Nice plates!

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Cabbie's Instructions

Check out this posting on the cab's dashboard.


But where's the set of directions for "If it is your fault?"

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Television's Biggest Night

I've kept up well with the awards shows this year. There were the Oscars. And the Grammy's. And tonight...the Emmy's!

It's 9:45 now and I'm DVR'ing the rest of the show. But nothing made me happier than Modern Family winning the first two awards of the night! Of the three guys nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Cam is definitely my favorite. He's such a performer!


And look at Mitchell, all crying and teary for Cam's win! They're just like their characters.

And I was laughing out loud when they did the spoof on the show with George Clooney.

I'm curious about best show, but not enough to keep me awake for another hour.

The Creepy Dreamer

I had to go buy stamps today so I paid a visit to the USPS. The post office on 3rd Avenue is on the 2nd floor of an office building so you have to take an escalator up. Along the way, there's a series of statues. They're all heads. The artist calls this one "Dreaming."


I call it "Creepy." Her eyes followed me as I went down the escalator. If I had to look at it every day, I'd probably go postal!

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A Hammock Swings in Brooklyn

Today was my company's summer outing. Everyone was invited, from all three offices. It really made me realize how few people I know! The organizers spared no expense: they rented out a huge recreational area and picnic house in Prospect Park, had an incredible meal catered, supplied several open bar stations, bought and set up lots of sporting equipment and hired a team of masseuses who set up private massage stations in the shade. But what did I enjoy most?


Relaxing in one of the hammocks that was set up on the lawn. Swinging in the shade, I could hear people around me laughing, cheering for each other in the volleyball game and just enjoying the day. It was peaceful. And then the relay races started...

The Random Tree

I walk through Madison Square Park at least five times a week. And today, I swear, this tree appeared out of nowhere.


I have never seen this tree before. And considering it's right in the middle of my path, just between Shake Shack and the fountain, you'd think I would have noticed it before. There's no way it's new, right?

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Rain, rain, you're welcome to stay!

It's been raining in the city for three straight days and it's delightful. The air is much cooler, the nights are more comfortable and the humidity is way down.


You'd think that I would have been cranky that my jeans got soaked on the way to work this morning and took forever to dry leaving me in soggy pants all day. But I wasn't. Or that my umbrella was still wet when I put it in my backpack and it soaked all the papers in there. But that was ok. I'm just so relieved that the 2010 heatwave is over that Mother Nature can toss anything my way and I won't be bothered! And no. I'm not just talking about weather because there's nothing else new today.

I went back to Elizabeth Arden for them to straighten out my haircut. Can you see a difference?


No, neither can I. It still looks crooked, it's just an inch shorter now. Awesome. As the haircutter reminded me, it's just hair. Let's all be glad that cardiology wasn't her chosen profession.

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It's the most wonderful time of the year

No, I'm not talking about Christmas.


It's almost my birthday. Or at least so says the milk carton at work. Since when does milk last a month and a half?!

But anyway, here's my new rule. Once your birthday is within the realm of milk's expiration, it's appropriate to start asking for presents. Stay tuned for my list!

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Seating arrangements

How do you know that your company is growing too fast for the space?


It's been really cool witnessing the rapid growth of the company. Until we had an office full of out-of-town employees today and I was left without a chair. At least it was easier to balance on than my last "seat."

Voz New York!

A former colleague (and present friend!) opened his own shop late last year. He waited awhile to tell people and I finally made it downtown this afternoon to check it out.


It's very vintagy, but extremely elegant. He and his business partner have curated an exquisite collection that includes finds from their travels abroad as well as local treasures. They have housewares, clothing and jewelry, all set up in a very living-room-esque space. It's truly a little gem! My favorite part of the store is the floor. It was a gross, old, wood floor that they covered by laying down dictionary pages and covering them with clear varnish. I think that it's a very appropriate detail as the name of the store is Voz (Spanish for "voice"). And what better way to give a store a voice than to cover it with words?

On a side note, I got a hair cut today.

Yes. Someone got a little scissor happy. But this, too, shall pass.

Il Dolce Far Niente

Good movie. But "il dolce far niente" is an even better concept. Practicing it tomorrow. Until 3pm.

Chairman Mao, Angelina Jolie & Mona Lisa

I ventured uptown with a group of friends tonight for cocktails on the lawn of the Cooper Hewitt. For all you non-NYCers, that's our design museum. It's on the Upper East Side so we were pretending to be all civilized, sipping our wine with our ankles crossed and everything. After hanging on the lawn, we went inside to walk through the galleries. There were some pretty neat things in there: clothing, furniture, silverware sets, even a futuristic neonatal incubator. And then we came to the "famous person wallpaper."





From far away, it looks like stripes. But when you get up close, you can see that it's really little pictures of celebrities, politicians and other easily recognizable faces. We spotted Chairman Mao, Michael Jackson, Angelina Jolie and Mona Lisa. There were a few who stumped us but we went clear across the room attempting to identify them all. I went to the gift shop to see if they had it in wrapping paper form but unfortunately they didn't. Fun night. Especially the post museum trip to Shape Shake. TGIF!

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All Summer Long

Days are getting shorter. Nights are getting cooler. And signs like this are becoming obsolete.


It was just May. I blinked. And now it's August 19th? How did that happen? Although I have lots to look forward to this fall (Century Ride! Marathon training! Ryder Cup!), no matter how many exclamation points I use, I still can't quite come to terms with the fact that summer is winding down. I'll always be able to remember Summer 2010 as a great one. My (first) triathlon! My (first) summer of training! Fun with (new) friends! Fourth of July at The Empire! Fun with (old )friends! Oh summer, where have you gone?!

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Appetite Killer

So I'm sitting at Brea's bar tonight (The Horsebox in the East Village) and contemplating what to order for dinner. I'm just starting to think about a burger. And then I see this:


That's the owner of the bar. Yes. He's playing a hunting video game. I just couldn't pass up the irony of the situation. Heading home hungry.

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Second Avenue Parking Lot

Most days, I love living on a busy thoroughfare. I enjoy always being able to get a cab, a variety of restaurants, a choice of nail salons and the general hustle and bustle.

And then there's times like tonight. The Avenue is being repaved just south of my building causing all traffic to turn on 23rd Street and that's causing some traffic hiccups. Actually, they're more like giant BURPS. Do you see this ambulance in the middle of the intersection?


Its siren has been blaring for the past 20 minutes as the driver has tried to navigate his way through the mess. And now that he's passed, I hear another ambulance in the distance. You'd think that the dispatcher would send the drivers on a different route tonight...does this warrant a call to 311?

Half Moon Monday

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Full Circle of SVU

I was watching a DVR'd episode of L&O: SVU earlier today and a scene looked familiar. And then I remembered I saw them filming it! And I blogged about it!

As seen on TV (8/15/2010):


As seen/blogged by SEL:


In all the years of seeing them film SVU on the streets of NYC and watching the show on TV, I think that's the first time I've ever seen a scene on TV that I saw being filmed on the street. Too cool!

Flying to Nyack

A friend and I did the Nyack ride this morning. We started a little bit later than usual (8am) and there were only two of us as opposed to the usual 10+. At one point, about five miles before Piermont, we literally flew down a hill. Knowing all the curves and turns in the road, I'm a lot more confident about letting myself gain momentum as I go downhill. Today, I looked down at my speedometer and saw this:

The funniest parts were our two route deviations; we're both generally followers and had a general idea about how to get through Piermont to Nyack but didn't know the exact streets and turns. We finally made it to The Runcible Spoon after a riverfront detour and two u-turns. Pretty sad considering I've been doing this ride just about every weekend since May. It kind of reminds me of when I finally got my drivers license but had no idea how to get anywhere because I had always been driven.

Beyond sore

My poor, poor body is so sore from last night's run. I sat at my desk all day, whimpering in pain. When I could sit there no longer, I came home, and sat in front of my computer here. I got up to hobble to the kitchen for a glass of water and came back to this:


And that was my cue that it's time to retire for the evening. Gotta get up at 6:30 and head to Nyack...

#1 | 13.1 | Under 2

After escaping from tonight's post-work shindig with the interns (only one of whom showed up), I decided to lace up my running shoes and hit the path. My Nike+ gives me the choice of a basic workout, a timed workout or a distance workout. I thought about doing a 5k distance workout but decided that was a bit ambitious given the long day I'd had. And then I thought about a 30 minute timed run but felt like that wasn't enough because it takes me almost five minutes to get to the path and that would leave very little running time. So then I decided to just do a basic workout where my gadget will tell me how long I've been running and how far I've gone. To make a long story short, I felt good and just kept running and running and running. I got to the southern tip of Manhattan, also known as Battery Park, and decided to run back up the West Side. When I got to 23rd Street, I noticed that I'd gone about nine miles. I thought I could do a bit more, so I decided to push through and do a full 13.1 mile run. And so I did. I did a few out and backs on the West Side Highway and before I knew it, my odometer read 13.1. I completed my first half marathon!!!


A quick Google search seems to indicate that the Nike+ is accurate within a few meters (this makes sense to me because I've done this one particular run several times and it always comes out to the same total distance within a few hundredths of a mile). But if this is true, and I ran a half marathon is 1:58, I'm pretty darn impressed with myself!

And of course every half marathon finisher deserves a reward!


I indulged myself in this fabulous snack on my way back across 23rd street. My body started to hurt more and more with each passing block. Somewhere around 5th Avenue, I actually considered taking a cab the rest of the way but thought that would be a bit wussy. And now? I think I might actually sleep in front of the computer rather than trying to drag my body across the room to bed.

The funniest part is that as I watched the odometer turn from 13.0 to 13.1, I could actually visualize myself running across a finish line amidst a crowd of spectators. It was pretty cool. But the odd thing is that if I had set out to run a half marathon tonight, I probably wouldn't have made it. Spontaneity rocks!

1,000

Congratulations to Mom for being visitor #1,000 to WhatSELSawToday. And props to Angela for #1,001. And sending a screenshot to prove it.

I'm more than halfway through my year of blogging. My friend Didi, who inspired this experiment, is finishing her 52nd week of blogging. Judging by her recent entries, she's not planning to continue after her one year mark. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. As much as I love picking a random day and going back to read the entry, I'm not sure I'll keep blogging at this pace. There are just days (kind of like today) that nothing remarkable happens. I get up, I go to work, I sit there all day, I come home, I shower and go to bed. What do I need to remember about those days?

The building with fire-breathing dragons

After our 30-minute heat-stroke-inducing fun-run in Central Park tonight with our former NYC Triathlon teammates, a friend and I headed cross-town for some sushi. We walked across 58th Street and passed one of my favorite buildings.

I've always referred to it as the Petrossian building but a Google search tells me that the proper name is the Alwyn Court Building. I just love the details.

Like the babies holding up the exterior lighting.

And the fire-breathing dragons that are standing guard at the front. The terra cotta decorations go all the way up to the top. Not an inch of this building is without a design element. It reminds me of the city: it can be exhausting and overstimulating when you look at it from a distance, but when you look up close, the details are pretty cool.

Wikipedia tells me that there are massive apartments inside. Maybe I'd like to live there one day. After I get tired of The Dakota, of course.

Random night of extreme productivity

I got a random text from a friend this morning saying that she's now bartending at a cute little joint not far from my apartment. I rallied another Groupie and together, we braved the crowded 6 train and headed downtown. It ended up being a really fun night. On top of being spontaneous, I did three things I don't generally do:

1. I went out on a Monday night.
2. I went to a new place.
3. I went east of 1st Avenue.

My Groupie pal and I spent the entire subway ride (and 12 minute wait on the platform) complaining about how hungry we were and how we couldn't wait to get to the bar to eat. Unfortunately, upon arrival at the bar, we found out they don't serve food. But my friend told us that we were welcome to go out and bring food back in. And so we did.


And that's how I ended up at a bar on Avenue A eating pizza on a Monday night. After that, I made a quick stop at Trader Joe's for the week's staples (chocolate soy milk, brown rice noodles, chicken nuggets and parmesan cheese) and still made it home, showered, and got ready for bed all by 10pm. After not leaving work 'til 7. Now that's a successful night if I've ever had one!

Biking to Hoboken

Instead of biking north in New Jersey this afternoon, I decided to bike south. I figured I'd follow the water and end up in Hoboken at the PATH station. And that was a good plan. Until I hit Weehawken. And then I got lost. Because the trail along the water was under construction. See those little squiggles between Guttenberg and Union City? Yeah. That's my Weehawken adventure.



But I eventually made it down to Hoboken and uneventfully onto the PATH train. I liked the adventure. The ride wasn't as physically challenging as the Nyack ride but there was something pretty cool about biking along the water and watching the Manhattan skyline get bigger and bigger and bigger until I was directly across from the Empire State Building and Midtown. The hardest part of the ride? Hoisting my bike up and over the turnstile at the train station and then up the stairs on the other side. My arms will definitely hurt more than my legs tomorrow!

Dumpster Diving on Park Avenue

August in NYC is time for Summer Streets. Park Avenue is closed down to vehicles on Saturdays to allow for biking, walking and running. And this year, they've added something new:


Dumpster pools. Just cuz it's classier to dive into water than trash on Park Avenue.

RIP, Lord John

From the time I moved into the neighborhood over six years ago, Lord John's Bootery has stood proudly as neighboring restaurants have come and gone. Because of the rapid turnover, the restaurant space to the south has always been known as "the place next to Lord John's." But as of today, I'm sad to say, "Goodbye, Lord John. Thank you for being a strong reference point for over half a decade."


A sign in the window says the Bootery has been there for 57 years. As much as I love Bloomingdale's, Zappos and even Nordstrom's famous shoe department, I can't help but be a bit sad to assume that they contributed to Lord John's demise. Although I have to admit, I'd never even been into the store because it just looked too expensive.

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What was I thinking?

I confirmed my registration today.


Although I guess the Magic Kingdom is better than the Hudson.

Up on the rooo-ooof

I finally got to visit the rooftop of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's as large as a football field and as white as the moon. I can't keep my bathroom floor that clean. I'm not sure how they keep the exterior surface of the building so white. Anyhoo, I kept hearing stories of all the fun times on the roof. Lunches, sunsets, photoshoots. But for some reason, I'd never been up there. So today, I clubbed, sacked and dragged a Brooklyn employee so that he'd give me the tour.


There's literally a 365 degree view. My favorite was overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge and Midtown Manhattan. Next time I'll have to take a picture of the roof itself. And bring some brown-bagged-booze.

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Super Size Me

After going for a great run tonight, I decided I was hungry. I thought a nice slice of thin crust veggie pizza would be a well-deserved treat. This is what I got.


I'm not sure it's clear in the picture, but this slice is over a inch thick and seven inches long. This isn't quite what I was picturing when I ordered from Famous Ray's. I ate about three bites before I was full. Oh well. I guess I have lunch for tomorrow. And dinner.

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