Mark S. Man, February 26, 2010 - February 27, 2010

He was a vision in white (with a little yellow around his base near the end).

Always had a smile on his face (until it was knocked off by drunks or rats).

He had a great attitude, never uttered a mean word (or raised his voice).

Mark, you were built with love and visited by many. Your life may have been short, but it was well lived. You occupied some of the most valuable real estate in NYC. You had your picture taken with locals and tourists alike. A nice family from South America even declared you the "best snowman in NYC" and abandoned their own snowman building attempts because they feared theirs wouldn't get any attention standing near you. As you melt away, we will look forward to the spring flowers that will grow in your place.

Love,
Susan and Claire

The day after the big snow

I started my day off with a leisurely run uptown while Claire slept in. My feet felt like they were on autopilot up 2nd Avenue but at 57th Street, they made an unexpected left turn. Before I knew it, I arrived at 58th Street and 5th Avenue to check on Mark (the snowman, not the bartender). He was still there! Standing strong and mostly frozen over. But missing his face. Upon returning home, I told Claire of my discovery and she assumes this features were consumed by rats. Or drunks.

After a huge brunch (2 for the price of 1!) at Duke's and lots of meandering around town, and a walk on the Highline, we ended up downtown at Magnolia Bakery where we stood online outside for 10+ minutes for cupcakes to bring home for dessert.

It's now a little past 7pm and we're crashed on the couch, full of Chinese food and ice cream. Claire mumbles something about "eating our cupcakes soon" every so often but I plan on saving mine for breakfast.

Mark the Bartender/Snowman

After a heinously dreadful day/week/month, I met up with one of my BFF's from HS and we decided to play in the snow (NYC got over a foot today). We ventured up to Central Park but stopped in front of The Plaza because there was lots of fresh snow in the fountain area. After working feverishly to create the the bottom and middle balls, we realized that we didn't bring "props" to properly adorn him. A quick look around showed that the only options were FAO Schwartz or The Plaza. Deciding that the snowman, however cute he was going to be, wasn't worth taking out a loan for, I left Claire to roll the head and walked inside the Plaza. Here's how it went...

Susan to the Concierge: Hello, I'm building a snowman and I was wondering if you had any props.
Concierge: I don't, but you can try the bar.
Susan to Bartender: Hello, I bet you hear a lot of weird stuff working at the Plaza, right?
Bartender: Yeah, I guess.
Susan: OK, well, I'm about to top that.
Bartender: Top what?
Susan: The weirdness!
Bartender: Go ahead, try.
Susan: My friend and I are building a snowman. See? Look out there. (Bartender looks out the window.)
Bartender: Ok, so?
Susan: So we need some, you know, stuff. Eyes, mouth, buttons? Can we have some olives?
Bartender: (Shrugging.) I'll get you a bag, hang on.

The bartender, Mark, did eventually come back. Not only did he bring a bag but he brought a tupperware! He couldn't give olives (they're expensive!) but he was able to donate some limes, marischino cherries and orange slices to the cause.

And TA DA! Meet Mark the Snowman.


And then we went back inside the Plaza to show Mark the Bartender a picture of Mark the Snowman (he was impressed). We also said hello to Eloise while we were there.


And then it was off to the famous Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien for a quick burger and beer before heading back downtown and crashing on the couch in 18P. A really fun time was had by all. We're going to head back uptown tomorrow morning to see if Mark the Snowman made it through the night...

Water bowls are for wusses (and dogs)

I'm not really sure why I bother with the water bowls in the kitchen anymore. Everyday when I come home from work, Ms. Kitty Boo is sitting on the counter waiting for me to turn the water on. I don't think she sits there all day, but rushes in when she hears my keys in the door. I've caught her mid-way a few times...

Go Team!

Tonight was the kickoff event for the 2010 Nautica NYC Triathlon! I'm more scared than ever but definitely ready for the challenge. I'll spend the next five months doing three group training sessions (GTS) and several individual works outs every week. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. More tomorrow...

Wake up, Chicken!

One of the great things about making new friends is finding new hangouts. I went out with a (new) friend last night (and some of her old friends) and ended up at a Korean karaoke bar on 35th Street and then a "chicken" restaurant on 5th Avenue. I say "chicken" because chicken is in its name. I can't for the life of me remember the real name of the restaurant, nor do I have the energy to Google it, but it's called something like Wake Up Chicken or Catch Up Chicken. I don't remember. The way she described it, and it's obscure location ("up a shady stairway next to the nasty pizza place on 32nd Street"), I didn't have high hopes for anything other than an upscale Wendy's (at best). So when we arrived on 32nd Street and clomped up the most decrepit staircase to a dimly lit hallway just above the ickiest pizza place I've ever passed, I was absolutely, positively blown away. I would have taken a picture, but the lighting in there, true to the lounge atmosphere, sucked. It was also wayyyy too hot. But those are my only complaints. Amazing chicken wings, awesome sushi rolls, incredible drinks, does it get any better? And when you go there? Try the lychee soju!

Aura analysis

Just when I thought I'd seen it all...

I'm curious what an analysis of my aura would say but I'm not quite $10 curious.

Central Park: Where the Money Trees Don't Grow

I saw this sign in the park for the first time today. I'm not sure if I've missed it before or this is a new campaign that's just started, but I thought it was hilarious. And then I ran to 90th Street and back. On the way home, I fell in love with the 21" iMac at the Apple Store leading me to forget about the hard drive that I originally went in for. Great.

On Broadway

Saw Present Laughter today on Broadway. It was very funny. I generally prefer musicals, but it was really good. Victor Garber played the lead and he was really very funny. All through the first act, I kept thinking that one of the female leads looked very familiar. A quick scan of the Playbill showed that she's also on Gossip Girl. It was Maureen van der Bilt!! Fortunately she was much more likable in today's show...


On another note, I broke Lent tonight. Yes, three days in. But to my credit, I didn't request the drink. It was (amazing) sparkling sake that was sent over by the owner of the restaurant. It would have been rude not to drink it, right? Amazing how observing Lent as an exercize in self-control can bring on true feelings of this Catholic guilt I've heard so much about. Maybe I need to think about giving up something else- alcohol is just too hard to live without right now. I'll start today and go three days past Easter so it's a true 40 days thing...I just need to think of something else. Hmmm...

Where do you go when your mom and her credit card come to town?

Costco? Yeah, me too!

Nothing says "Welcome to our restaurant" like some dead fish

I think that the title of the post says it all.

Went to a Greek restaurant tonight and on the way to the table, had to pass their display of dead fish. I think it's supposed to entice you with it's freshness, but I wasn't amused. I could feel them looking at me while I was eating.

18P Firehouse

No, Mom, this isn't messy. It's practical! When I'm ready to get dressed, I just step into my boots and my pants are on, too!



This just happens to be the best way to get my rain boots on under my (somewhat) skinny jeans. You don't even want to know how they come off when I get to the office.

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The Incompetent Waiter

I asked for a bottle of tequila and a straw. And this is what I got instead.


And don't even get me started on my hamburger request.

Thanks for a fun night out, RY!!

BTW: any size 8's out there want to play "fit model" tomorrow? Call me!

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The Great Egg Appearance

Thanksgiving decorations the day after Halloween? Fine.

Christmas music on November 1st? No problem.

Easter candy on President's Day? Now that's jumping the gun!


Although a quick Googling of the 2010 calendar does show that Ash Wednesday (signaling the beginning of Lent) is this week. Last year I gave up condiments. What about this year? Beer?

Valentine's/President's Day

Spending Sunday night at Blondie's/Manny's to rebuild Haiti. Really fun. Just what I needed.




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Where did this tree come from?

Went for a run tonight- I definitely like running at night better than during the day- and saw the coolest tree.


Somewhere on 2nd Avenue- maybe near 60th Street? I don't know why I've never seen it before...

Opening Ceremony!

I've been looking forward to tonight's Opening Ceremony in Vancouver all week. I love watching the Parade of Nations as all the athletes file into the ring. The ones carrying cameras, videoing the walk, snapping pictures left and right- they are awesome. Just ordinary people who happen to be *really* good at their sport. They aren't professional athetes fighting for multi-million dollar contracts; they are regular people who are extraordinarily talented and coming together to compete against the best of the best. Most of them have spent their whole lives training but will never see their faces on Wheaties boxes or be sponsored by Nike. They're just doing what they do best because they love to do it.

I think that my favorite group of the night was the duo from Bermuda in their, yep, Bermuda shorts!

And coming in at a close 2nd was the group from Azerbaijan.

Check out those pants. They're electric!

And I hope the luge event is canceled. A dozen accidents in two days including one fatality? Come on, IOC.

Today's Headlines

Alexander McQueen died today.

Bill Clinton was admitted to the hospital with a heart problem.

Alec Baldwin was rushed to the hospital and then home within an hour.

And there you have it. The news according to Sooz.

Snowy Day!

Woke up this morning to 4 inches of fresh powder. Ran to work, spent a few hours there, started a few fires, put out a few fires and then closed the office mid-afternoon. Left the office to 10 inches of (not-s0-fresh) powder. Went up to Central Park to enjoy the snowy afternoon.


The park was pretty but everywhere else is a mess. New Yorkers just don't know how to deal with a snowstorm. Here's hoping things are back to normal tomorrow. Until then...

What's today's shoot?

I saw this scene while walking to work today.

I got a little bit closer and guess who it was? Amanda and Mark! Right in front of Tasty. My lunch spot! A few minutes later, everyone saw (Ugly) Betty with them.

I promise this isn't going to turn into a movie/tv set chasing blog. It just so happens that I saw two shoots, two days in a row. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Where's Munch?

Finn? Is that you?











Tutuola! I'm calling you!

Don't just walk away when I'm talking to you, Ice-T.










Fine! Go away! And take all your fans with you. They're crowding my street.

Superwhat?

Some people say that Disney World is the happiest place on earth. I beg to differ. I prefer The Melting Pot. Where else can you find yummy melted cheese with warm slices of bread and crunchy cauliflower and a pool of chocolate that's flambeed right at your table?



















Plus, it's much more geographically desirable- just a PATH ride under the river away in Hoboken. The place was hoppin' in honor of the football game. I'm not even sure who performed at halftime nor could I see the commercials. I'm officially calling it the Superwhat?

Have a good week...

Where's the snow?

We were supposed to get 4-8 inches in the city overnight last night. It never happened. I was looking forward to a snow day. A reason not to have to leave the house or be productive. The snow never happened. But my "snow day" did. I watched TV, napped and made a pot of soup.

Until tomorrow...

What I saw this morning

Yes. That's a pink robe and fuzzy slippers. As seen on 2nd Avenue and 26th Street at 8:00 this morning. Only in NYC.

Who says KMart doesn't have cute clothes?

But no, I wasn't clothes shopping there. I was buying cat litter box deodorizer. And my walk there was one of the funnest (still debating its legitimacy as a word) experiences I've had lately. But that's a story for another time.