Skyscrapers and Sushi
We arrived in NYC Monday evening. Skies were overcast, winds were brisk, and large cold raindrops fell lightly. But I am still so thrilled to be here.
We descended below the dense clouds, to see tight clusters of vibrantly colored tree tops, each bunch resembling red, yellow and orange broccoli florets! Scattered homes and barns were the only interruption in scenery to remind you the farmers market landscape was deceivingly non-edible.
Looking out my rain soaked hotel window on Tuesday, I saw trees hurled back and forth by the wind, umbrellas acting as stringless kites, dragging their owners across parking lots, small dogs and children being swept away in torrents of rainwater..... Ok, maybe not that last part.... But it was pretty gnarly weather! I decided my day was better spent huddled under the covers, catching up on paperwork, responding to dust covered emails in my inbox (sorry friends, for my poor correspondence), watching the stock market graph crash, then rebound, across my TV screen like a bipolar bouncy ball, filing my nails and checking Facebook 400 too many times.
Step 1: Walk out the door of my hotel, turn right, walk 20 feet, wait at bus stop for 2 minutes.
Step 2: Board city bus, pay $6.50 for a round trip ticket, sit down.
Step 3: 12 minutes later, arrive at the Port Authority in Midtown Manhattan, get off bus, walk down a flight of stairs, avoid creepy smelly man, walk out revolving doors.
Step 4: Breathe, relax, look up and realize that I'm in the most amazing city on Earth. New York City.
Step 5: Wink at the cute cop standing next to me, bat my eyelashes, and ask for directions to NBC Studios.
Wednesday was a different day all together. Sunny McSunshine made an appearance, the rain disappeared, but the cold wind was ever-present. Still, no reason not to venture into the city. Especially since I can see the skyline from my hotel. So my friend and pilot on this trip, Paul, and I completed Steps 1-5 in the above list. Well, Paul only participated in Steps 1-4. He left the winking at/flirting with the NYPD up to me.
As I said earlier, the bus drops you off at Port Authority, which is basically Times Square. Much to my excitement, we decided to try for Conan O'Brien tickets! I LOVE Conan. I think he's amazingly witty, talented, funny and weirdly sexy. (tall, redhead, freckles, Irish, bizarre.... I know). On our way to NBC Studios (also Radio City, the GE Building and Rockefeller Center), I spotted the Conde Nast building. What's the big deal here, you ask??? Well it's only the home of MY DREAM WRITING JOB!!!! They publish Bon Appetite, Gourmet, Epicurious, Travel and Leisure Magazines.... to name only a few!!! I wanted to rush through those revolving doors and yell that their DREAM employee was standing in the lobby, throw a handful of resumes/sample writing pieces up in the air, and run out. Someone with clout would be bound to read something of mine, right?? Or not.
So, I decided against the fanatical resume throwing/making a scene idea, and we continued towards NBC Studios.
We were disappointed to learn that Conan is booked 6 weeks in advance, but we could try for standby tickets. Too bad the cut-off time for standby tickets was that second. So we were totally last in line for standby. But we stayed optimistic. We waited for about 30 minutes with our tickets in hand, ready for our 15 minutes of behind the camera fame.
I'll let you decide the outcome of our Conan O'Brien standby possibilities.......
Stupid Conan. I never liked the big geek anyways.... Ok, that's a lie. I still dig him.... He's funny. And not a geek.
Paul and I left NBC and just walked in no particular direction. We were mainly guided by wherever the wind wasn't blowing in our faces. We decided to attend Mass (or atleast the first 5 minutes of it) at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Although I've walked by it a million times, I've never been inside. It was beautiful and peaceful. We decided to bail right as Mass was starting, and we felt a bit awkward. Oh well. I'm not Catholic, and those wooden beams you kneel on for prayer really hurt!!! It was a painful reminder that God expects contrition and reconciliation for sins committed.... Pronto! Otherwise, he'll make your knees writhe with pain.
For dinner, my fun and adorable friend Angela.... (clearing throat) Excuse me, Dr. Angela, met up with us for dinner! Her office is pretty close to Midtown, so we had great sushi at Haru on Broadway. I decided on the sushi and sashimi sampler. YUMMY, to put it mildly. I finished my 2 pieces of salmon, 2 pieces of tuna, 2 pieces of yellowtail, 2 pieces of eel and my eel hand roll (made with brown rice). It was great!! And their wasabi was more potent than most. Oh, let me count the ways I love an eye-wateringly delicious piece of sushi. Skip the soy sauce, add LOTS of ginger.
Random tidbit..... I buy sushi grade, sliced ginger at my awesome Asian market in 5 lb. bags. It lasts me about 1 1/2 weeks. Ginger settles the tummy, and is a natural antiseptic. My body feels germ free, clean and calm. :-)
We descended below the dense clouds, to see tight clusters of vibrantly colored tree tops, each bunch resembling red, yellow and orange broccoli florets! Scattered homes and barns were the only interruption in scenery to remind you the farmers market landscape was deceivingly non-edible.
Looking out my rain soaked hotel window on Tuesday, I saw trees hurled back and forth by the wind, umbrellas acting as stringless kites, dragging their owners across parking lots, small dogs and children being swept away in torrents of rainwater..... Ok, maybe not that last part.... But it was pretty gnarly weather! I decided my day was better spent huddled under the covers, catching up on paperwork, responding to dust covered emails in my inbox (sorry friends, for my poor correspondence), watching the stock market graph crash, then rebound, across my TV screen like a bipolar bouncy ball, filing my nails and checking Facebook 400 too many times.
Step 1: Walk out the door of my hotel, turn right, walk 20 feet, wait at bus stop for 2 minutes.
Step 2: Board city bus, pay $6.50 for a round trip ticket, sit down.
Step 3: 12 minutes later, arrive at the Port Authority in Midtown Manhattan, get off bus, walk down a flight of stairs, avoid creepy smelly man, walk out revolving doors.
Step 4: Breathe, relax, look up and realize that I'm in the most amazing city on Earth. New York City.
Step 5: Wink at the cute cop standing next to me, bat my eyelashes, and ask for directions to NBC Studios.
Wednesday was a different day all together. Sunny McSunshine made an appearance, the rain disappeared, but the cold wind was ever-present. Still, no reason not to venture into the city. Especially since I can see the skyline from my hotel. So my friend and pilot on this trip, Paul, and I completed Steps 1-5 in the above list. Well, Paul only participated in Steps 1-4. He left the winking at/flirting with the NYPD up to me.
As I said earlier, the bus drops you off at Port Authority, which is basically Times Square. Much to my excitement, we decided to try for Conan O'Brien tickets! I LOVE Conan. I think he's amazingly witty, talented, funny and weirdly sexy. (tall, redhead, freckles, Irish, bizarre.... I know). On our way to NBC Studios (also Radio City, the GE Building and Rockefeller Center), I spotted the Conde Nast building. What's the big deal here, you ask??? Well it's only the home of MY DREAM WRITING JOB!!!! They publish Bon Appetite, Gourmet, Epicurious, Travel and Leisure Magazines.... to name only a few!!! I wanted to rush through those revolving doors and yell that their DREAM employee was standing in the lobby, throw a handful of resumes/sample writing pieces up in the air, and run out. Someone with clout would be bound to read something of mine, right?? Or not.
So, I decided against the fanatical resume throwing/making a scene idea, and we continued towards NBC Studios.
We were disappointed to learn that Conan is booked 6 weeks in advance, but we could try for standby tickets. Too bad the cut-off time for standby tickets was that second. So we were totally last in line for standby. But we stayed optimistic. We waited for about 30 minutes with our tickets in hand, ready for our 15 minutes of behind the camera fame.
I'll let you decide the outcome of our Conan O'Brien standby possibilities.......
Stupid Conan. I never liked the big geek anyways.... Ok, that's a lie. I still dig him.... He's funny. And not a geek.Paul and I left NBC and just walked in no particular direction. We were mainly guided by wherever the wind wasn't blowing in our faces. We decided to attend Mass (or atleast the first 5 minutes of it) at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Although I've walked by it a million times, I've never been inside. It was beautiful and peaceful. We decided to bail right as Mass was starting, and we felt a bit awkward. Oh well. I'm not Catholic, and those wooden beams you kneel on for prayer really hurt!!! It was a painful reminder that God expects contrition and reconciliation for sins committed.... Pronto! Otherwise, he'll make your knees writhe with pain.
For dinner, my fun and adorable friend Angela.... (clearing throat) Excuse me, Dr. Angela, met up with us for dinner! Her office is pretty close to Midtown, so we had great sushi at Haru on Broadway. I decided on the sushi and sashimi sampler. YUMMY, to put it mildly. I finished my 2 pieces of salmon, 2 pieces of tuna, 2 pieces of yellowtail, 2 pieces of eel and my eel hand roll (made with brown rice). It was great!! And their wasabi was more potent than most. Oh, let me count the ways I love an eye-wateringly delicious piece of sushi. Skip the soy sauce, add LOTS of ginger.Random tidbit..... I buy sushi grade, sliced ginger at my awesome Asian market in 5 lb. bags. It lasts me about 1 1/2 weeks. Ginger settles the tummy, and is a natural antiseptic. My body feels germ free, clean and calm. :-)
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Love,
Dad