I've been lacking inspiration lately. There are times when I sit down with my laptop and tap my thoughts right onto the keyboard and the page magically fills with a cohesive account of my experiences. And then there are times when I sit down and stare at the blank screen willing it to be filled with something readable. On those days, I am usually tempted to create a complaint filled blog that virtually whines when you read it. If I were to peck on the keys on one of those days the result would be organized something like this:
Introduction: Poor me doesn't have enough money to live in this fantastic city.
Body: I'm tired from being so busy with work and school and friends. Nothing new, exciting, or glamorous happened to me in class or on the weekend.
Closing: Waaaaaah.
So I sat down today determined to continue my weekly updates with a clever, engaging little tale of life in the Big Apple. But I got nothin'. And I realized that the reason for this is that our life here has become pretty routine. Now that our steady stream of visitors has dried up, we actually have time on our hands to do chores, do Christmas shopping, write Christmas cards, and catch up on Tivo. So the thoughts that are running through my head involve football, bills, and "The Situation" on the Jersey Shore.
(Side note: If you have not watched this trainwreck of a show on MTV (Jersey Shore), you are missing out on the opportunity to be assaulted both verbally and visually and to have your sense of decency ripped to shreds. The premise is much like the Real World, but in this case 8 Italian-American twenty-somethings move in together for the summer on the Jersey Shore. I am sure there are young adults of similar ethnic makeup that don't spend all of their time either A) in a tanning bed, B) applying hair product, C) punching someone in the face at a bar or D)calling themselves classy while wearing booty shorts and a top that can only be described as a cloth necklace, but MTV failed to find one to put on the show. Oh and "The Situation" is a nickname that a cast member gave himself because his six-pack abs are such a situation. You couldn't make this stuff up.)
So as you can see, life is pretty boring. But boring in a nice, calm way. We put up a Christmas tree last weekend while the first snow fell outside and promptly melted. (It is flat on one side which is good for two reasons: it fits snug up against the window and it was cheap because it's deformed.) We pulled off wins with our fantasy teams. We ate meat loaf last night. I mean, seriously, I got nothin'. So I won't bore you with any more details of our leftovers and chores, but just know we are happily plugging along, getting ready for the holidays and in the full throes of Charger playoff anticipation. I will now return to HBO on Demand and a meatloaf sandwich. Have a great weekend!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
30 Days: The Wistful Holiday Edition
This most recent 30 days ticked away without me even realizing another month had gone by. And I may have prematurely declared the honeymoon over. With the holiday season in full swing, there aren't many places I'd rather be filled with cheer in than New York City. Well, there are a few (Mom), but if I can't be home at least I can walk on over to Rockefeller Center and see the Christmas tree I've only ever seen on television. So in honor of our most recent month in New York and in the spirit of one of my favorite times of year, here is the holiday edition of thirty things I've discovered, experienced, observed or would like to share.
1. The crisp fall air is invigorating. We've had our coldest stretch of weather this season (in the 40's) and it's just perfect for walking around this magnificent city. Cold enough to make your cheeks rosy, but not so much that it bites.
2. Walking to work is the perfect way to start my day. I put holiday tunes on my ipod and head past the arch in Washington Square that is now occupied by a giant Christmas tree. It's impossible not to be in a good mood.
3. If you are a park, plaza, department store, building with a large lobby, or a bank in Manhattan, it is illegal to not have a giant Christmas tree.
4. The Salvation Army bell ringers here are not the downtrodden bell ringers I am accustomed to outside of the grocery store or mall in the 'burbs. The quartet (yes, there were 4!) outside of Grand Central had an acoustic guitar, were fully miked, and singing (and ringing) Feliz Navidad. Brilliant.
5. There are so many things that I've seen on TV (like the Rockefeller tree lighting or the Macy's Thanksgiving parade) that I've thought "I have to do that at least once while I live here". There's a part of me that thinks it is a necessary New York experience and that I'd be a fool to pass it up. It turns out that most of these events require a serious time investment to even get in a position to have a sliver of a view and involve an epic battle with a crowd of irritable people all jockeying for position for this one moment in time that is supposed to be a fond memory for lifetime. My decision is that I will keep the 12 hours of my life I would have spent waiting and watch it on TV...again.
6. We toured the window displays at Macy's and Saks last weekend as well as the holiday train display at Grand Central. It made me realize that the thing I love most about this time of year is being able to grab onto a little piece of that sense of wonder and magic that I had as a child.
7. I play holiday music constantly from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day. I don't get tired of it and it makes me realize what a freaking sap I am.
8. I took great care in decorating our apartment as I wanted it to reflect who we are and our own personal style. I don't like kitsch, country crafts or clutter, yet for some reason at this time of year, I find it perfectly acceptable to hang a Santa Claus doll on our bathroom doorknob that plays Jingle Bells when you wind him up.
9. I think I might be dangerously close to wearing a light up reindeer sweater.
10. Given that we have no chimney to hang our stockings by with care, I've hung them above our TV on a shelving unit framing a second Santa doll whose legs dangle off the ledge of the shelf rather adorably.
11. I might be wearing a headband with mistletoe attached.
12. My favorite Christmas albums are Christmas with the Rat Pack, John Legend's NBC Special, The Carpenters, and some Old Navy jazzy compilation that I picked up probably more than a decade ago since I've known it longer than I've known Mike.
13. I knew our apartment was not big enough for a Christmas tree, but it is just now sinking in how much I will miss having a tree. I love sitting with all the lights off but the ones on the tree with a favorite CD playing and a cup of hot schnocolate. This year, I'm afraid, will be my first without a Christmas tree EVER.
14. I just decided that it would be a complete travesty to not have a tree. I will be buying the 2 footer that I saw at the Union Square Greenmarket and balancing it on an ottoman if I have to, lights, ornaments, and all. Tiny apartment, I am putting my foot down!
15. Oh and if you don't know what hot schnocolate is, it's hot chocolate with a splash of peppermint schnapps. Love it.
16. I also love egg nog. I will be picking some up tomorrow.
17. As we all know, real estate in Manhattan is worth more than gold, so you don't see vast parking lots outside of a big box retail store with an area sectioned off for Christmas trees. So just where do you find a Christmas tree in Manhattan?
18. It turns out that Christmas tree lots are much like those Spirit Halloween stores that seem to pop up everywhere in unused retail space that you never actually noticed was unused until you considered buying a sexy devil costume. The Korean deli sells Christmas trees, CVS sells Christmas trees, some guy set up shop on what looks like an island in the middle of 7th Avenue...basically they get in where they fit in.
19. Having lived far from home in years past and now doing it again, I realize that so much of making Christmas feel like the Christmas you know is recreating the familiar in a new setting. How could I possibly have considered not cramming a tree in here?
20. (Visualizing getting poked in the eye by an errant branch and breaking my nose on a manger scene.)
21. (Shaking it off and recommitting.)
22. This year we are making a triumphant return to Buffalo for Christmas, where we spent three memorable holidays seasons. The first was the most difficult, but Mike's Aunt Maureen and Uncle Ron helped us establish new traditions during our time there and I am soooooo looking forward to the butter poached lobster tail and filet mignon that follow the mountain of shrimp cocktail and directly precede the parade of butter cookies, cakes, candies and Niagara Ice Wine.
23. (Realizing I must make a point to buy gifts for the cats and pretending it's normal).
24. Although we have our new traditions, I will miss the ones I have with my family back in California. The one I will miss the most? My sister and I recounting the sleepless Christmas Eves where we spent hours drawing maps that would guide us to our stockings at the allowed time of 6:00 am. We lived in a ranch house in the shape of a T, so we were either severely directionally challenged or inherited our father's compulsion for always having a gameplan.
25. I'll miss the twinkle in my mom's eye that tells me how happy she is to have the family all together, however briefly.
26. I'll miss my dad's carefully orchestrated feast from pancakes to clam dip to turkey to pie. I probably won't miss the DVD of their photos from a second Alaskan cruise set to music...
27. I'll miss examining every ornament on the tree and each accompanying memory that it invokes.
28. I'll miss watching my beautiful nieces and nephew giddily opening their presents from Santa and watching the faces of my family as we all share in their glee.
29. (Shaking off the melancholy and returning to the present).
30. Clearly, I love the holidays. They remind me of a time filled with magic, excitement, sharing, and love. I love that this time of year has the power to soften the edges of the harsh reality of life with its bills and work weeks and depressing evening news. I love that it makes you nicer to the important people in your life and to the people you don't know at all. I love twinkle lights, the smell of pine and spice, greeting cards from old friends, holiday parties, and Christmas Vacation (both the movie and the time off). I know I'm oozing Christmas sap here and I know not everyone shares my warm fuzzy feeling for this time of year, but I hope that each and everyone of you recaptures some of the magic that December has to offer. If not, I will personally burn you a copy of Christmas with the Rat Pack and send you the makings of hot schnocolate. Cheers!
1. The crisp fall air is invigorating. We've had our coldest stretch of weather this season (in the 40's) and it's just perfect for walking around this magnificent city. Cold enough to make your cheeks rosy, but not so much that it bites.
2. Walking to work is the perfect way to start my day. I put holiday tunes on my ipod and head past the arch in Washington Square that is now occupied by a giant Christmas tree. It's impossible not to be in a good mood.
3. If you are a park, plaza, department store, building with a large lobby, or a bank in Manhattan, it is illegal to not have a giant Christmas tree.
4. The Salvation Army bell ringers here are not the downtrodden bell ringers I am accustomed to outside of the grocery store or mall in the 'burbs. The quartet (yes, there were 4!) outside of Grand Central had an acoustic guitar, were fully miked, and singing (and ringing) Feliz Navidad. Brilliant.
5. There are so many things that I've seen on TV (like the Rockefeller tree lighting or the Macy's Thanksgiving parade) that I've thought "I have to do that at least once while I live here". There's a part of me that thinks it is a necessary New York experience and that I'd be a fool to pass it up. It turns out that most of these events require a serious time investment to even get in a position to have a sliver of a view and involve an epic battle with a crowd of irritable people all jockeying for position for this one moment in time that is supposed to be a fond memory for lifetime. My decision is that I will keep the 12 hours of my life I would have spent waiting and watch it on TV...again.
6. We toured the window displays at Macy's and Saks last weekend as well as the holiday train display at Grand Central. It made me realize that the thing I love most about this time of year is being able to grab onto a little piece of that sense of wonder and magic that I had as a child.
7. I play holiday music constantly from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day. I don't get tired of it and it makes me realize what a freaking sap I am.
8. I took great care in decorating our apartment as I wanted it to reflect who we are and our own personal style. I don't like kitsch, country crafts or clutter, yet for some reason at this time of year, I find it perfectly acceptable to hang a Santa Claus doll on our bathroom doorknob that plays Jingle Bells when you wind him up.
9. I think I might be dangerously close to wearing a light up reindeer sweater.
10. Given that we have no chimney to hang our stockings by with care, I've hung them above our TV on a shelving unit framing a second Santa doll whose legs dangle off the ledge of the shelf rather adorably.
11. I might be wearing a headband with mistletoe attached.
12. My favorite Christmas albums are Christmas with the Rat Pack, John Legend's NBC Special, The Carpenters, and some Old Navy jazzy compilation that I picked up probably more than a decade ago since I've known it longer than I've known Mike.
13. I knew our apartment was not big enough for a Christmas tree, but it is just now sinking in how much I will miss having a tree. I love sitting with all the lights off but the ones on the tree with a favorite CD playing and a cup of hot schnocolate. This year, I'm afraid, will be my first without a Christmas tree EVER.
14. I just decided that it would be a complete travesty to not have a tree. I will be buying the 2 footer that I saw at the Union Square Greenmarket and balancing it on an ottoman if I have to, lights, ornaments, and all. Tiny apartment, I am putting my foot down!
15. Oh and if you don't know what hot schnocolate is, it's hot chocolate with a splash of peppermint schnapps. Love it.
16. I also love egg nog. I will be picking some up tomorrow.
17. As we all know, real estate in Manhattan is worth more than gold, so you don't see vast parking lots outside of a big box retail store with an area sectioned off for Christmas trees. So just where do you find a Christmas tree in Manhattan?
18. It turns out that Christmas tree lots are much like those Spirit Halloween stores that seem to pop up everywhere in unused retail space that you never actually noticed was unused until you considered buying a sexy devil costume. The Korean deli sells Christmas trees, CVS sells Christmas trees, some guy set up shop on what looks like an island in the middle of 7th Avenue...basically they get in where they fit in.
19. Having lived far from home in years past and now doing it again, I realize that so much of making Christmas feel like the Christmas you know is recreating the familiar in a new setting. How could I possibly have considered not cramming a tree in here?
20. (Visualizing getting poked in the eye by an errant branch and breaking my nose on a manger scene.)
21. (Shaking it off and recommitting.)
22. This year we are making a triumphant return to Buffalo for Christmas, where we spent three memorable holidays seasons. The first was the most difficult, but Mike's Aunt Maureen and Uncle Ron helped us establish new traditions during our time there and I am soooooo looking forward to the butter poached lobster tail and filet mignon that follow the mountain of shrimp cocktail and directly precede the parade of butter cookies, cakes, candies and Niagara Ice Wine.
23. (Realizing I must make a point to buy gifts for the cats and pretending it's normal).
24. Although we have our new traditions, I will miss the ones I have with my family back in California. The one I will miss the most? My sister and I recounting the sleepless Christmas Eves where we spent hours drawing maps that would guide us to our stockings at the allowed time of 6:00 am. We lived in a ranch house in the shape of a T, so we were either severely directionally challenged or inherited our father's compulsion for always having a gameplan.
25. I'll miss the twinkle in my mom's eye that tells me how happy she is to have the family all together, however briefly.
26. I'll miss my dad's carefully orchestrated feast from pancakes to clam dip to turkey to pie. I probably won't miss the DVD of their photos from a second Alaskan cruise set to music...
27. I'll miss examining every ornament on the tree and each accompanying memory that it invokes.
28. I'll miss watching my beautiful nieces and nephew giddily opening their presents from Santa and watching the faces of my family as we all share in their glee.
29. (Shaking off the melancholy and returning to the present).
30. Clearly, I love the holidays. They remind me of a time filled with magic, excitement, sharing, and love. I love that this time of year has the power to soften the edges of the harsh reality of life with its bills and work weeks and depressing evening news. I love that it makes you nicer to the important people in your life and to the people you don't know at all. I love twinkle lights, the smell of pine and spice, greeting cards from old friends, holiday parties, and Christmas Vacation (both the movie and the time off). I know I'm oozing Christmas sap here and I know not everyone shares my warm fuzzy feeling for this time of year, but I hope that each and everyone of you recaptures some of the magic that December has to offer. If not, I will personally burn you a copy of Christmas with the Rat Pack and send you the makings of hot schnocolate. Cheers!
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