One way to further inflate the generally already over-inflated egos of most professional athletes: Lay out an enormous red carpet all the way up Fifth Avenue (as seen along my commute to work this morning).It would have been cooler if the athletes paraded up the pavement and the fans got to stand on a red carpet as they went by. If All-Star Weekends are truly about getting "people closer to the pl
Phone photo ops snapped while walking to and from work in Midtown during my first month as a Hell's Kitchen resident.Random concerts on street cornersMy old apartment building in Harlemon the side of a double decker tour busA giant Eddie Murphy headDiane SawyerThis guy turned as I was snapping this picture and asked me for money. I told him, "Sorry; only credit cards," to which he replied, "Well,
He is one of the worst violin players I've ever heard, but he's the best subway musician ever. Dedicated to his craft, he often performs in the subway stations between Grand Central, Bryant Park or Times Square, and is an adorable little man, who offers the cutest and most polite "thank you" when you give him money.Today when running an errand for my boss, I passed him in the station below Bryant
Today a coworker and I tried falafels at Kwik Meal, voted the #1 Street Food Vendor by New York Magazine, Best Falafel & Best Chicken/Lamb & Rice Cart by Midtown Lunch, and was a finalist in the Vendy Awards.
From last night:Our first meal in our new apartment a la Mayra, who went grocery shopping, ascended four flights of stairs and christened our stove ... at almost seven months pregnant.Followed by my first Margarita at Blockheads, featuring $3 Margarita specials and free chips and salsa, a block from our new apartment.
Today's route: Upper West Side 4: Church and GownRiverside ParkRiverside DriveAnd its handsome apartment buildingsThe Samuel Tilden Statue overlooks the Hudson RiverRiverside Church and the Interchurch CenterSakura ParkGrant's TombInternational HouseLooking west toward Claremont AvenueColumbia University's West 116th Street gate on BroadwayLeads to an unexpected sprawling lawnSunset across Columbia's campusCathedral of St. John the DivineChildren's Sculpture GardenBiblical GardenAnd the peacocks that roam the cathedral grounds
Today's route: DUMBOThe Financial District across the East River beyondFulton Landing, Bargemusic and Brooklyn Ice Cream FactoryClick here for a 360 degree viewThe Brooklyn Bridge dwarfs the Empire State Buildingon the midtown skylineThe River Café ...... in the shadow of the Brooklyn BridgeSt. Ann's WarehouseJacques Torres... where I selected three amazing chocolates to samplealong my walk1915 Clocktower BuildingThe intersection of Water and MainThe Manhattan Bridge from Washington StreetFulton Ferry Empire State ParkThe Manhattan BridgeLots of furniture stores hereReturning to Cadman Plaza WestCadman Plaza
Walking from brunch at the Dean Street apartment of friends, who live a block from Michelle Williams. Their son is even a playmate of Heath Ledger and Williams' daughter Matilda, but I decided not to take a camera phone photo of her home ...Tree-lined streets and bicycle lanesThis is a CVSBrooklyn brownstonesFlowering walkways
New Yorkers in Bryant Park ...They're competing.They're reading.They're working.They're lounging.They're drinking.All phone photo ops featured in this post were taken between sips of Ketel One and Soda.
Overlooking New Haven from East RockA flowering tree outside of Yale's amazing libraryDebasha & Cassie stroll along white picket fencesBetween gorgeous old New England homesNew Haven storefrontsTree-lined streetsA bar comparison to mushroom caps and acorns
Today's route: Grand Central StationEast 42nd Street view of Grand Central TerminalPershing SquareInscription above the door reads: To all those who with head, heart and hand toiled in the construction of this monument to the public service this is inscribed.View from the 42nd Street entranceLooking west toward Vanderbilt AvenueInformation KioskMTA Metro-North TicketsLooking east toward Lexington AvenueConstellations of the winter night skyShopping above; informal food court stations belowDining ConcourseOyster Bar & RestaurantThis women are whispering in the wall to communicate ...... with their friend on the diagnol across the vaulted ceilingVanderbilt HallGrand Central Market
Today's route: The Great White Way and Times SquareForgettable emporiumsLooking south from 48th StreetBroadwayLooking north from 46th StreetWhere the New Year's Eve ball dropsLooking west on 42nd StreetNew Victory TheaterMadame Tussaud'sRipley's Believe it or Not!Port Authority Bus TerminalTheater RowWest Bank Cafe
My God. New York City is beautiful in the Spring.The day did start out like this ...... But turned into this ...Hands On New York volunteers painting, raking and plantingin St. Nicholas Park in Harlem ... And ended like this.
Today's route: Union Square to Madison SquareWashington at the south end of Union SquareDog park in Union SquareCoffee ShopLawn perimeterLincoln at the north end of Union SquareLooking south on East 17th StreetParagon SportsABC Carpet & HomeFlatiron Building Madison Square ParkDogs in Madison Square ParkNorth end of the parkThe lawn is closed October-AprilMetropolitan Life Building
Today's route: Littly Italy"Best bets" along Mulberry StreetFerrara Bakery & CafeAlleva DairyDi Palo's Fine Foods "... even as almost every other storefront on the blockdisplays Chinese lettering."Umberto's Clam HouseMulberry between Grand and BroomeLooking north on Mulberry Street
It's almost time for Spring Sundays again! I'm really looking forward to my city walks.And in what appears to be a new tradition in strange Sunday phone photo ops and burning questions, how exactly does this happen?
I received the following text yesterday afternoon: "Hey, we're having a party at my friend's place in the west village, huge apartment! Then stretch hummer to go to Marquee. Come, it should be fun! Let me know"So my girls and I decided not to go see a band performing in the Lower East Side and redirected our plans to the west. I hate hummers (because they are not environmentally friendly and they just look stupid), but getting to the clubs in the 27th Street region of the island can be a headache on foot. My girls and I have done the walk from 28th and Seventh many a time when vacant cabs are scarce.While we were all impressed with the high ceilings and tall windows of the West Village apartment of a lawyer for a prestigious New York-based law firm*, I was most intrigued by the presence of
My New York State driver license arrived in the mail today. It only took me a year and a half to apply for one, but only through fault and procrastination of my own, which - by definition - made me a law breaker. As noted on the New York State's Department of Motor Vehicles website, "if you become a resident of NYS, you must get a NYS driver license within 30 days and surrender your out-of-state driver license."However, it wasn't my need to return to the population of law-abiding, proper-license holding citizens. But motivated by an inane desire to flash a New York I.D. at night clubs and bars - rather than my old North Carolina one - I finally headed over to the License X-press, Manhattan's solution for what would otherwise be a painful afternoon at the DMV lined up behind thousands of Ne
On my way to the gym before work, Times Square was blocked to all pedestrian traffic.And while running on the treadmill, I learned that Times Square had been opened to vehicular traffic only a few hours earlier following a 3:45 a.m. bombing.Update: In Times Square Blast, Echos of Earlier Bombings
Today's "What the Hell is That?" city moment is brought to you by the Coalition of Mail Service Patrons Who Want to Know Why the Bryant Park Post Office Employees are Always in Such a Bad Mood.Taken outside of the Bryant Park Post Office today around lunchtime.Quick, someone get me some knunchucks and a turtle.
East Village Idiot has business cards for his blog. Hilarious. But perhaps necessary since his blog has received varying levels of acclaim throughout the city and is often cited in the city's periodicals. I skimmed his business card in vain hoping to find his favorite exploits of English grammar, and I was slightly disappointed that his card was grammatically flawless.Cuz I wanted to do this:
Please accept exhibits A, B and C (camera phone photo ops taken last Friday) as circumstantial evidence regarding the types of people with whom I work.Exhibit A (our senior marketing manager)Exhibit B (in the office of our director of advertising operations)Exhibit C (in the office of the VP)
IDK that amNY 86ed Five-on-Five.So even though I generally only take the amNY each morning on my way to the gym in order to help the adorable, little woman at the top of the Bryant Park Station subway stairs at 42nd and Fifth do her job, I actually skim through it 1-3 times a week. I was disappointed yesterday to read various letters to the editor regarding the termination of Five-on-Five. And there among the various responses to the "feature's apparent demise" was even a note from the East Village Idiot, a New York blog that I read regularly and to whom I frequently link posts whenever he writes anything that really makes me LOL.So no more Five-on-Five, huh? Well, OMG. INBD. Before I stop talking like a sixth grade school girl, I just wanted to say that there are few things better than witty, sarcastic sports banter on a Friday morning following a long workweek, and now there is only one reason left for me to continue picking up this paper. So if the adorable, little woman at th
In New York, you're more likely to have friends who are designers at Coach and can get you $1200-worth of merchandise for $50 at an employees-only sample sale. I now have two bags and a wallet. Yes, three items = $1200. I guess I should increase my renter's insurance.
On mornings when I don’t leave for the gym at 6 a.m., I am tormented by the internal debate of whether I should stay on the downtown no. 1 local train or switch to an express no. 2 or 3 at 96th Street. Under normal circumstances, this should be a no-brainer if one wants to quicken his or her commute. However, in the midst of rush hour, you are more likely to stand on a no. 2 or 3 train crammed between someone’s ear and someone else’s armpit and watch a nearly empty no. 1 train pace you all the way to 42nd Street.Today I made the switch to my own detriment. Below please note the armpit of the woman in the black coat, the man in the blue jacket about to be smashed by the closing doors, the grimace of the girl in the red (who would also watch mournfully as multiple no. 1 local trains passed our no. 2 express), and what appears to be a hand holding a baby in a tank top ... What the ...? It's 30 degrees outside! I didn't notice that while on the train so let's give the weary commut
The Bedding Section: Where wives leave husbands to convene during holiday shopping outings.Note: This was so much funnier when all of the men were sitting down on the edges of the bed looking forlorn, but as I was hovering by the towels trying to snap a camera phone photo op undetected, the guy in the red jacket jumped up when the group began discussing the Knicks.
So I made Friday and Saturday into one long day by pulling an all-nighter before flying to North Carolina for the Thanksgiving Holiday.Tokii and I joined friends for an album-release party at a club in the Lower East Side before returning to my apartment at 4am so I could pack and catch a 8:50am flight out of La Guardia. Surprisingly I was not regretting the up-all-night extravaganza as much as I thought I would as I wheeled my suitcase out of my apartment and hailed a cab to the nearest M-60 bus stop.Tokii has her own set of keys to my place so she saw me off before crashing on my side of the Hudson River rather than hauling it back to Jersey. We had to admit though that we were both a little shocked at how alert we were at 5:30am - especially as our bodies get farther and farther from those college days. In fact, it was probably easier to get rolling (literally) at that hour without napping.I don't know what it is about leaving New York for me. Even when I know I'm coming right bac
Enjoying exotic food by candlelight last night courtesy of my club promoter friend and the fabulous dinner parties she throws each week.[photo to be added]I'm not sure what I ate, but it sure was good. It might have helped if I could see, but the dim lighting set the mood, and everyone looks more attractive in the dark.
"If you want to make it through the Knicks game tonight, you better go home and take a nap." - That is how cool my boss is. So I left the office early since I (a) was sick and (b) had a ticket to the Knicks game with my name on it.And so it was that I went to my second Knicks game tonight with my girl Iris. Her boss is a season ticket holder and gave her two tickets to tonight's game versus Denver.[photo to be added]The two guys sitting in front of us (backs of their heads featured above) turned around to high-five us every time the Knicks did something good. After awhile my hand started to hurt. I'm not a huge sports fan, and I've been trying to get over a dual case of severe head cold and bronchitis. Even though the game was fun, poor Iris had to deal with my low-key, docile demeanor.I really wanted a hotdog while we were there, but they were too expensive so we had a New York slice down the street from The Garden afterward and talked ourselves out of meeting friends at Tenjune si
So we aren't exactly at the top yet, but if kind of feels that way. My best friend will now be in 23 episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne. She'll be flying down to Atlanta from New York every Sunday through Wednesday until January.Last night, I left midtown after work and went to her apartment in Jersey to hang out before she leaves on Sunday for her first week of filming. Tonight some friends and I are taking her out for a little V.I.P. treatment at our favorite Lower East Side lounge.The view of the city from Tokii's apartment before I fell asleep last night[photo to be added]And the rainbow sunrise looking East over the Hudson River when I awoke this morning[photo to be added] The city becomes even more beautiful when you are feeling on top of the world.
Since the line to Blood Manor had reached a three-hour wait by the time we arrived on Saturday night, my friends and I decided to redeem our online-purchased tickets on Tuesday. We arrived directly from our respective offices and waited about 30 minutes for a disturbing jaunt through the Chelsea club turned haunted house.Only in New York is a haunted house featured on a 4th-floor walk-up.The two-headed monster outside of Blood Manor."This monster actually has three heads," our gorgeous, former Miss Indiana friend reminded us ... Gotta love my girls.
With girls like mine and a city like this on a Saturday night ... I actually surprised myself with a productive Sunday. I did laundry, cleaned my apartment and caught up on some personal projects.The champagne arrives ...... with strawberries and chocolates
It's just another day in New York City when Don King rolls up on the corner where you're trying to hail a cab and gets out with American flags.I was in a rush so I had to take off downtown, but I am curious to know what he was doing on the streets of Manhattan waving flags.
Sometimes while wondering aimlessly in the streets on New York, you bump into Carrie Bradshaw smacking Mr. Big with a bouquet of flowers.And you see how hot Mr. Big really is in person and you suddenly understand why Carrie put up with him for six years.
In New York, you're more likely to walk by the red carpet for the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Awards on your way to meet your girls at a bar after work.And once you've been here for awhile, you're more likely to not care about waiting around to glimpse celebs as you snap a quick camera phone pic simply because you have a blog in which you plan to write later about how likely you are not to care ... and you continue speed walking along 34th Street to happy hour.And while you've been here for awhile but not really all that long (say ... a little over a year), you still secretly think it's pretty cool as you turn the corner and meet your friends on 10th Avenue.
After a Saturday night out on the town with my girl Iris, I dragged myself out of bed and to a birthday brunch in Brooklyn for my friend Gina C. I was joined by my best friend Tokii and her fellow Juilliard alum Jamario, four fabulous people from Gina's job, including a gorgeous girl who looks exactly like Maggie Gyllenhaal and has legs for days, Gina's roommates and other new friends.We ate waffles cooked by the Birthday Girl and topped with everything, drank Mimosas, played Taboo! (which gets funnier the more Mimosas you drink) and had a hilarious photo shoot in the kitchen. What started as a brunch turned into an all day affair. By the time Tokii and I were headed back west to Jersey and Harlem respectively, it was getting dark and I was lamenting the end of another weekend.The most refreshing thing about Brooklyn was the space. Gina and her two roommates share an enormous three-bedroom apartment. It took me an hour to get there from Harlem on the A train, and the commute from mid
My friend Gina B. walks out of her apartment building and sees this:Taken on my way home after listening to Barack Obama speak and watching a spiritual healer in Washington Square Park, dinner and drinks at a Chinese restaurant in Soho, and hanging out at Gina's spot for about an hour.
I went to hear Barack Obama speak in Washington Square Park this evening. I wasn't able to see him from where we stood, but I went as much for the experience as to hear what he had to say since I've heard most of it in one soundbite or another.However, I was able to see this interesting guy pictured below. He's a spiritual healer of sorts and to quote a random NYU student who watched me take this camera phone photo op: "It looks crazy, right? I know. I thought he was full of shit the first time I saw him out here, but then he cured a businessman's headache and then he, like, made my leg stop hurting. It's crazy."I had nothing to heal at the moment so I wasn't able to try it out.
The Grand Opening of the H&M on 42nd and Fifth was today at noon.Taken at approximately 8:30 a.m. on my way to the office from the gym. There was already a line around the block, which meant two things: (1) I hoped they were giving away free goodies to the first several hundred customers because one can get all the same stuff in the H&M on 51st and Fifth, and (2) I wouldn't be going there today.
TO YOUSTRANGER! if you, passing, meet me, and desire to speak to me,why should you not speak to me?And why should I not speak to you?- Walt WhitmanOn a downtown no. 2 train. What a concept in New York City. Yet somehow it did not inspire me to speak to anyone.
At Spotlight Live last night with sorority sisters and friends celebrating two birthdays.Spotlight Live showcases the vocal skills of local talent and tourists or enlivens dull and bad karaoke acts on the main stage while the audience enjoy items from a moderately priced menu and a variety of adult beverages at digitally interactive tables. Guests can sign up for songs, view playback of the evening's performances and rate each act on individual touchscreens. The waitstaff double as back-up singers and dancers and know virtually every dance routine from Britney's "Hit Me, Baby, One More Time" to Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back."Below my sorority sister's husband Amos sings "Bye, Bye, Bye" while the back-up dancers perform 'N Sync's entire dance routine.Afterward I joined a friend for sushi at his favorite spot Sushi Seki. He's a famous chef at one of New York's top restaurants so he knows good sushi. I'm basically the girl that someone like him - an expert foodie - rolls his eye
New York Fashion Week Spring 2008 is kicking off. The huge tent is up in Bryant Park and designers, models and celebrities are swarming the beautiful lawn preventing Corporate New Yorkers and tourists from enjoying lunches and the last summer afternoons on the grass. Some are annoyed by Fashion Week, others look forward to it each spring and fall. But it is undoubtedly one of the many parts of the city's rich culture.I won't be here for most of Fashion Week. I'm leaving on an early flight for Atlanta tomorrow morning and taking a few days off from work to extend a weekend with Terrence, but I did attend a small fashion show last night at Tavern on the Green in Central Park with a few friends who work in design for Coach.The "before" and after-party was packed with young and old New York socialites. You could practically smell the money and the collagen. Lost in a sea of pretty faces, I have never been surrounded by so many beautiful people at one time. I was clearly out of place and
When I first entered my boss's apartment on Thursday night, I thought to myself, so this is how this side of the world lives ...How would you like this for a headboard?And this view from your living room?Or a roof deck like this ...... overlooking a park like thatAnd rooftop views of the Empire State Building ...... and the Statue of LibertyAnd sometimes a cruise ship passes by your window ...... and you watch sunsets like thisAnd I got paid to stay there for three nights with her cats.
Sunrise while cat-sitting at my boss's Tribeca apartment (not to be confused with the East Village apartment of my other boss)Looking west over the Hudson RiverIn Tribeca - for those who already have it all -the sun can also rise in the west
In New York, you're more likely to look up and glimpse the top ofthe Empire State Building while having drinks with coworkers.This afternoon my boss authorized a mandatory 4 p.m. evacuation of our office to the outdoor bar in Bryant Park. Who were we to object?
Today's route: Carnegie Hill & BeyondHeading north on Fifth AvenueGuggenheim under constructionCooper-Hewitt National Design Museumin the old Carnegie mansionConvent of the Sacred HeartSpence School (Gwyneth Paltrow's alma mater)Homes along East 92nd StreetJewish MuseumPart of Mt. Sinai HospitalPeering into Central Park from Fifth AvenueMuseum of the City of New York105th Street at the entrance of the Conservatory GardenEntering the gardenI spent more time in this garden than walking up Fifth ...... It was so beautifulLooking east toward Fifth AvenueTo be dubbed my favorite sculpture in the cityCentral Park North looking toward Harlem
Before I departed alone on my 13th Sunday City Walk, I took an after-Upper-East-Side-brunch walk around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir with an old college classmate/new post-college friend Katie (visiting from Washington, D.C.) and another new friend Carrie (moved to New York two weeks ago to start a graduate program at NYU).It wasn't this dark; no way to adjust over-exposure on my camera phoneCouldn't help but remember the scene from The Devil's AdvocateLooking toward the Upper West Side from the south of the reservoirA bridge on the west side of the reservoir
As seen this morning outside of the Starbucks at 42nd and SixthOne should watch out for spit, excess dust and falling tools, but should you become a victim of a construction accident, call the New York Construction Accidents Law Firm.
Summer Fridays are coming to an end. Labor Day Weekend marks the last Friday that I can leave the office at 2 p.m. and still receive pay for a full workday. I hung out in Bryant Park for an hour this afternoon, and below is a photo essay of my observations.
How cool is my boss? I arrived at work early this morning to try to finish up some of this week's work and take advantage of the 2 p.m. Summer Friday, and she said to me: "Eve is performing downstairs. I left you a voicemail about it. Go down to the concert!"So I turned around, walked out of the office and crossed the street to Bryant Park, where Eve was performing live on Good Morning America's Live Summer Concert Series.Eve with the GMA crewBehind the scenes
Tonight Jamario and his girlfriend Stephanie joined me on the lawn for the original Psycho starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, the last show of the 2007 HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.Not as crowded as last week, probably due to the overcast skiesThe infamous shower sceneAlmost similar to my profile photo ...... Yet slightly different from my uncropped originalIt was a pretty psycho scene on the lawn ...... But it was even crazier how clean the public restroomsare in Bryant Park
I am always fascinated by people using sign language - especially in large groups, like these guys on an uptown 1 train during my evening return from the beach house via the LIRR and the 7th Avenue Line.They were so animated and lively throughout their conversation that I could not help but wonder what they were discussing. Yet it was so quiet.
View from the LIRR arriving in Long Beach, NY, on FridayView from the beach house I shared with five girlfriends and all of the random people who crashed with us while celebrating Gina's birthday over the weekendMy view for most of Saturday
Back in North Carolina for Tokii's wedding on FridayAt the reception at the Prestonwood Country ClubThe wedding programs I designed for herBeing a bridesmaid was hard work, but I'd like to take a moment to rave about my boyfriend, who never complained through three days of helping me remain at Tokii's beck and call, including crafty wedding projects, chauffeuring the bridal party to hair and nail salons, midnight errands for personal items that the bride forgot to buy for her honeymoon, and many other favors that he graciously accommodated to help keep Tokii - and ultimately me - happy.Watching Terrence's plane take him back to AtlantaAnd the vessel that took me back to New York
Today's Route: Battery Park CityStaten Island FerryMore captions to be added(in Raleigh backdating posts and updating the blog)Beer Gardens ... our kind of gardenThough he appears to be about 5'5" in this photo, he's actually 6'9".The Statue of LibertyChess on the promenadeTip of the Financial DistrictJersey from they cityTwilight fishersIrish Hunger MemorialWorld Trade Center Site
Great things about Friday in New York:1) John Legend live in Bryant Park before work with the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series.2) Out of the office by 2 p.m. thanks to Summer Fridays.3) Double-date planned this evening at Sing Sing in the East Village with Terrence, a coworker and her boyfriend.
Some colleagues and I marveled at this construction worker outside of our building without a harness, tether, net or any safety contraption that would otherwise qualify him for minimal medical, life or liability insurance coverage.Here is a little more impressive view.
Today's route: Nolita ("North of Little Italy") Looking south on Crosby StreetLadder Company No. 20New York's original St. Patrick's CathedralSunday massFunky jewelry, hats and handbags line the brick wallalong Prince StreetAnd the graveyard within the brick wallbordering Mulberry, Prince and Mott StreetsFormer Fourteenth Ward Industrial Schoolwith turquoise fire escapesCafe Gitane at Prince and Mott"The very tiny Bistro Margot" is very tiny apparently;I couldn't find it so I took a picture of The Kitchen Club.Elizabeth Street GalleryProceeding south on Elizabeth StreetOld neighborhood storefront turned sleek and stylish boutique166 Elizabeth Street at KenmareLooking west into Little Italy ...... And south into ChinatownThe Empire State Building looms here from the corner of Broome and Mott, but it's lost in white-out due to the overcast sky and poor pixels on my camera phone.This is one way to secure a bike: remove wheels and lock to street signBut one has to wonder, if you're g
