New York

Last weekend I made my first trip to New York City, and I figured I would write a couple things about it. My good friend Alex was in Connecticut for some interviewings, and figured that a trip to New York was warranted. I agreed to meet him.

One thing I learned this trip is that one can get to New York relatively painlessly via bus for less than twenty dollars. Sure, it's five hours; but that really isn't all that long. So I left DC at 11:30 and arrived somewhere around 4:30ish.

First thought: The New Yorker hotel was very cool. Granted, painfully expensive, but still, very cool.

Alex and I, staying in mid Manhattan, decided to venture north to Times Square, Broadway, and Central Park. It's all very shiny. There are probably more LCD screens lining Broadway than I've seen all other places combined. Wicked was playing, but there's no chance in hell we were going to get tickets, and nothing else really jumped out at us. We got pictures near the Late Show with David Letterman sign, which was cool. We did some walking around Central Park and eventually ended up seeing the MET. There was a huge Egyptian exhibit there which I had heard about on the bus, so we decided to venture in. That's a really huge place. We got done with what we had thought was the Egyptian exhibit, only to discover there was even more!

It was nearing 8:30 or 9:00 PM, and at this point I hadn't had anything to eat other than a pastry in DC and a handful of Frosted Mini Wheats when I woke up. So I was hungry and sugar crashing, so food was necessary. We asked the lady at the information desk, and she pointed us to a nearby Italian restaurant. We wanted Italian, and it was listed as cheap.

Cheap must mean something different in New York, for the total for two dishes (of really, very good Ravs)and two sides of mashed potatoes, and two glasses of wine (mine was even a tiny momosa!) came to $90+, including tip. For a $ restaurant! God forbid a $$$$... I was expecting something along the lines of the Pie Hole, for instance. But it was tasty, we had some good dinner conversation with a fellow tourist, and headed to Greenwich village.

Once we got there, we (well, for me) began the search for a bathroom, since the restaurant we were at didn't have one I could see. We found one in Starbucks which had an absurd line, and none in many of the other places we went into, and finally stopped at Whole Foods (which had a bathroom, but no toilet paper...). We were there just as they were closing, but we got that done.

We then ventured towards actual Greenwich village (we were in Union Square) searching for a good bar. After help from a kind lady, we found the Knickerbocker, which was a fairly upscale Bar and Steak place (I think). They had a Jazz duo playing, one on the piano and one on the banjo. It was a very good atmosphere. We had new beers by Blue Point and Brooklyn breweries, which were solid, if nothing special.

Then we ventured back to the hotel.

After we checked out and got breakfast the next day, I had some waiting between Alex leaving and me leaving. During that time, there was another search for a bathroom. One Starbucks simply didn't have a public restroom, the Dunkin Donuts I finally found had one, that was out of order, and finally, McDonalds came through (with the most disgusting bathroom yet!)

Bus ride back was much more cramped, but still not bad. Did I mention the buses were equipped with free wifi? Yeah, that was pretty cool.

What I learned was - Getting to New York is easy! Finding a bathroom on the other hand, is not.

Designing a New Life

One of the tasks Big and I have to complete during this visit is our wedding registry. We're not done by any means, and so far it's been a really interesting process.  Despite the talks we've had in the past about style, likes, and dislikes, it's much different when you're looking though every shower curtain ever created and trying to pick the one that you're going to start your new life together with.  It became quite clear that we have very different instincts in terms of color, pattern, and tone. I tend to like a mix between really bright limes, mustards, and pinks (not all together) with some muted blues and greys thrown in to calm things down while Big likes a lot of earth tones, blacks and reds.  I like sassy modern patterns with stripes, swirls and polka dots, while he like big solids and simple geometric patterns. I want dishes with red and yellow polka dots and he wants natural, earthy tones that won't visually interfere with what's on the plate. It's a process of deciding what areas of the home matter most to each of us and what we can find that will be a comfortable compromise for both of us. I think this is just a foretaste of how much more complicated and interesting living life for two will be.

Relocation Contemplation

After two months apart - boo! I'm finally visiting Big - yay! I get 9 days with him which is awesome and 9 days to explore this city that will be my new home in 3 1/2 months which is exciting and scary. Life is full of trade-offs so I'm not surprised by the pros and cons of living out here. Maybe I'll blog a list of them later.  The hardest thing, that I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about, is starting fresh. This will be my first real move, or relocation as people like to say, as an adult and I'm moving from a place I really love to a place that's just a giant question mark.  I know Boise like the back of my hand. I have an internal map of the city in my mind and can get just about anywhere without worry. I have a long list of favorites at the ready for almost any occasion. I feel a sense of pride and belonging there.  I have a solid network of friends and family and a job I love. My life is very secure there. It's full of known quantities. Fairfax is going to be something completely different and completely new.  It's exciting to start fresh, to have to figure everything out and discover new things and places to love. To get a feel for the rhythms of the city, the ins and outs. It's also totally overwhelming.  Big and I are planning on moving back to Boise when he's done with school (in about 4 years), and I'm holding onto that almost like a security blanket.  January is coming soon though and everything it's going to bring with it. There are a lot of really big changes on the horizon and I'm trying to prepare for them the best I can. If you've got any tips,  I'd love to hear them.

She's Here!

little arrived Saturday morning, and is staying until Sunday afternoon! It shall be the most awesome time ever!

Plans:
Fair Oaks Mall and Inception
Smithsonian Art Museum?
Tasty foods

What else?

Playlist time! I've started compiling ideas for music at the wedding. We'll be rocking the ipod for the reception and I plan on having a general background playlist and a dancing one as well. Got any suggestions? Please let us know in the comments!

"So Close" by John McLaughlin is kind of our song, so I'm pretty sure it will be our first dance song:
  

the long haul

I finally saw Date Night tonight and it was really fun and funny. It’s got a pretty standard plotline: a married couple who have lost their spark go out for a night on the town that starts with one simple lie and turns into a crazy, dangerous adventure that brings them back together. Tina Fey and Steve Carrell headed a fun cast that deliver great writing.  It worries me though, how common this scenario seems to be. There’s a couple in the movie who are breaking up, in explanation of why, the man says he and his wife have stopped being a couple and are now just really excellent roommates. Obviously no one starts out their marriage with the expectation that it will fizzle and die, but it seems like marriages that have lost their spark, gone from being passion-filled to duty-filled and are bogged down by the burden of children, work and finances are far from rare. We see it expressed as the norm in the media and most of us can probably point to many real life relationships that are suffering in this way.  As someone who has decided to join my life with another’s for better or worse, I find this situation terrifying.  Is it inevitable? Is it a product of poor communication and laziness? Is it avoidable if you put in the work? Is it a product of having children and focusing on parenting? I want answers, because that is not the life for me.

Mockingjay

Little introduced me to a wonderful series for my birthday this past January - the Hunger Games trilogy. For those of you who have not read it, you are missing out. The first book in the series is really great and stands well on its own, and the next two are very good.

As Mockingjay was just released August 24th (and I got it the 23rd in the morning, ha!) there was a good wait period between the second and third book for me to get excited. In the end... I think I was disappointed.

I won't spoil anything, but I must say that the story arc of Katniss is very human and realistic. I'm sure she probably copes with the trauma of war better than most people in the real world do.

But I don't want to read a novel about how people really cope with life. That's what life is for. I want characters who are better than myself, doing things that people in real life cannot do but hope to do (but hope - there's the key word). That's why I thought Death of a Salesman was an abomination, and why I threw 1984 across the room when I finished it (though I will admit that no other ending would have fit that book).

Perfect characters are boring; but I want characters that have flaws that they must overcome, and do.

Random rant, off.