Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the most amazing holiday ever. I absolutely loved it.  Four days off work. Turkey. Pie. Parade. Family. What could be better?

Americans treat Thanksgiving much like Australian's treat Christmas. The day before everyone travels home. So much so that Thanksgiving Eve is the most popular travel day of the year. At work the office was empty and the mood was festive. We left a little early and retreated to a Mexican bar to eat nachos and drink Margaritas. The plan was to take it easy and observe the famous Thanksgiving Eve night out. We were disappointed when the place closed early at 8:30pm.

Never mind! Most of our party had early flights and Lizard and I wanted to be up in time to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. My plan was to be at Lizard's house by 9:30am. I left my building and was surprised the find the street lined with Yellow Cabs. Normally it is close to impossible to get a cab outside my apartment, but with everybody gone for the holiday there was a surplus. The luxury. Already this day was shaping up to be wonderful.

Lizard's apartment is on seventh avenue and her roof top gave us a spectacular view of the Parade. On the street it was crowded and it was impossible to see anything - so we were lucky to be able to go upstairs and watch from above.

Despite the unseasonably warm weather it was freezing on the roof. We bundled up and cuddled up as we watched the floats move slowly down Seventh.

It was exciting and so much fun. We could hear the music from the marching bands and see the costumes and crowds. The Power Rangers were impressive (Green did a flip), but I liked the guys dressed up as bread and butter. The Hawaiian marchers in tracksuits and hula skirts were fun, however my favorite part of the parade was easily the giant floats. These huge characters towered over the city. Lizard and I guessed which character would come around the corner next and took thousands of pictures. Snoopy...? Snoopy...? Snoopy!!! It was like being part of a magical toy land. I was buzzing!

When the cold was too much to handle we retreated to Lizard's apartment for a short coffee and pop tart break. It was wonderful being inside in the warm and I watched the parade on TV while Liz Googled interesting parade facts. We were not upstairs for long though - we didn't want to miss too much!

We were back in time for Kermit and the grand final of Santa Clause. Santa was a bit of a let down though. I was expecting a little more magic.

With the parade over we had a few hours to kill before Bolt arrive from Houston. She would be staying with me for the weekend and joining Liz and I for Thanksgiving dinner. As we awaited her arrival, we watched a few episodes of I didn't know I was pregnant, then headed downstairs to inspect the damage from the parade.

The streets were closed and construction workers were focused on getting the traffic lights back up and running. The lights are taken down during the parade to reduce the risk of  injuries. Giant floats can be dangerous!

The worst accident came in 1997, when...winds blew The Cat in the Hat into a lamppost, causing the metal arm to fall off and hit 33-year-old Kathleen Caronna on the head. Caronna spent nearly a month in a coma, then sued Macy's and the city for $395 million
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1862565,00.html#ixzz1fFpZbqlo

When Bolt arrived from the airport her phone was dead. We were concerned she would be unable to find us. Never fear, the NYPD were there to help. The official-helpers-to-the-tourists out did themselves when a wonderful lady cop offered to lend Bolt her personal phone.

When I first saw Bolt she was lit up with excitement, a ray of sunshine. After one month without a day off she was happy to be free and be in NY. Seeing her made an already wonderful day incredible. Liz and I took her up to Lizard's apartment and she was impressed.

Bolt: I love it!
Lizard: It's terrible
Bolt: No way... It's awesome! You have your own apartment in New York City!
Lizard: Most nights I cry myself to sleep


With a few hours to kill before our turkey dinner Liz and I took Bolt to see Time Square. With the streets still closed to traffic it was a good day for it. We wandered along the middle of the road, only occasionally having to jump to the side when a police car sounded its siren. At one point the car stopped and the Officer wound down his window and announced into his microphone "Move along Sponge Bob!"

Huh? ... What did he just say? The Officer got out of the car and we realized what was going on. There was a man right by us dressed up as Sponge Bob behind us. Sponge Bob must have been doing something wrong because the Officer gave him a stern talking to. This upset Sponge Bob who departed, hunched over and visibly deflated. Poor guy!

With that, it was time for us to go to and we headed downtown to SoHo for dinner. I had made a reservation at Burger and Barrel for 4:30pm.. that seemed like the time that people eat Thanksgiving dinner. When we arrived at the place, to Bolt's amusement, it was already getting dark.


Bolt: Can you blog about how it gets dark early
Me: That's not blog worthy
Bolt: But remember that time it got dark early!
Me: Yeah everytime.... for three months


The restaurant was cool, with a dark and funky New York vibe. However, we quickly realized our reservation was pointless. We were the only people there. Guess it makes sense... most people have a family... lives...

yelp.com

Ordering was easy... Turkey, turkey, turkey!

I forced Lizard and Bolt to say what they were thankful for (like a real American family). Bolt took the cake for best thanks: "I am thankful to not be at work for the first time in 24 days."

And with that... we ate!

Afterwards we headed to a local pub for a quiet drink. After a month in the very American Houston hanging with the boys, Bolt complained that she was in desperate need of girl talk. We gossiped and Liz and I made up stories using place mats and napkins. When the waitress finally took our props off us it was time to go home. We were full of delicious food, buzzing from an exciting day and ready for bed.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving and the perfect way to welcome Bolt to New York. Happy Thanksgiving!

Columbia University

On Sunday I made the trip all the way uptown to Columbia University. I had not explored the Upper West Side and I certainly had not visited the Columbia campus before. In terms of New York universities, I have become accustomed to NYU. Not much of a campus university, NYU has buildings scattered across the city. In contrast Columbia has a campus on 116th Street and Broadway.

I was eager to visit, but not expecting much after my visit to Yale where the brandished wealth left me unimpressed.

I loved Columbia's campus. It was gorgeous. Gigantic buildings. Full of sunlight and space. Students perched on the library stairs have a view of the entire campus. I was impressed.

Noodle's and I spent some time wandering through the buildings. I took pictures of the campus in the fall and Noodle's played in the leaves.

I know Columbia as the campus from Gossip Girl - Blair, Nate and Serena have all studied there.

So after my trip to Columbia it was only fitting I should see Nate (Chace Crawford) at the shop under my building. He was buying an umbrella at the same time I was buying a punnet of blueberries!! As I was paying I kept looking over thinking "It's Nate, it's Nate!!" After I left the Duane Reade store I ran upstairs and called home. My brother answered and I told him 

Bro: That is cool

Me: It was the most amazing thing that ever happened to me!

Bro: Hahaha

Me: Um I mean celebrity wise..?

After all that wandering around uptown and Columbia I see Nate in my own apartment building. I guess that despite the beauty I discovered in the Upper West Side the Financial District is still the place to be. 

9/11 Memorial

My first seven months living in NY my apartment was overlooking the World Trade Center memorial. For the most part it was much like having a view of a construction zone, however it was interesting and special to see the memorial come up.

Last weekend Noodle's friend scored tickets for a group of us to visit the memorial. It's quite a line to get in, but once inside the number of people is very well controlled.

It is incredible. There are two huge waterfalls which mark the footprints of the towers. Around the edge are the names of the people who were killed. The memorial has machines where people can search for a their loved one based on name, company or hometown. You can then print a receipt with the location of their name.

In the centre of the sight is a lone tree which is remaining from before 9/11.

The memorial is extremly moving and somewhat difficult to process. All of the people who went to work and never came home. I was impressed by how well the memorial was done. It's nice to think that people from all over teh world can come and show their respects to the people who died.

Let it snow

My first Saturday in New York I woke up to miserable weather. Argh. Freezing cold and rain. After some TV I headed upstairs to the gym and I picked a treadmill with a view out the window - another building - Manhattan is glamorous like that. As I stared out I saw it start... Snow. Snow. Snow!

I had planned brunch with some friends, but it was not a suprise when they rang up and cancelled. It was too cold to go out.

It was tempting to stay inside and watch it from my couch. But I just had to go out and experience it for real. It was horrid! Raining and snowing at the same time. I ventured up town to SoHo to try and buy some sort of weather friendly coat. I think what I needed more was weather friendly shoes. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. With the raining and the snow falling simultaneously it was just rotten.

When I got home I was cold and wet. It was tempting to cancel Halloween dinner with Liz - but no, we had to do something. We decided on pizza at Grimaldi's, known for having the best pizza in NYC. And obviously NYC is the birthplace of pizza so that means best pizza in the world.

The next day the weather was nice. Lizard and I ventured out to Central park to see if the leaves had turned orange. They hadn't. Disappointing, however it was cool to see the park after the blizzard.

It was an absolute mess and I had so much fun taking pictures of lumps of snow and fallen trees.

Me: How are we going to get past that fallen tree?
Lizard: We go under!
Me: It's dangerous...
Lizard: That kid is going under. Although he is wearing a crash helmet

It was lots of fun experiencing my first snow storm, however I am not sure if I will feel quite as affectionate next time. 

US Open

To mark the end of my first US stint, I headed to the US Open early in the tournament before all of the nonsense with the rain. I had a general admission ticket and big dreams of all of the games I wanted to see.

I made it to the grounds in Flushing Meadows in one piece - beating the odds after missing my stop twice and spending some time wandering around random streets in Queens. I quickly found the Jelena v Jelena game and sat down to watch... stay awake.... stay awake.... stay awake.... Perhaps a hideously over priced bottle of water would help? Nope.

Sporting an intense sunburn from all of that napping in the sun I finally gave up and headed out of the stadium and to the park. I found a shady spot and happily watched the next game from the big screen. Ahhh this is the life. Now that was money well spent!

The flying wombat

The beginning of a second New York adventure meant another Qantas flight. Exciting! At nearly 24 hours, it's a long flight, but it's an adventure. Food, movies, unlimited apples... free PJs. Living the dream.

When I booked my ticket my Mum told me I would be flying on the same flight as three of her friends (Izzy, Patty and Sandy). When I said a teary goodbye to my family in Sydney I had no time to dwell - I was joined by these three gorgeous ladies in the Qantas lounge. They were bubbling over their up coming holiday and the energy was contagious.

Izzy: Am I swelling up?
Patty: A little...
Izzy: I'm allergic to champagne...

Our trip was one week before the grounding of Qantas flights. There was a lot of talk of the ground staff strikes at the airport. On board the pilots gave their pitch about how Qantas should look after the people in uniform because these are the folk who have made the airline iconic. I totally agreed. After all, where would Qantas be without their pilots? And the PJs, of course.

Flight attendant: Would you like Pajamas?
Me: Umm, ok, why not?
Patty: This young lady only flys Qantas for the PJs!
Me: Er... true...

After all of this talk of pajamas, Patty was surprised to learn I don't even wear the PJs on board. "I'm saving them!" True enough, I have worn them everyday since. I'm wearing them now.

Despite our flight being unaffected by the grounding, it was delayed - one hour in the terminal, then an additional three on the runway. Nothing to do with the strikes... rather, an engine problem. Come on Ally J - pull it together!

On board it was super hot. Miserable. When the pilot announced we may miss our connection in LA everyone freaked out. Far out, we just wanted to get to New York!

I was concerned, but not for long. My travel buddies were laughing at the news - "I've always wanted to go to Disney land!" Hmm they made a good point. I guess there are worse things than a stop over in California. I could get used to these girls.   

Eventually we did take off. We rushed through LA airport. Izzy took the lead - "Come on ladies, move, move, move!" Sandy and Patty groaned light heartedly "We're going to need to get her an umbrella to hold up. She can take tourists around Central Park."

Touching down at JFK felt nice. It was good to be back. Only... my earphones were stuck in my seat. I tugged. They didn't budge. I tugged some more... they disappeared further. Next thing I had a flight attendant and another passenger helping to untangle the mess.

Me: Forget it... it's ok
Flight attendant: No, no we'll get them!
Me: They cost ten bucks, it's really ok

At that the passenger ran, but the flight attendant tugged a bit more. Finally I insisted he stop - "I have to go, my friends are waiting for me.."

All was not lost - While I was collecting my luggage I heard the flight attendant running up behind me. "Got your earphones!!" That is good customer service.

Patty, Sandy, Izzy and I bid goodbye after making a dinner date for later in the week. Despite the rain, our dinner at Bubby's was lots of fun. We laughed and ate and drank. The girls told me about their adventures in New York and I told them about my adventures at work... Then we ate pie.

All in all, a wonderful evening.

Mum: Did you enjoy dinner with my friends?
Me: You mean my friends?

Fall in the park

Since returning to New York I have been anticipating Central Park in the fall. Lizard and I have been checking out the park on a regular basis awaiting the orange and red leaves. Finally, this Sunday, we were not disappointed.

We started the day with lunch at the Plaza Food Hall - this is a really cool place. I've been once before and this time Lizard and I were joined by two newbies. The hall is downstairs in the Plaza hotel. It is set up with a number of stations where you can see the chefs preparing the food. You are seated by a waiter and then can choose food from any of the stations. The waiters place the order with the respective food stations and when it's ready, bring you your dish.

The food is amazing! This time I had Greek yogurt granola - it was even better than my own breakfast yogurt combo. The others ordered butternut squash ravioli and burgers. Everything looked and tasted great. Of course, it was extra special because we watched it being prepared.
After eating Lizard and I headed outside, leaving the others to explore the magic of the Plaza. Across the road, Central Park park greeted us with gorgeous orange and yellows.

Of course Lizard forgot her camera and mine was on its last leg of battery. Typical!

It really was wonderful... It felt like the New York of movies.

Walking past a large group of eccentric rollerbladers and jugglers we were quickly reminded we were not inside a Mary Poppins remake.... Still, could not have been a more beautiful afternoon in the park. So now I have seen Fall in NYC I can happily say "bring on the snow!"

Kid in Manhattan

One Sunday afternoon I jumped on an R train home. I normally try to avoid the R, it's the worst. Apparently I am not the only hater. I was sitting on the train (somewhat) minding my own business when I noticed a small boy crying to his father. There were tears streaming down his face "I want to catch the 4 train!"

His father consoled him "We can't catch the 4, we have to catch the R. We are going to Brooklyn." The boy was not comforted, "But I want to go to 86th street! I want to take the four!"

His younger brother was much more sensible "The 4 is good, but I like the R too! We can go to Atlantic Ave, Union Street..."

 The passengers sitting by me were all amused by the child's deep knowledge of the subway stops. I guess it's essential when you are a kid in Manhattan.

For a light hearted New Yorker's take on kids and the Subway read The Boys and the Subway

Batman

Living on Wall Street can mean a battle getting to work. Every morning I find myself dodging protestors and police alike. The NYPD have blocked a number of streets. It was frustrating at first, but I am getting used to their presence. It's actually kind of nice. After my mum visited New York she commented that "The police are so happy to give directions. They are like the 'official helpers to the tourists.'" After my experiences on Wall Street I would amend this statement to:

NYPD - Official tourist helpers and straighteners of the street blocky thingys

I learnt today that the protesters and police are not the obstacles to my commute. This evening I was outside my apartment with Noodles when she noticed that the street was lined with giant trailers. She pointed to one outside my building and said "That's not a police truck, it's a make-up and costume trailer!" No way, it couldn't be! This is Wall Street - not Hollywood. We peered in and saw it filled with costumes. Noodles swore that it was from Batman.

"They are literally filming 'Dark Knight Rises' outside your building!"

I didn't believe her, but she stood her ground and did some research. Sure enough they are filming Batman outside my front door. All of a sudden some of the signs I have been seeing around started making sense. 

No wonder the police didn't let me get to my Subway station last weekend...

I would like to apologize to any protesters I have whinged about over the past two weeks. It appears you are not the cause of all of my problems.

In the name of a good picture I would put my camera in my purse and go celebrity scouting... but lets face it, I barely recognize myself in the mirror let alone Christian Bale*.
*I had to Google "Who is the star of dark knight rises"

To be honest, I am also a little too lazy to get dressed and go outside. I did stick my head out and take a picture of one of the movie trailers....

So if I am not a photographer then I guess I will have to pin my hopes on gaining a role as a movie extra. Welcome to show business, baby!**

**Don't worry Mum I won't quit my day job

Happy Halloween

The first time I arrived in New York City it was Valentine's Day. I was surprised by how seriously the city took the holiday. People wore pink to work, everything was decorated in hearts. People passing said to me "Happy Valentine's Day!"

I quickly learnt that this atmosphere was not unique to February 14th. This city knows how to do holidays. President's day, Easter, St Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, 4th of July... The city gets dressed and up and city celebrates. For this reason, I was quite excited when I found out I would be in New York for Halloween.  

I was not disappointed - when I arrived, Manhattan was decked out in Halloween themed decorations. I was impressed, but I was quickly informed that the city had nothing on a real all American Halloween. In the suburbs Halloween is about kids, trick or treating, autumn leaves and pumpkin spiced lattes. In the city it's about teeny tiny costumes and too much skin. 

Friday night I stopped at Duane Reade on my way home from work. A lost looking lady called me over to help her, "Excuse me, excuse me... could you please help me pick a nail polish that would work for Halloween?" I learnt a few weeks ago that I have developed an allergy to nail polish... very funny, I know. Anyway, I'm not bitter, I helped the lady choose a ghoulish green.

I went back to my own shopping, but was quickly stopped by a man (I was starting to wonder if I was wearing the store uniform) - 

Male shopper: Excuse me, what size tights should I buy?

Me: Excuse me? 

Shopper: It's for a Halloween costume!

Me: Ah, I see...

Shopper: Do they celebrate the holiday where you are from?

Me: Not really...

Shopper: Why!?

Me: It's, er, not a real holiday..

Needless to say the conversation stopped there. I needed to get more into the spirit of things! So, on Saturday night Lizard and I forced ourselves to venture out in spite of the blizzard that hit New York. We spotted quite a few interesting costumes out on the town. My favourite was a girl dressed as Black Swan. She was really into it - she had red contacts and everything. Lizard and I saw her walk into the room and join her friends. She was quite disappointed to find that she was the only one in her group dressed up. I guess the snow was demotivating for everyone.

Monday the 31st was Halloween. Unfortunately I was down with a cold so I couldn't go out and explore. I was stuck on the couch watching Disney Halloween specials (yeah, I loved it). I did ping Noodles though with some concern - 

"Are kids going to turn up at my apartment demanding candy?" 

"No, of course not. No kid would trick or treat in Manhattan..."

I guess Manhattan is just not the place to pick up real American culture - it's still the American city for me.

The (new) wolf of Wall Street

I'm back in Manhattan and this time I have a cool new Wall Street address. 

It's a one bedroom apartment and about twice the size of my old studio. The building was originally an office block, but was converted to a residential building in 2008. There has been a trend for offices on Wall Street to convert to residential after business began to move uptown following September 11 2001. 


My apartment building has a gym, drying cleaning service and a buffet breakfast (BYO vegemite). I'm pretty sure half of the occupants are vampires, but this works well - There is always plenty of food left at the breakfast buffet. It's about a twenty minute walk from the office and directly across the road from the client site. Of course my boss noticed a small problem with this - "So you can see into their offices from your living room?" Yes. "And they can see you?" Yes. "You sure you don't want to move?"  


Of course not! The kitchen is big enough to run in!

The one thing that does irk me about my new Wall Street apartment is ducking protestors on the way home from work. Actually the Police blockades are a greater problem than the protesters themselves. The Police have blocked a number of streets (including part of Wall) to prevent the protesters from expanding their camp. On the weekend, this doubles my journey to the subway. Last Sunday when I was stopped a third time I was tempted to beg "Please let me through! I promise I'm not a protester... Look at me, I'm the corporate greed!"

If only I had have Noodles with me. She did a good job explaining to me why I am the personification of corporate greed  - "You live on Wall Street and you commute to the World Financial Center." Of course this means that some of the protest signs can be hurtful. "Smash Corporate Greed!" Please don't hurt me. 

Nevertheless for the meantime I'm rocking Wall Street happily - maybe speak to me in a couple of weeks when its below freezing and I am trekking a mile to work in the snow. I'll keep you posted.

Australian Sabbatical

On the 11th of September I collected my bags and said goodbye to New York City. It was no easy feat packing up my life after seven months in the city, but with some fond memories, I headed back to Sydney, Australia. My hometown baby!

I touched down in Sydney with my Mum and Dad waiting for me with coffee in hand. I was home. It was so strange coming back to a place so familiar yet so foreign. The sky was huge - and everything was really spaced out. I had to text Lizard (who was back in Melbourne) every five minutes so we could compare notes about the strangeness of our old home: "The little walking man is green!!"

My brother caught me up on the major changes to the city, "Pie Face is everywhere now." Pie Face? So, what. There were a few around before. "No, but they are everywhere. Do the Pie Face challenge." Ok. Wait - what's the Pie Face challenge? "Every time you pass a Pie Face you have to eat a pie." 

After re exploring the city a bit I realized I'm lucky I didn't except the Pie Face challenge. My brother was quite right - there is a Pie Face around every corner.

Of course, I had to take the time to go and see all of the sights in Sydney. At the Circular Quay I overheard a tourist talking to a local.

Tourist: Can you take a picture of me with the thing?
Local: The thing??? You mean the Opera House!!

I had fun spending time with Cityrail - "The train on platform one has been delayed by approximately fifteen minutes."

Annie, Pants and Bolt took me to Hip Hop classes. We broke it down while managing not to break anything. The biggest challenge was trying to remember all of the moves. During the classes the teacher would give examples of what not to do, which would get the class giggling. Why was I always the only person with a puzzled look - "That is what not to do?? But i's exactly what I was doing!"

My brother's girlfriend was spending more time with my family - which was a welcomed addition. It was very nice to have another girl in the house. Together we had power over the TV... even if she did laugh at me when I sang the Big Bang Theory theme song -  "You're like five seconds behind!"

My Dad and I tricked her and my brother into watching Insidious. That was a fun night - but we were all so scared of the ma with the red face we had to travel in pairs for a while afterwards. My brother terrified us all by Googling "Insidious red face" and then passing around his laptop.

My second week back at work I was given the opportunity to return to the U.S. and I took it in a New York minute (sorry, that's lame). Exciting as it was to return after seven weeks at home, it meant I had to say goodbye to my family - again. In my last few weeks I managed to spend a lot of time with my parents. They took me to all their favorite haunts and we had so much fun. One night they planned a family dinner at the Dolphin in Surry Hills. My brothers and I arrived half an hour before them and took a seat at a table next to a guy with very scruffy hair. The guy looked friendly, if a little self important.

We decided to upgrade to a larger table and Scruffy Hair was only too happy to swoop in and grab our old one. When my Mum and Dad joined us, Mum looked over at him and exclaimed "Hey! It's the lead singer from Thirsty Merc!"

The next day when I told Pants she laughed

Pants: How did your Mum recognize him?
Me: She chose a place where Thirsty Merc hangs out - she is clearly cooler than me
Pants: Clearly


The best part about being home was the time I got to spend with my family. Every night when I came home from work, late at night, I would sit at the foot of my Mum's bed and we would talk about life, politics and family. We talked about clothes and food (and salad) and we gossiped about TV and the Bachelorette (it's actually really addictive) and Survivor (I'm hooked on the strategic game..) and Beauty and the Geek (probably the greatest show of all time.) Sometimes my Dad would join and we would talk about cameras.


Going home and then coming back was worth it. Hanging out in Sydney was fun - and I didn't realize how much I had lost touch of my roots (I accidently wore US colors to a team Rugby Day...) But, as fun as it was to go home - it is an amazing opportunity to be back. So here, after a few months chilling in sunny Sydney, I am rugged up in New York City. Now, by popular demand, let the blogging recommence!