clearer view uptown and especially looking out at Central Park (when viewing the skyline from the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center prevents a clear shot of Central Park).  Additionally, the viewing experience at Rockefeller Center gives a much better appreciation for the architecture of the Art Deco style since the first two levels are encased in glass (as opposed to a chain linked fence).  Granted I have not been to the top of the Empire State Building since I was in seventh grade, but between the two, my memory from the top of Rockefeller Center is much more memorable. 

The tree at Rockefeller Center

Bottom view of Rockefeller Center

The Swarovski Crystal Star

My parents

Entrance to go to the Top of the Rock

Central Park

One of my favorite views overlooking the second-level observation deck.

Downtown

Downtown at night-Empire State Building lit up in Thanksgiving colors.

Family!

 

Thanksgiving In New York

 

After eight years I have finally come to terms that I will never be home for Thanksgiving on the actual day that the holiday is celebrated.  In high school, I was always in either California or Florida playing in a popular field hockey tournament, in college it just did not make sense to fly home for a weekend with all of the homework I had to do, and now I am discovering that even in the real world, there (unfortunately) just does not seem to be enough time to travel out to Ohio.  Fortunately for me, my parents made the trip out to New York and we had an incredible time together (look for the next post about our trip to the Top of the Rock).  What I was even more grateful for this time around were my friends.  I actually ended up celebrating Thanksgiving three times (once with the paralegals from work, once with some Princeton friends, and then of course with my parents).  

 

Considering that I am a HUGE fan of pumpkin pie, I was not one to complain, and with all the walking that I have to do on a daily basis, there was, needless to say, no guilt in taking seconds or even thirds!  The best part of my three Thanksgivings was how each took its own unique twist so that none of the dinners resembled the others in any way shape or form.  The paralegal dinner, for example, was one of the most entertaining since one of the paralegals made a delicious turkey, despite the entire time she was complaining "guys I have NO idea what I am doing".  She is living proof that ignorance is bliss.  We conversed mostly about work (no surprise there), but it was astoundingly amusing to reflect back on the past four and a half months and to realize all the funny moments that have occurred.  The next Thanksgiving aka "Friendsgiving" was done Japanese style sitting on pillows around a coffee table.  Overall that atmosphere was much more relaxed and we reminisced about our time at Princeton.  Finally, Thanksgiving dinner with my parents at Telpan (a modern American cuisine-themed restaurant on the Upper West Side) was delicious in a non-traditional way (instead of turkey I opted for venison with cranberries and a side of sweet potato pie followed by pumpkin bread pudding for dessert).  Of course I am a little biased, but my favorite was getting to spend time with my parents.  Only when get something in limited qualities do you learn how precious that special thing is.  

 

Overall, great warmup for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day feast.

 

The paralegals (from left to right: Jay, Yaffa, Christie, Maya, Me, Hunter)

Preparing the table

The feast is ready to be gobbled down