Chairs

Walking home a few weeks ago, I noticed that an office building was changing out their furniture. There were about 100 or so chairs lined up on the sidewalk ready to go to the warehouse or be thrown away. Last night walking home from work I saw a lady sleeping in an office chair on the corner of Lexington an 45th near my building. She was parked right under a tree next to a planter. I looked a Jeremy and commented that I did not remember a bench being on our corner? Obviously it was a 'mobile' bench. This morning when I was out running errands I walked past the corner and saw the chair abandoned on the corner next to the planter. The lady had left the chair. A couple of hours later, I saw the 'change cup' guy that hangs outside the McDonalds relaxing in the same chair, up the street outside the McDonalds...still shaking his change cup. I guess the chair has become a fixture of the neighborhood for those that need to take a load off their feet. Even later this afternoon I was walking home and what did I see, but another guy, relaxing and reading a book in an office chair right on the street, I could not help but laugh to myself....then I took a picture to document this funny sight. I also went back to the original chair, but it was not occupied, but waiting for the next person to use.

David's Visit

David came to visit last week. We did a lot of different things while he was here. One of my most favorite things I have done in NYC is a sunset cruise. I have a yacht...yes...I have a yacht with all of the other members of the New York Health and Raquet Club. The Yacht runs on weekends for sunset cruises and brunches. There are also other different 'specialty cruises'. We booked the yacht with about 80 other strangers to have a buffet and drinks and cruise down the East River, around the tip of Manhattan and up the Hudson. The highlight was the sunset view of the Status of Liberty. After the sun set all of Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey were lit up. On the Yacht, we also got to see the Waterfalls and travel under several bridges. On the way back, the DJ pumped up the music and it became the party cruise. What a fun night to spend on the water. I highly recommend the cruise. If you come and visit...let me know and we can book a spot...I definitely will be going again.


I also took David to the Chinese Massage....we got 40 minute foot rubs....how heavenly. We had been walking around the Metropolitan Museum of Art all day and our feet were TIRED...so I suggested stopping by my new favorite place for relaxation...the Chinese massage. As we sat there, Sally called, we had to tell her where we were and where we were headed next...to Cafe Napoli in Little Italy for some great food! Sally was jealous.

David arrived the night of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, so we also spent some time watching some of the events. On Monday night, I took David to the little Indian restaurant across from my building to get some takeout. We spent the remainder of the night watching Olympics and hanging out. David thought it would be funny in honour of the Olympic games to do some Greco-Roman Wrestling in my living room when we cleared the room to set up the airbed. Like usual, I took him down....ha ha. (not really) David got up before the sun to catch a car to head to the airport at 4:00 AM....I went right back to bed after he left.

Going to the Beach

I never thought when moving to New York that I was moving close to the beach. There are beaches in New Jersey, beaches on Long Island, even a man mad beach right across from Manhattan called Water Taxi Beach. One day Jeremy and I decided to go out to Long Island to the beach. We headed by subway to Penn Station. Inside Penn Station is a Kmart. We stopped at Kmart to get a few 'beach supplies'....beach chairs, sun screen, beach towels and treats. After purchasing our necessities, we headed for the train. There were tons of people in the station with their beach essentials too....I guess there are alot of people who head out to the beach on the weekends...duh! We purchased our special 'beach tickets' and headed for the train. We loaded the Long Island Railroad and were off to the Babylon station. NOTE: Jeremy and I have noticed a large number of people in New York either talking on their wireless device or talking to themselves...usually it is the latter....we encountered a few 'self-talkers' this day. I guess they are not only in Manhattan, but all over the state of New York? Once we arrived at the Babylon station, we waited for the bus to Robert Moses Beach. We boarded the bus with a few other beach goers and were off through the town and across a causeway to the beach. The beach was beautiful. I walked down a bit and collected some sea glass and shells. When it was time to leave we boarded the bus back to the train and back to Manhattan. We encountered a drunk guy on the train who decided to speak obscenities to me...when Jeremy asked, "excuse me?" the guy got agitated and gave us the stare of death until the next stop. When the drunk got off the train he 'called out' Jeremy to fight on the platform. By that time the doors shut and the train was on its way....Jeremy gave the guy the thumbs up as we departed...again...weird people everywhere. By the time we got back to the city it was 7:00 PM. I think we will take another trip to the beach.

Sally's Visit

Sally came to visit the last week of July. We had a great time just hanging out. Sally brought some friends who had not been to New York, so we sent them on the bus tour. For those who have not been to New York, this is the best way to see the popular sites and get around the city. Whenever Sally is in New York with me, we always go to a Broadway show. We have seen many different shows. Everytime I go to a show I think how lucky I am to live literally blocks from Broadway. I can go see a show whenever I want, but I seem to wait for Sally to come so we can go together. There is a special discount ticket window where you can get 1/2 price tickets. TKTS. The only catch is you have to buy the ticket 'same day' and there usually is a line. Sally and I do not mind the line, because we can pick the show for the group. So far, we have seen the following shows: Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Mama Mia, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening. I just saw Spamalot...it is my new favorite show!

One thing that I miss about living in SLC, is the weekly visits to the massage school with Sally. We got into the habit of visiting when we were training for the Salt Lake Marathon. I had heard about the Chinese Massage/Reflexology places in Chinatown, so when Sally was here we found a place to visit....let me say....they work your back and your feet....but it is sooo worth it. I have been back every week since Sally left...taking Jeremy one week and David the next week. The Chinese massage is a little different than a regular massage. The one noticable thing is that you may be in a room with others. When Sally and I went, we were the only two...until the 'moaner' showed up....luckily his massage was only 15 minutes! It was hard not to giggle when he would 'moan and grunt' as his back was worked out by his therapist.

Another thing I did when Sally was here was take the Staten Island Ferry. It is a free commuter ferry from the tip of Manhattan to Staten Island....another know tidbit...it is a 'free' trip past Lady Liberty. So if you are in the city and do not want to wait in the Statue of Liberty line....the Staten Island Ferry is the way to go. I cannot wait until Sally comes again and we can go to the Chinese massage and maybe get a pedicure at the spa just around my block...Spa Butterfly.