A "romantic" weekend getaway in Philly!

Peter and I were finally able to get away for a couple of days (okay, more like 30 hours) to see Philadelphia last weekend. Peter works so much and he was so tired Saturday morning, that I had to drag him out of bed at 9:00am. But we finally got on the road and three hours later in mega traffic, a very normal driving experience on the east coast, we arrived. We split an $11 cheese steak with nasty Cheez Whiz and no bell peppers. Apparently, REAL philly cheese steaks do not have bell peppers. We rode a big bus around to see the main sights, then had questionable chinese food and spent the evening relaxing in our hotel. Peter was in bed at 9:00pm. Not so much a night on the town. Good thing I had a good book to read! Next day, Peter found a tv channel that was featuring the history of rock bands and I had to tear him away from it just after the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Guns and Roses...whew! Peter just wanted some quality down time with the remote. Is that so wrong!? We toured Independence Hall and had an amazing tour guide. He had portions of Abraham Lincoln's speech memorized and we were mesmerized by the presentation and in awe of our founding fathers. Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed there! We saw the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross House. Although by now we were feeling rather patriotic, we decided to skip the Constitution Center because it would have required a good two hours and we were getting anxious about getting back to NYC. It was only noon, but a practical New Yorker knows that to secure a free parking place, you really should be back by 4:00pm on a Sunday evening. We grabbed another philly cheese steak from Geno's (apparently there's a big rivalry between diagonally located Geno's and Pat's in south Philly on who's the best). It was a hard decision, but we chose the former and snarfed 'em down before hitting the road. Good luck was with us despite the fact that we were technically breaking the Sabbath - we made it back by 3:30 and secured a good parking space! We only spent about $30 in highway tolls [Its $11 to cross the Verrazzanno/ Narrows Bridge across Staten Island - one way!] A whirlwind trip indeed.

The Job Search

I thought I had a job... two months ago. I responded to an ad on craigslist to be trained as a Manhattan tour guide for Citysights NY. I attended the free, three hour training classes twice a week for two months. I read three big books. I studied and pumped the pavement, identifying buildings and landmarks all over Manhattan. I went on free day tours as often as possible. I took a big, fat test with 150 questions to prove that I knew the city. And what a cram class it was! So... I get my license and present myself to the company to begin my new job last month. Not so fast... they tell me they'll call me in a week. No call. I leave a voicemail. Then another, and another. No response. Turns out the tour guide manager is a $%#*! as are the owners. ? Great. Now I've got no job, no prospects, and no more optimistic attitude for throwing myself into another so-called great opportunity. What happened? The economy is down, especially tourism, and the company over-advertised to cover their bases in case they needed more guides. ??? This is my theory. The worst part is, that call could come in any day. Do I still want to work for this company? I've put in applications elsewhere - community colleges to teach Italian or History, and flyers about my Italian tutoring. I do tutor a gal once or twice a week in Italian. We meet at Starbucks and I charge $30/ hour. So, I make about $90 a week. Peter says its not enough. :) Oh well, things can only get better!

The Sights of NY

There's the Statue of Liberty, the skyscrapers, the Empire State Building, Central Park and hundreds more. Of all these attractions, I have to say that my favorite is the Manhattan Temple near Lincoln Center and Juliard. Its gorgeous! So white, so pure, standing unassumingly in the middle of a big, dirty, crazy city. Walking inside and experiencing the clean and quiet is calming and peaceful. Makes me thrilled to be Mormon. I just love the architecture inside and the Spirit there.

Culture Shock!

I felt so validated recently when a guy in the temple mentioned that he and his wife underwent "culture shock" when they first moved to NYC 20 years ago. "Yes!" I thought, "that's what I'm experiencing." Good and bad, let me give you a taste: 1)everywhere you go, you share the sidewalk with tons of other people, so you learn quickly to be navigationally savvy; 2) the "F" word is such a staple of sidewalk conversation, that its typically heard every 9-10 words; I've estimated that I hear it within 2-3 minutes of leaving my front door. 3) New Yorkers do not understand the meaning of "quiet." In the public libraries, the workers, security guards, and patrons all talk LOUDLY, either to themselves or to their friends. Oh, and when you ask them to keep it down, they will all erupt into loud mocking laughter at you. Don't do it, just bring earphones or the I-pod. 4) The subway is quite an experience. Dirty and hot, yet fascinating and fast, its the staple of transportation. There's sure to be homeless people and aspiring musicians asking for money. A few times I've gotten on a train going the WRONG WAY, so I'm learning to always ask, bring a subway map, and double check the signage. 5) Walking - you do so much of it, your feet ache every night. Its great exercise, but one must always wear comfortable shoes or be in pain. I have a large stack of band-aids in my purse. 6) Customer service does not exist in NYC. Everyone is rude and unhelpful. Should you occasionally meet a helpful person, it seems odd and you question their motives. 6) EXPENSIVE. Everything is obscenely expensive, especially the rent. 7) DOGS - they're ubiquitous and they pee and poop everywhere. UGH. There is only so much sidewalk space, and I've only just recently figured out what "Curb your Dog" means - it means don't pee on the greenery, tree, flowers, etc., - take it to the curb. Which brings me to 8) SMELLS - in a 10 second walking span, you will smell dog urine, fresh flowers, garbage, chinese food, and roasted nuts. Its glorious and disgusting and it all happens so quickly! 9) Street cleaning. Every week we have to move the car for 1.5 hours of street cleaning. Halilujah, at least they're cleaning up after the dogs that have been curbed. But, its a pain to always move the car and try to find a new parking space every week. Always read the signs for the right cleaning time/day or else you'll get a ticket or towed! More to come, folks. NYC is great. What an adventure. We're loving it!

David Letterman

Peter and I celebrated four years of marriage yesterday, June 10, 2009. In a successful attempt at creating a memorable anniversary, I got us tickets to David Letterman in Manhattan. We had a blast! Talk about funny... he adressed Sarah Palin's recent criticisms of him and rehashed the jokes she had opposed on her website. There was also a funny bit of stupid human tricks which was very entertaining. The whole thing turned out to be a relatively simple process - you register on their website for the days you prefer, and then they call you if they have availability, then ask you a trivia question about the show. Despite the fact that we think DL is hilarious, Peter and I don't watch the show regularly enough to know anything except that his sidekick musician is Paul Schaffer. So, I did some preliminary "research" last week on their website. Didn't think I learned or retained anything except when they asked me what color hair does the announcer have, Alan Kalter. RED! So, we were able to go. I highly recommend this activity for anyone who visits us. It was free and so fabulous - especially learning about the behind-the-scenes filming of the show. Plus, the live band is very, very good, and you're in downtown Manhattan before and after the taping (3-5pm). What a great day! Sure love ya, Petie baby! http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/show_info/bios/cast13.php

Here we are in the Big City!

Peter and I currently live in Brooklyn, NY. We've been here for about three weeks, exploring the city and learning the maps of Manhattan, Long Island, Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx. Its exciting and overwhelming. We walk everywhere and hardly use our car. Parking can be tricky and we have to move our car at least once a week when they clean the streets (every street is different). So far, we've only been towed once! Good job, Peter. Now we're very careful to read the signs. We enjoy all of the walking. Its been very rainy and cool, so we still haven't hooked up our air conditioner. We've managed to squeeze in one trip to New Hampshire (Memorial Day Weekend) and we hope to visit the Castletons in Boston this coming weekend. Here are a few pictures of our neighborhood and apartment - its small, but cozy. Peter's in better shape than me right now, so the five flights of stairs sometimes separates us when returning home. He'll often beat me by a flight or two! We look forward to visitors and miss all of our dear friends in Omaha!

Posthumous revenge!

Today at lunch Peter squashed and divided a large wasp in two. With his knife. It was disgusting to watch, especially while we were eating, but I was glad the insect was gone. Well, the bottom half of the wasp's body was lying in a crevice in the table (we were eating outside at Spaghetti Works). About 20 minutes had gone by since Peter had committed the wasp dismemberment. He, conversing animatedly, unintentionally and obliviously put his arm in the crevice and the wasp's stinger got 'em! It was his posthumous revenge. Peter grabbed his elbow and moaned from the pain. Isn't that hilarious? I sure thought so.