Quirky Town

Things have been busy in the Big Apple. After the slow month of June at work, things have picked up again. My class is starting to wind down and will be finished at the end of the month.

Last weekend my Uncle Marv and cousin Ruthie were in town. It was wonderful getting to see both of them. My Uncle Marv lives in Cleveland and Ruthie lives in Nashville so it is a treat to spend time with them. Before meeting them for dinner at Al Dente, I went to the movies and saw Wanted. I have a thing for James McAvoy...and have no idea what that is about. :) After the movies I went to the Museum of Modern Art. Since the New School is a corporate member, not only can I get in for free but I can go to members only events. A new exhibit on Salvador Dali opened and it was nice to enjoy it without a crowd since only members could gain entrance.

Earlier that week Michael treated Esther, our friend Jill, and myself to cocktails at The Library Hotel. What makes this story funny is that just days earlier Chad and I wanted to have a drink at the library hotel but apparently it is closed on Sunday. This bar is totally different then I imagined. In a hotel that labels the floors by the Dewy Decimal System, one imagines a quiet rooftop garden where you can enjoy tea, lemonade, or scotch while listening to classical music. Well that was not the case. Instead imagine a trendy, loud bar, where the waitresses wear matching little black dresses that are cut entirely too low. We did have a nice time though and they make a mean Campari and Soda.

My friend from Graduate School, Theresa just moved to the NYC area. We hung out last Sunday with some of Theresa's friends who were in town from Boston. We caught part of the Pride Parade which was going down Fifth Avenue. Later we got caught in a down poor so we hung out at Chipolte for a while.Later Theresa and I hung out in the West Village and made it over to Magnolias to enjoy..."A treat Carrie Bradshaw would love."

My fourth weekend was very quiet which is what I wanted. While it would have been cool (and crowded) to see Sonic Youth with some friends at Battery Park, it was just as nice to stay in. I never get to spend a day reading and lounging around so it was a nice change. The weather has been iffy here all weekend anyway so it was not the best time to go out and see fireworks, though I saw some from home.

Today I hung out with Theresa. Her sister works for a ticketing agency so she gave us tickets to Title of a Show, which was a really fun musical. Before the show we enjoyed Crêpes and window shopping at the 6th avenue street fair.

So living in NYC, you see a lot of weird things that you can't explain. If you did not grow up here, then things that are every day may seem curious, weird, or just different from Midwest life. Here are some things that I find mildly amusing:

-The best coffee comes from Mud Trucks (trucks that park on corners and sell breakfast food)
-The police occasionally make announcements to the press right on Times Square...and tourists photograph them doing so
-You can buy peanuts, almonds, pecans, or cashews from the Nut Trucks but if you want Chestnuts you have to buy them from the Hot Dog or Shish Kabob carts
-The police will occasionally raid shops in Chinatown that sell knockoffs but they don't shop the venders on every corner in midtown from selling knock offs
-People often walk their dogs in baby strollers-There is a Mikvah Tank (which is an RV) and they like to pull people into the truck to pray with them, yes I have been pulled in before