In Like a Lion

So we had our first real snow fall of the season last Thursday. It is funny to think that people freak out at six inches but then again I am from the Midwest (land o' snow). It is really beautiful here when it snows. Parts of the city become almost silent. Despite the cold I did have some fun this weekend.

Saturday I went over to my friend Alisa's apartment in the financial district. She had been testing all kinds of chocolate recipes which we sampled. Then we headed over to the Upper East Side because one of her friends won an hour keg at an Irish pub. It really was not a keg, it was just an hour of coors light draft for the winner and his/her friends. It was a really funny pub. The TVs only play sports games with teams from Boston, most of the music was circa 1996, and there were Beer Pong tables (that seems so unhygienic in a public place but oh yes I'm old and a party pooper when it comes to Frat like games). But we really did all have a great time.

Sunday I met up with my friend from college Sarah and her husband Joe. It was warmer out and sunny so we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Our plan was to have lunch at Grimmaldi's (which is a pizza place under the bridge on the Brooklyn side) but the line was insane so instead we went next door to Joe's Cafe which was really nice and had a great view of the Manhattan skyline. Sandy and Terry had a pre-Oscar dinner party for some friends which was very fun. Sandy made a Mussel soup and a lamb pasta which were both out of this world. We then retired to watch the Oscars...yay Javier Bardem.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Work has been really busy. We are getting ready for registration. In an effort to have advisors available more often to the students we are staggering our hours. So my new shift is 8-4 which I like because I miss rush hour and when I do leave work at 4 it is nice to CURVES (and the subways) to be less crowded. Tomorrow I will have no such luck as it will be a 12 hour day. Oh that busy time of the semester. But now it is time for bed.

V Day, P Day, and other holidays in between

Let us see, things have been very busy lately. Work sure does take up a lot of time. Other then that, I have been hanging out with some new friends and family. Last weekend I was at a fantastic dinner party (it amazes me that there are apartments in Manhattan that can accommodate a sit down dinner for 20). My cousin Miriam was in town for a couple of days so she, Esther, and I enjoyed a low key evening of sushi and Larry King Live in Esther's apartment.

Sandy and Terry took me as their guest to the annual Chinese New Year dinner party in Brooklyn. It is hosted by the borough president, Marty Markovitz who is a riot (and loves Brooklyn). The dinner was at Pacificana, a Chinese restaurant located in Sunset Park which is where Brooklyn's Chinatown is. I have never had better Chinese food in my life. The shrimp with honey and cashews was by far my favorite...the plum wine was also nice :) The dinner included dancers, musicians, and a lion dance (where people wear dragon costumes). The gift bags were fun too. We got a back stratcher, slippers, a decoration, and a stuffed mouse (because it is the year of the Rat).

For Valentine's Day I hung out with my friend Josie. We went to try a new nail salon which was great. We got spa pedicures which included a leg massage with honey and manicures. We then had dinner at Serifina, an Italian restaurant in the theater district. We were the only ones in the restaurant who were not on a date, but I don't think either of us cared. We finished the evening by buying ourselves a Valentine’s Day gift at Virgin records in time square.

This weekend Esther and Michael treated Sarah and I to a sisters (plus Mikie) weekend in Florida. It was very nice and relaxing. We hit the gym, went to the beach, an antique and jewelry show in Palm Beach, saw a production of the Odd Couple, had dinner with Esther and Mikie's friends Lee and Lisa, went shopping with Mikie's daughter Stephanie, and finished the weekend by hitting the Boca Raton art museum. It was nice to be in warm weather, wear open toe shoes, and enjoy a couple of stress free days.

Silly Moments

So my friend/co-worker Melissa (who lives just eight blocks away from my apt) is moving the Manhattan. She didn't want to take all of her things so she gave me her cot (so I have a guest bed now). Well Sandy and I went to pick it up and realized it wouldn't fit in Sandy's car. Question: What do you do when the bed on wheels can't fit in the car? Answer: You wheel it home...which I totally did. Next problem was it was too heavy to get upstairs... (Fortunately Joe, one of Esther's employees helped me later in the week with that).

So in other embarrassing movements, I got a phone call the other night from someone asking for the Sexy Paula Rosenberg, it took me a good five minutes to figure out it was Adam Williams (a friend from college). Adam was in town for a couple of days so he met me at work and we went to Metro Marche for lunch. They are filming the final for project runway right now and I saw Michael Koors yesterday.

Today I met Adam, Esther, Michael, and Adam's friends Dana, Patricia, and Stacey at BOND 45 for drinks and appetizers. I had been there before. It is this great place in the theater district that makes the best ultra thin crust pizzas. Esther and Michael had tickets for a show so the rest of us headed to Chelsea for Cocktails and appetizers at Sushi Samba (a Japanese/Brazilian fusion place). It was a lot of fun and a great place to hang out. Oddly enough Dana, Stacey, and Patricia are designers and they only work three blocks away from my office so we are making plans to hang out some more in the future. What was even an odder coincidence is that our waitress at Sushi Samba is from Big Rapids, and knew Adam. That is one of the best things about New York, you never know the old or new friends you may meet in one day.

I LOVE the weekends

Whew, this week was crazy. Last weekend included getting together with some friends from college who now live here in the NYC area. My friend Heidi had a birthday party for her boyfriend David at their apartment in Brooklyn. Later on that evening some of us headed back to Manhattan. We had intended on going to Don't Tell Mama (a piano bar where the waiters get up and perform cabaret) but it was way too crowded. We ended up going to Bar Centrale (which I sort of feel is becoming my hang out with people) there are thousands of Restaurants in NYC but I somehow manage to have dinner there at least once a month.

This Friday I had Shabbat dinner at my friend Sharon's apartment after service. My friends Kristen and Rico were there too and it was great to meet more BJ members. Today I took advantage of my traveling pass for CURVES and went over to the Park Slope location, which is closer to home. It was such a nice day that I ended up walking around for a while. Park Slope is one of my favorite parts of Brooklyn. Walking around Prospect Park is like walking down Central Park West or Fifth Avenue by the park, without the crowds. I am now cleaning and reorganizing my apt. I am enjoying some lovely treats that Sandy and Terry brought me from their vacation (they were in Belgium, France, and Switzerland) so I am having a piece of Swiss Chocolate and a cup of French Wedding tea. This is fitting since I have the film La Vie En Rose on in the background. If you have not seen this film, it is excellent. I saw it in the theaters with Linda and Esther the week I interviewed for my current job.

Tomorrow will be busy but fun. I am planning on going to one of my other favorite places in Brooklyn, the botanical gardens for the Chinese New Year celebration, later on I will make a quick visit to my co-worker Melissa's, and then Sandy, Terry, and I will be rooting for the Giants!

I get asked a lot about my loyalty to teams. Here is the low down on who I root for

Football-The Giants (hee, hee I don't have to root for Cleveland teams first any more if I choose not too)

Basketball-I admit I am still a Cavs fan but I will root for the Knicks, in every other circumstance

Baseball- AL-Yankees, NL- Cubs, Phillys, and Mets (no real front runner, I am more of an AL girl)

College Teams-Now and forever OSU

Hockey-Red Wings (the one and only Michigan team, I have always rooted for)