BAMM! The wind runs across the still room and pushes the door shut behind me. My hand leaves the knob giving it one turn for safety. The silent but warm hall meets my eyes with a blend of monotony and fatigue. I walk slowly to the end of the hall and turn the corner, my bag gently sliding off my shoulder. A shrug shifts it squarely back on as I push the arrow for the lift and patiently wait to see which one has chosen to pick me up today. Ah, my favorite, the middle one greets me with a ding of happiness, the doors open with a smile. 'L' is chosen and I'm whisked away in a brass-lined box which reflects my image on all sides.
I walk out through the lobby throwing out a less than enthusiastic "good morning" to the somewhat disgruntled woman behind the counter. Only sometimes do I receive a reply, often as I'm walking out of earshot. The doors open, a smile arises on my face and genuine greeting rolls of my half asleep tongue as I nod my dreary eyes toward the coated man in the cap. The brisk chill hits my face; my hands snuggled tightly in my jacket pockets constrict around my body to trap in the warmth. A grin erupts on my face as I continue walking around the corner. I am no longer dripping with sweat nor about to be a flame-haired pizza in an over-sized, heat box jammed full of a mixed pies being delivered to work.
Around the corner I walk, balancing my satchel on one shoulder while massaging my ears with some morning tunes. A selection is made. My pace quickens. I round the corner to the busy chamber everyone seems so intent on entering. My hand reaches out to receive one of two free publications but my mind has already chosen for me, my choice has become a habit. I enter the darkness and which triggers an instinctive reach for my wallet. My eyes stare ahead. In one fluid motion, my feet, hands and waist lock in rhythm as my fingers slide into the flap under my ID, pull out striped yellow card and run it through worn, metallic reader. My legs are outstretched as if no obstruction existed and turn the wheel as my arm releases the pitch. BEEP! 'Go' flashes on the screen but my eyes do not wander. The card returns itself seamlessly to it's home in the exact same alignment as it left.
The next 30 seconds are a flash of exuberance and sprinting depending on the outcome of my peripheral glance towards the far platform. The race is on today, my mind and body explode into dash down the hallway and up the next staircase. My heart is racing, the veins in the temples are throbbing as I hurdle up three stairs at a time. I grab hold of the cold steel railing and swing myself towards the closing vice. My eyes light up! Empty seats stare back at me, a rarity at this time of day. Crap, the gap is narrowing and my daily exercise isn't working. My hope falters and a with a lurch forward, my morning comfort leaves the station.
I stand and patiently wait in my usual spot, marked only by my mind. My ears are still tingling from the entertainment streaming through my head, at least I chose a good playlist this morning. The local train chugs in behind me and lets loose a hoard of desperate souls propped up against the glass doors, hoping to catch the next express ride downtown. Still no express. Still waiting. Another local arrives letting loose another batch of jumpy, pushy wally's. Still no sign as the platform fills up with heads emerging from the darkness below.
CRACK! CLING! CLING! BANG! The speeding tube rushes through air blowing newspaper in the air; mine is still tucked into the side pocket of my bag. The doors pass by dizzingly fast as first but then begin to slow and finally stop and aligns themselves with my shadow. A few people step off and break the seal as a rush shapes fill the train like a car crashing into the sea. The last ounce of fluid finds empty air at the very top. The doors close once, twice and finally slam shut.
Off I go, streaming down the middle of Manhattan as cars drive on the surface, people walk about, buildings sway in the wind, planes fly overhead and clouds float like outstretched fingers over the horizon.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Cloisters Adventure
We had a fun uptown adventure today. The rain-filled skies cleared yesterday afternoon which brought a breezy, clear, autumn day; perfect! We went to the Cloisters which is a branch of the Met museum on 190th street in Fort Tryon. The views were beautiful from atop the hill overlooking the bronx and the Hudson river to the west. The leaves were rustling in the strong gusts of wind that came over the hilltop. I snapped a few good photos and we had a very relaxing and easy escape from the city.
Google map of the Cloisters (it's waaaay up there!)
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.858292,-73.930156&spn=0.011149,0.028667&z=16&om=1
The full colors of autumn still haven't arrived yet...I'm waiting.
Google map of the Cloisters (it's waaaay up there!)
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.858292,-73.930156&spn=0.011149,0.028667&z=16&om=1
The full colors of autumn still haven't arrived yet...I'm waiting.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Autumn Rain and Mexican Food in Queens
This morning I awoke to rain sprinkling down outside. It was about time to have a lazy, rainy day so I was very excited! I went out to quickly pick up milk and bacon and returned to make pancakes. Towards the afternoon, the rain let up so I went out with my camera to try and capture the essence of a fall rain. There wasn't much color, I was about the orangiest thing in the park but I still took a few decent shots.
So on to my adventure tonight. We went to this Mexican restaurant called Taqueria Coatzingo out in queens and it was authentic to say the least. We were just a TAD out of our element when walking in there but that's part of the adventure. We sat down and most of the waitresses only spoke Spanish. My brain had a rather large twinge trying to remember the 3 years of Spanish I took in college. I haven't kept up with it at all so I only know phrases here and there. I ordered an horchata (cinnamon, nutmeg, rice milk drink) a tamale and enchiladas. They were sooooooo good, that place was a gem! After dinner, we went across to the scorpion bar and ordered a few cervezas and soaked in the local scene... all in all a great night out.
I am now leaving queens with my belly full and a very content smile on my face.
So on to my adventure tonight. We went to this Mexican restaurant called Taqueria Coatzingo out in queens and it was authentic to say the least. We were just a TAD out of our element when walking in there but that's part of the adventure. We sat down and most of the waitresses only spoke Spanish. My brain had a rather large twinge trying to remember the 3 years of Spanish I took in college. I haven't kept up with it at all so I only know phrases here and there. I ordered an horchata (cinnamon, nutmeg, rice milk drink) a tamale and enchiladas. They were sooooooo good, that place was a gem! After dinner, we went across to the scorpion bar and ordered a few cervezas and soaked in the local scene... all in all a great night out.
I am now leaving queens with my belly full and a very content smile on my face.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Last Day of Red Hook Ball Fields, Ikea, Runing in the Park
We've had a busy weekend here with renting a zipcar to go to Ikea, hitting up the red hook ball fields and making an effort to workout. The weather has been in the low 70's for a few days now which isn't the crisp-fall weather that I would expect towards the end of October but it's still nice. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 76 though! I'm waiting for my below 60 weather to return, it's about that time i think. Also, we went for a walk yesterday in the park and was surprised that the trees aren't turning yet. There were a few colors here and there but it's nothing compared to last year. Take a look back to October 22nd last year and the pictures I took in the park: http://www.gabefender.com/2006/10/autumn-all-around.html
With colder weather in the distant future, we needed to find a place for Michelle to put all of her winter clothes. We decided to rent a zipcar on Saturday morning and hit up Ikea for a dresser. We definitely found out that going at 9am (when it opens) on a Saturday is the best possible time since nobody was there! We picked up a rather large dresser and a bookshelf for me and called it a successful trip.
Today we couldn't resist going to the Red Hook ball fields since it was the last day of the season and possibly for good. The city has not decided if it will renew the permit for latino's to come out and cook delicious food each weekend during the summer and fall. It has been getting a lot of press lately so I'm thinking the permit will get renewed but that's only my hope.
An article on the ball fields from the gothamist:
http://gothamist.com/2007/10/20/last_weekend_of.php
We arrived around 1pm and went immediately to the blue tent where deliciously large huaraches (my favorite!) are cooked up on a hot grill. We decided to share one queso bistec huarache which was extremely filling by itself. Paired with a large watermelon juice, it's easily one of my favorite meals in New York. Afterwards, I stood in a rather long line for a pork and cheese pupusa and filled up the watermelon juice. On the way out, I couldn't resist getting some mexican sweet bread and a cantaloupe juice to go. It was a gluttonous day but I knew we were working out later so I didn't feel as bad.
After we finished assembling the dresser, we decided it was a good time to burn some of that huarache off. Michelle has been really enjoying her workout videos she ordered from netflix and I've been either working out downstairs or running in the park outside. Either way, it motivates both of us to get some cardio in. Today I opted for a run in the park before the sun went down and it was a good choice.
I headed out of the apartment around 5:30 and usually run up 95th street but today I felt like taking a new route so I ran up 94th which was surprisingly interesting. After walking to the park via 95th street so many times, it's weird how taking just the next street over is so different. I got to the park right as the sun was disappearing behind the west-side buildings. There was still enough light out for a good run though. Continuing on my decision to explore different avenues (literally) I ran uptown through the north meadow and saw a little bit more color in the trees. I was really feeling an energy surge so I continued across the park to the other side of the reservoir and then around the running path to the west side. All in all, I probably ran about 2.5 miles which is pretty good for me. As I was finishing up on the running track, something caught my eye. The light shining in from the west was bouncing off the windows on the east side. It was incredibly gorgeous and I had to stop and take it all in. The cool, dusk breeze hitting my face; the water slapping up against the side of the reservoir; the empire state buildings spire scraping rising up behind the GE building in midtown; the chrysler building lit up and shining; the columbus circle towers defining the beginning of the upper west side. I was standing in the middle of manhattan, looking south towards the concrete buildings that define this island and the park splitting the dense populating like the part in my hair. I was standing in the middle before all of this and it just hit me that I was in just a massive metropolis. It catches me by surprise sometimes, especially when I have my head down and tail up at work.
As I stood there in awe, the pink and blue streaks on the east side slowly dissapated, letting the darkness of the purple and navy flow in and finally transitioning to a darker sunset blue that defined the night.The sun still shone through the avenues from the west and the buildings on the east side looked like cardboard cutouts against a dark backdrop with tiny mirrors positioned to reflect the light of the sun back into the sky. It was a brilliant moment and one where I wish I could pull out a pen and paper, laptop or blackberry to record it right then and there. Instead, I hurried back to my apartment and jotted down some notes so I wouldn't forget. I know I didn't capture it's full essence but I hope this will help me remember that feeling.
With colder weather in the distant future, we needed to find a place for Michelle to put all of her winter clothes. We decided to rent a zipcar on Saturday morning and hit up Ikea for a dresser. We definitely found out that going at 9am (when it opens) on a Saturday is the best possible time since nobody was there! We picked up a rather large dresser and a bookshelf for me and called it a successful trip.
Today we couldn't resist going to the Red Hook ball fields since it was the last day of the season and possibly for good. The city has not decided if it will renew the permit for latino's to come out and cook delicious food each weekend during the summer and fall. It has been getting a lot of press lately so I'm thinking the permit will get renewed but that's only my hope.
An article on the ball fields from the gothamist:
http://gothamist.com/2007/10/20/last_weekend_of.php
Whether the food stalls will return next year is uncertain. The Dept. of Health was closely monitoring the vendors for a time this summer and any very expensive recommendations or a steady stream of fines could put them out of business in short order.
We arrived around 1pm and went immediately to the blue tent where deliciously large huaraches (my favorite!) are cooked up on a hot grill. We decided to share one queso bistec huarache which was extremely filling by itself. Paired with a large watermelon juice, it's easily one of my favorite meals in New York. Afterwards, I stood in a rather long line for a pork and cheese pupusa and filled up the watermelon juice. On the way out, I couldn't resist getting some mexican sweet bread and a cantaloupe juice to go. It was a gluttonous day but I knew we were working out later so I didn't feel as bad.
After we finished assembling the dresser, we decided it was a good time to burn some of that huarache off. Michelle has been really enjoying her workout videos she ordered from netflix and I've been either working out downstairs or running in the park outside. Either way, it motivates both of us to get some cardio in. Today I opted for a run in the park before the sun went down and it was a good choice.
I headed out of the apartment around 5:30 and usually run up 95th street but today I felt like taking a new route so I ran up 94th which was surprisingly interesting. After walking to the park via 95th street so many times, it's weird how taking just the next street over is so different. I got to the park right as the sun was disappearing behind the west-side buildings. There was still enough light out for a good run though. Continuing on my decision to explore different avenues (literally) I ran uptown through the north meadow and saw a little bit more color in the trees. I was really feeling an energy surge so I continued across the park to the other side of the reservoir and then around the running path to the west side. All in all, I probably ran about 2.5 miles which is pretty good for me. As I was finishing up on the running track, something caught my eye. The light shining in from the west was bouncing off the windows on the east side. It was incredibly gorgeous and I had to stop and take it all in. The cool, dusk breeze hitting my face; the water slapping up against the side of the reservoir; the empire state buildings spire scraping rising up behind the GE building in midtown; the chrysler building lit up and shining; the columbus circle towers defining the beginning of the upper west side. I was standing in the middle of manhattan, looking south towards the concrete buildings that define this island and the park splitting the dense populating like the part in my hair. I was standing in the middle before all of this and it just hit me that I was in just a massive metropolis. It catches me by surprise sometimes, especially when I have my head down and tail up at work.
As I stood there in awe, the pink and blue streaks on the east side slowly dissapated, letting the darkness of the purple and navy flow in and finally transitioning to a darker sunset blue that defined the night.The sun still shone through the avenues from the west and the buildings on the east side looked like cardboard cutouts against a dark backdrop with tiny mirrors positioned to reflect the light of the sun back into the sky. It was a brilliant moment and one where I wish I could pull out a pen and paper, laptop or blackberry to record it right then and there. Instead, I hurried back to my apartment and jotted down some notes so I wouldn't forget. I know I didn't capture it's full essence but I hope this will help me remember that feeling.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Apple Crisp!
Mmmmm, tasty and really sweet apple crisp from golden delicious apples! I use Kathleen's recipe and it came out really good. It is loaded with sugar though, oh snap!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Perfect Autumn Weather for Apple Picking and The Zoo
This weekend was simply gorgeous, 62 degrees during the day with mostly sunny, blue skies. We took advantage of the weather while it lasts by going apple picking at Wright's Apple farm on Saturday and a trip to the Bronx Zoo today. Let's start with apple picking.
The drive out there was easy in our zipcar companion, Mowanda, who was a Toyota Matrix. Unlike the Mazda 3, this car was a lot easier to drive and way more comfortable for me even though the size wasn't much different. If possible, I will try to get a Matrix every time. The only annoyance was the seatbelt alarm which does not stop ringing until both passenger's have their seat belts fastened. I suppose that's good though...
It was an 80 mile trip up to Gardener, NY where wright's apple farm was located. The foliage is starting to turn but it's not quite there yet. However, there were still plenty of oranges and reds to look at. We arrived and could immediately smell the apples in the air. There were plenty of pies, cider and donuts to go around. Mmmm, I love that smell and mixed with the bright orange of pumpkins and cool crisp feel of the fall air makes me tingle inside.
We drove up to the vast grove of apples and although they didn't have as much variety as Soon's orchard, this one was much bigger. I liked it a lot better because it was HUGE and it really felt like we were out in the country stealing apples from the neighborhood lot. We paid $8 for each bag which turned out to be loads of apples, one of which I'm crunching on right now. Mmmm, golden delicious is...delicious!
Jumping for an apple
Just getting out into the countryside was worth every penny of the zipcar. The apples were just an extra perk in my view. I felt so relieved and stress-free when out of the city. Ahhh, so nice! One of my favorite shots of the day was of this wide open plain, with apples crates and streaming clouds in the sky (click on it to go to flickr and few a larger size):
One cool thing we saw was sky divers floating down through the clouds. At first there were just a few but then more and more emerged from the thick clouds of above. It was a very cool sight!
A short recap of today (Sunday): we spent the afternoon at the Bronx Zoo for corporate weekend. There are a few weekends out of the year that are free to GS (and other company) employees and it just so happens that I came across this last week. It was very nice not to pay the $14 admission fee for each of us! Here are some shots of the day (the Tiger enclosure was SOO cool. We timed it perfectly with 4:30pm play time)
I tried something new with this batch of photos. I went into photoshop and just applied the most basic of filters. It really cleaned up the colors and makes them look a lot better!
Well I'm off to bed now, better get into my jim jams (just learned that one from the Brits).
The drive out there was easy in our zipcar companion, Mowanda, who was a Toyota Matrix. Unlike the Mazda 3, this car was a lot easier to drive and way more comfortable for me even though the size wasn't much different. If possible, I will try to get a Matrix every time. The only annoyance was the seatbelt alarm which does not stop ringing until both passenger's have their seat belts fastened. I suppose that's good though...
It was an 80 mile trip up to Gardener, NY where wright's apple farm was located. The foliage is starting to turn but it's not quite there yet. However, there were still plenty of oranges and reds to look at. We arrived and could immediately smell the apples in the air. There were plenty of pies, cider and donuts to go around. Mmmm, I love that smell and mixed with the bright orange of pumpkins and cool crisp feel of the fall air makes me tingle inside.
We drove up to the vast grove of apples and although they didn't have as much variety as Soon's orchard, this one was much bigger. I liked it a lot better because it was HUGE and it really felt like we were out in the country stealing apples from the neighborhood lot. We paid $8 for each bag which turned out to be loads of apples, one of which I'm crunching on right now. Mmmm, golden delicious is...delicious!
Jumping for an apple
Just getting out into the countryside was worth every penny of the zipcar. The apples were just an extra perk in my view. I felt so relieved and stress-free when out of the city. Ahhh, so nice! One of my favorite shots of the day was of this wide open plain, with apples crates and streaming clouds in the sky (click on it to go to flickr and few a larger size):
One cool thing we saw was sky divers floating down through the clouds. At first there were just a few but then more and more emerged from the thick clouds of above. It was a very cool sight!
A short recap of today (Sunday): we spent the afternoon at the Bronx Zoo for corporate weekend. There are a few weekends out of the year that are free to GS (and other company) employees and it just so happens that I came across this last week. It was very nice not to pay the $14 admission fee for each of us! Here are some shots of the day (the Tiger enclosure was SOO cool. We timed it perfectly with 4:30pm play time)
I tried something new with this batch of photos. I went into photoshop and just applied the most basic of filters. It really cleaned up the colors and makes them look a lot better!
Well I'm off to bed now, better get into my jim jams (just learned that one from the Brits).
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Fall Weather Arrived At 12pm Today
It was an uncomfortable hot commute again this morning. When I walked out of the door the heat and humidity penetrated the legs of my pants like tiny needles. Ugh. Of course I'm exaggerating a bit but it's all relatively considering it is already October. :-\
However, I walked out of the office at lunch time today and BOOM it was 10 degrees cooler, windy and signs of rain. JOY! Fall has arrived. I walked out this evening to a downpour which I didn't mind because it was nice a cool. Ahhhhh, yes.
The forecast is low 60's during the day and high 40's at night for the next 10 days. Looks like my weather has arrived!
However, I walked out of the office at lunch time today and BOOM it was 10 degrees cooler, windy and signs of rain. JOY! Fall has arrived. I walked out this evening to a downpour which I didn't mind because it was nice a cool. Ahhhhh, yes.
The forecast is low 60's during the day and high 40's at night for the next 10 days. Looks like my weather has arrived!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Is it Fall Yet? Apple Picking in the Heat
It's been quite hot here lately for supposedly being officially "fall" now. I'm quite disappointed with the past week's weather but the upcoming week looks promising.
This past week I was working quite a bit with post-rollout issues and enhancements. That kept me busy but I did have a chance to go out with a few colleagues to get chicken wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. That was a good time!
This weekend I had quite an adventure with going apple picking with some friends. It was me, steph, andrew and andrew's friend abbey. We used my zipcar membership to get a ford escape which is coincidentally humorous since we're escaping from the city :-) We had a bit of trouble with the directions and wound up going the wrong direction and almost having to cross the George Washington Bridge back into NY. Luckily, with a little illegal maneuvering to cross several lanes of traffic, we exited and found our way again.
We made it out to Soon's orchard after a two hour trip which didn't leave us much time to spend at the farm picking apple's. When we finally arrived, the crispness in the air was sorely lacking as it turned out to be hot, almost 85 degrees. We picked some apples, worked up a sweat, had some chilled apple cider and apple cider donuts and then headed back to the city.
Steph, Andrew, Me, Abbey
Michelle and I have arranged a zipcar for next weekend and we're going to a different apple farm just the two of us. It'll be nice to get out of the city again and spend some quality time with the M.
Today, I went down to the redhook ball fields for one of the last visits of the season. The permit has not been renewed yet so it might be one of the last times EVER! *tear* They better bring it back, redhook has some of the best mexican food in the city!
This past week I was working quite a bit with post-rollout issues and enhancements. That kept me busy but I did have a chance to go out with a few colleagues to get chicken wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. That was a good time!
This weekend I had quite an adventure with going apple picking with some friends. It was me, steph, andrew and andrew's friend abbey. We used my zipcar membership to get a ford escape which is coincidentally humorous since we're escaping from the city :-) We had a bit of trouble with the directions and wound up going the wrong direction and almost having to cross the George Washington Bridge back into NY. Luckily, with a little illegal maneuvering to cross several lanes of traffic, we exited and found our way again.
We made it out to Soon's orchard after a two hour trip which didn't leave us much time to spend at the farm picking apple's. When we finally arrived, the crispness in the air was sorely lacking as it turned out to be hot, almost 85 degrees. We picked some apples, worked up a sweat, had some chilled apple cider and apple cider donuts and then headed back to the city.
Steph, Andrew, Me, Abbey
Michelle and I have arranged a zipcar for next weekend and we're going to a different apple farm just the two of us. It'll be nice to get out of the city again and spend some quality time with the M.
Today, I went down to the redhook ball fields for one of the last visits of the season. The permit has not been renewed yet so it might be one of the last times EVER! *tear* They better bring it back, redhook has some of the best mexican food in the city!
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