Friday, July 31, 2009

Let's Get You a Fresh One

Bodegas, you know -- the corner deli -- are a vital part of life in New York City. In a city where good grocery stores are few and far between, we really rely on them. In my neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen, there are about six in a two block radius from my house and I'm trying to figure out which one is the "good" one. They're almost all a little sketchy looking (i.e., grimy) but they serve their purpose when you want a breakfast sandwich or a loaf of bread.

My neighborhood around my office is similar and we have 3 or 4 bodegas within a block or two. I probably spend $20 - $30 dollars a week at the one closest to my office which like so many others is run by a nice Korean family. Yesterday morning I went in to buy a little bowl of sliced fruit as I often do. Behind the counter working the register was the teen-aged son (who is rarely there) and his tiny mother standing next him. I put my little plastic container of fruit on the counter and the mother began speaking in what I assume was Korean and took the fruit and walked to the back of the store. "She's gonna get you a fresh one," said the teenager.

"What a nice gesture!" I thought to myself ... until I noticed that they weren't taking the "old" ones out of the fridge, they just didn't want to sell one of those to me. About five minutes later the old woman emerged from the basement where they do their food prep with a nice little bowl of fruit for me -- which did turn out to be fresh and delicious. I just wonder:

a) Was I a regular customer they wanted to take care of?
b) Someone who looked like he worked for the health department? or
c) Was the old lady flirting with me?

I guess I'll never know. Good fruit though.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

They Have Bushy Tails and Store Nuts

One thing that I've had to become accustomed to living in New York is tourists. I certainly have not been here long enough to have adopted a condescending attitude towards them -- after all I am a tourist from time to time too. Living a block from the Theater District I have huge tourist buses from Montreal that park on my street every Sunday afternoon. Around the corner on 8th Avenue is the office for one of the cities "hop-on-and-off" bus tour services, so the sidewalks are filled with out-of-towners. And my office sits a block from Washington Square, so more than a few times I've left my office to be confronted by a person with a friendly smile, a map, and a question. I'm glad to help when I can.

Earlier this week, I was walking down Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village and a notice a gaggle of Japanese tourists on the sidewalk. Just as I was walking past them, I heard a shriek and then I saw all the cameras come out. Needless to say, my curiosity was aroused. What was it by the trees lining the street that could have caused such excitement? These people had clearly traveled thousands of miles to see wondrous things in New York City! And they had discovered ... a squirrel ..... and a very ordinary looking one at that. Bullwinkle was no where in sight. I wondered: aren't there rodents in Asia too? I was tempted to point them to Central Park, but I didn't want to send them over the edge with excitement. (Oh wait, maybe I am developing a bit of a condescending tone.)

On second thought, maybe sometimes in life you just have to appreciate the simple things.

By the way I took the picture above a few years ago when I was a tourist walking around New York City.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Can't We All Just Get Along?

One thing about living in New York is that you really don't know when full-out drama is going to erupt right in front of you. And what's really funny is that sometimes it breaks out so suddenly, you just sit back as if you're in your living room and not right there in the action. I got on the subway to go home tonight and it all seemed kind of mundane ...

So I sat down on the A train tonight and some raggedy guy brushed me with his bicycle but I ignored him. Another gentleman on the train was not so willing to let it go and then things got interesting. I will translate for non-New York readers of this blog:

Man 1: "I say sir, you failed to properly apologize when you grazed me with your bicycle." [Hey, I didn't hear 'excuse me.']
Man 2: "My dear sir, you are sadly mistaken." [I said 'excuse me' -- ain't my problem if you can't hear.]
Man 1: "I urge you to reconsider! My hearing faculties are perfectly intact." [Bullshit!]
Man 2: "You sir have offended my honor! I challenge you to a duel!" [You want a piece of this m&*$%erf'er? ... (Pulls out boxcutter.)]
Man 1: (Stands) I accept your challenge, my good man! [Let's do it f&^%er!]
Man 2: "I stand ready to engage!" [Bring it ^&%&*]
Man 3: "Please I insist that you settle this like the gentlemen that you are!" [You two better stop this. There are people right next to you.]
Man 1: "You vex me sir!" [You better stop running your mouth.]
Man 3: "Please, gentleman, your honor is at stake!" [You two are immature. You're going to go to jail!]
Man 2: (holds his saber forth) [lunatic waving box-cutter around]
Man 1: "We must settle this in a proper venue!" [Get off this f**&ing train!]
Man 2: "We shall engage!" [I'm right here m*&^erf*&er!]

At this point most of the spectators on the train had scattered. Man #1 continued to scream "get off this train!" I moved to the next car, but then realized we weren't leaving the station because Man #1 was holding the doors in the 14th street station insisting that his adversary engage on the platform. I walked across the platform to catch a local train and watched as Man #1 got off the train and Man #2 continued to taunt him as the train pulled away.

Just another ride home ... you wouldn't think 5 stops on the subway could bring that level of drama, but tonight it did.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Central Park on a Summer Saturday

The Mall and the Literary Walk -- One of My Favorite Spots in the Park

I finally feel like I'm settling into life in the city. My nephew was visiting this weekend, so we trekked all over Manhattan but spent a couple of hours in Central Park in the afternoon. I only live 10-12 blocks from the southern end of the park now, and I'm really not taking enough advantage of it. (I did go running in the park a few weeks ago but got overzealous, ended up around 96th street somewhere and realized that I had 50 blocks to walk home ... bad plan.) The sights from yesterday definitely inspired me to spend some more time there.

Feeding time for the sealions at the Central Park Zoo

Jam session


Monday, July 6, 2009

My West Coast Trip Highlight #6: Sea Lions

Beautiful Day on San Francisco Bay within View of Alcatraz


I only got to spend a day-and-a-half in San Francisco, but I enjoyed it immensely. We had extraordinarily good weather. (I even managed to get a sunburn in Oakland watching the ballgame, and I'm told that's only possible about 10 days a year.) Now since I live about two blocks from Times Square, usually I go out of my way to avoid touristy areas, but I had to see the Sea Lions down near Fisherman's Wharf. Showing up on a Saturday, it probably couldn't have been much more crowded, but it was well worth it. Since the earthquakes in 1989, sea lions have taken up residence near Pier 39, and now they're a major attraction. (See video below.)




We stayed in a great place near Chinatown, had fancy cocktails at the Fairmont Hotel, and ate at some great restaurants, but watching these guys snoozing on the pier was my favorite part of my visit. My next vacation is definitely going to involve more time just snoozing in the sun.

My West Coast Trip Highlight #5: Redwoods (part 2)


When The Big Tasty and I decided to go see the Redwood Forest, I thought we would just go find the park, like you would the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. As it turns out, visiting the Redwoods is a little more complicated. It is a conglomeration of several state and federal areas and you really need to sit down and make some decisions about what to visit before you set out. We found a super helpful park ranger who not only suggested some great hiking trails, but recommended our route down South towards Napa. We visited several areas, some in the forest and some on the coast in the Crescent City, CA area.

The most spectacular spot we saw in Redwoods Country was the Stout Memorial Grove (see photo above and previous post) in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. I realized very quickly that we had to start putting people in the photos in the Redwood Forest in order to get perspective on how large the trees were.

Some Guy I Don't Know Standing in a Tree

The Big Tree at Prarie Creek Redwood State Park

The California Coast at Crescent City.

The other interesting thing about our stop in Redwoods Country was our accommodations. I was all set to book a room in some nondescript chain motel when I came upon a listing for the Curly Redwood Lodge. This place advertises itself as a complete throwback to the 1950s, and was it ever. It is a totally no-frills roadside motel with mattresses that also haven't changed since the 1950s -- they don't even give you tiny bottles of shampoo in the bathroom. That being said, I jumped at the opportunity to stay there because it seemed like genuine Americana -- and it was dirt cheap.

What both the Big Tasty and I both found to be slightly disturbing was the motel's claim to fame: it was constructed (for the most part) in the early 1950s with lumber from a single redwood tree. I guess in a more environmentally-sensitive age we're more atuned to the fact that it's a shame that a gorgeous redwood tree had to die for a crappy motel. But like that great uncle of yours who blurts out racist things once in a while, I guess you have to judge things in the context of their respective times. (Plus, at those prices you have to expect to be a little offended for some reason.)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

My West Coast Trip Highlight #5: Redwoods (part 1)

Sometimes there are things in nature that just make you feel small, insignificant and a little humble.



Saturday, July 4, 2009

My West Coast Trip Highlight #4: Oregon Coast


Before I reached the Oregon Coast on day 5 of our trip I had never seen the Pacific Ocean. We stopped in Cannon Beach on Oregon's northern coast on a cold blustery day. While there were a few brave souls on the beach, the bravest of all were the kite-surfers in the water. Kite-surfers use sails in conjunction with their surfboards for an amazing, wild ride.




We spent an entire day driving down the Oregon Coast on highway 101. The views of the Oregon Coast reminded me of pictures I've seen of the British Isles. The lush green landscape, the rocky cliffs and the desolate beaches were breathtaking.



Friday, July 3, 2009

My West Coast Trip Highlight #3: Waterfalls

There are some scenes in nature that you really have to see in person to appreciate. I think the waterfalls I saw in Washington and Oregon were like that. Narada Falls at Mount Ranier National Park was amazing. It's very easy to reach if you're visiting the park and driving around. (See video below.)




Perhaps more impressive were the Multnomah Falls in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

Columbia River Gorge from Vista House at Crown Point State Park.

Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the U.S. -- the falls drop 620 feet from the origin point.




What was striking to me was how quickly I lost interest in the lesser waterfalls we saw along the way. I guess once you've seen the big falls everything else pales.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

My Westcoast Trip: Highlight #2 -- Mount Ranier

The first time I saw the Grand Canyon, my mouth just dropped open and I knew what it meant when people say a sight "takes their breath away." Almost equally impressive was the view from the Paradise Lodge at Mount Ranier National Park.



Mount Ranier peaks at around 13,000 feet, and we were only at about 5,000, but standing in the snow in July watching the snowboarders and cross country skiers was amazing.


At a lower elevation we were able to walk along a waterflow from a glacier. Just standing near the water my fingers went numb. (I could do a colder-than-some-of-the-women-in-my-life remark but I'm better than that.) It was truly one of those once in a lifetime lifetime experiences.


The Big Tasty and I stayed at a little inn near the park run by a very nice wacky couple. (I will pass along the name upon request.) If you ever go, remember to ask Michelle about the time the bear got into the bird feeders. We had breakfast with the other guests in the morning and met a nice pair of retired female English teachers who were traveling together (and loved the hot-tub, apparently) and a bewildered looking Danish couple who arrived in U.S. with no hotel reservations. We wished them luck and hoped that they would not be sleeping in their rental car outside of Yellowstone.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

My Westcoast Trip: Highlight #1 -- Seattle

Late afternoon at the Puget Sound

Just got back from my summer vacation to the Pacific Northwest with my lifelong friend, The Big Tasty. TBT and I began our trip in Seattle, a city I'd wanted to see for a long time. Seattle didn't disappoint, and it even offered a surprise: great weather. I did not know the city was built on all those steep hills. Some of them would give San Francisco a run for its money. The best part of my visit was the ferry ride I took with TBT and his friend Steve to West Seattle. The views were spectacular.


I'd also like to praise Seattle for its beautiful baseball park, Safeco Field. Not only is it a great place to watch a game, but the fans were clearly into it, unlike some places ... yes, Atlanta, I'm talking about you.