As seen from above. Or below.

There's a mirror on the ceiling of the elevator at the Waldorf.


And there were are. From below looking up. Dinner at Shun Lee, fro yo at 16 Handles, great Sunday night. Now back to the grind...

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Are you or aren't you?

You know those few days leading up to Halloween when you see people all dressed up and you wonder if they're in costume or dressed normally? Well those days have arrived in NYC. The streets are filled with people rushing around and I want to stop at least one out of five and ask if it's a costume. But for fear of being shot, I haven't whipped out my camera or asked anyone (yet). This holiday really brings out the crazies.


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Spotted: On Madison Avenue

This was yesterday. But I was having problems with Blogger and went to bed early.


Looked to be some kind of bootcamp. But it was 2pm. Why weren't all these people at work?

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Bad Nooz Sooz

There were a few years in a row when I witnessed awful stuff on my birthday. This year I managed to escape that tradition. Unfortunately this morning, still in my birth month, I saw an awful accident on my way to work. A cab jumped the curb on 23rd and Park, running into a number of pedestrians and the newsstand. The same man I've bought stamps from outside of Hallmark for years was splayed out in the middle of the sidewalk, shoeless, bloody and not moving. The newsstand, once a shiny metal and glass hut, was shattered into millions of pieces and tossed in every direction. While I felt awful for him, and couldn't take my eyes off the scene, I had to feel incredibly thankful that it didn't happen two minutes later when I could have been passing that very spot. How often do we all narrowly miss life threatening accidents like this? Was it fate that I went back inside this morning for the umbrella that I didn't even need? Or that I decided to watch that extra two minutes on the Today Show before rushing out the door? It's been on my mind all day. As much as I try to be aware of my surroundings and alert when I'm in public, it's scary to think that these things happen in a split second, leaving us, more often than not, with very little time to react. I'm thinking tonight about the man who consistently overcharged me for stamps. I'm wondering where he is tonight, if he's ok and if he'll ever have the opportunity to rebuild his glass castle full of magazines, newspapers and the best candy selection easy of Duane Reade. Passing by his spot, the only thing that remains is a pile of boxes and the memory of $0.50 stamps.


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Foggy midnight

Love the Credit Suisse building.


And love a foggy night.

Record long day at work and nothing to show for it except for a sneak peak at something super exciting that's launching soon. I didn't think it was possible to be anymore excited about our business. But tonight got me there! So much so that I didn't even care that the clock on the CS building said 12:50am as I was trudging home.

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Creepy!

I was walking down the hallway at work today and saw this:


Turns out it's not real. Just part of our extensive Halloween decorations. More pictures to come tomorrow.

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Lost cow

I walk up Broadway several times a week. But tonight I caught sight of something new.


No one would call me the most observant person around, but I think I would have noticed this guy if I had seen him before. I wonder where he came from. And when.

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Not this one

I'm home on the couch tonight (with an ear ache) and indulging my inner TLC junkie: Sister Wives, the Duggars, Kate Plus Eight...the usual suspects. I tend to become engrossed in these shows fairly quickly, picking up a new one every few months. But not next month. Because this is what's coming up:


I mean, I love to laugh at her as much as the next person but I don't think I'll be tuning in...

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5th one's the charm

I'm approaching my fifth (month) anniversary at GG and in celebration, I got my fifth desk!


Due to some fairly imminent corporate shuffling, I'm reasonably certain that there will be a sixth, but for now, I'm making myself at home. And this time, I put a tracking device on my chair. Ain't no one gonna be jackin' my seat!

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Big night out

We had a team outing tonight. It was fun to see everyone out of the office. Especially those I don't work with on a daily basis.



What were we celebrating? Our 500th employee, of course!

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Productive (!!!!!) Day (!!!!!!)

Let me preface this by reminding everyone that I tend to avoid caffeine. Like the plague. It torments my sleeping pattern for days at a time and makes me feel jittery and miserable in general. But this morning it was super cold out when I walked to work (in the dark) and when I (finally) got inside, all I wanted was a hot beverage. And for some reason, I decided to make some coffee. I set up my day while I waited for it to brew and then poured myself a steaming mug-full. (And I microwaved my (whole) milk so that it wouldn't cool down the coffee.) I added two Spelndas and went back to my desk with my concoction. I let it cool for a minute (the purpose of cold milk?) and then took a sip. Oh it was delightful. It was incredible. I was in love from my first taste. I finished the mug and then poured myself another. I might have had a few more and before I knew it, I was still the only one in the office and the pot looked like this.



Yes. Empty. I have absolutely (!!!!), positively (!!!!!) been vibrating all day. But at the same time, I've been so incredibly productive that I think I might do it every day. Unfortunately, a well-wishing colleague doesn't feel the same way about my caffeine binge and she's declared that she's coming in early to moderate my coffee consumption. I'm going to trick her though- I'll stop at 'bucks on my way in, grab a venti and finish it before I come inside...I'll be a full drink ahead of her. It's nice to be smart.

Gimme a break!

I took a break from work tonight to attend a yoga class. Instead of relaxing me, it made me more stressed out. And now I'm back at work and feeling unproductive. Taking a break was supposed to be a good thing. This could not have gone any worse. Ugh! Guess I shoulda gone with a Kit Kat Bar.


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Limoncello with "Joe" and "Barbara"

I went to dinner tonight with my friend (and her dog). (Because of the dog) we sat outside. Just inside the window was a big table with a group of about twelve people.


That's only half the table. But anyway, we kept looking in at this bunch and trying to figure out how they knew each other. Finally, I made up a story that it was Joe's retirement party (he's the one on the far right in the blue shirt) and they were all sending him off. There was a woman on the other end of the table and I named her Barbara and pronounced her Joe's secretary of 30 years. She's been the cornerstone of his career, following him from a previous job and helping him launch this successful business. She also organized the dinner. Anyhoo, My friend very sweetly ordered a fabulous dessert for my birthday.


And the waiter brought it and sang and it was very sweet. And Joe, Barbara and the crew cheered from the inside. I looked in and they waved us down to their table for after dinner drinks. I returned the wave but declined the invitation because let's face it, as much as we "knew" about Joe and Barbara, we didn't really "know" them. We ate our dessert (yum!) and got our check. As we were fixing to leave, "Barbara" came up to the table with a limoncello for me! Whew, that was a strong drink. We started chatting with her, showed her the picture we took of her table and told her the story of Joe and Barbara and the reason behind their dinner. She laughed hysterically and told us that basically they were with Ally Bank and some software company was taking then out to dinner as a sales call. Turns out that she was just there with her husband, her name isn't Barbara and she doesn't even know Joe!

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There's a first time for everything

JetBlue is definitely my favorite airline.


They serve good snacks (for free!) and every seat has DirectTV. This afternoon, I enjoyed an SVU Marathon at 30,000 feet. Upon landing, I was so engrossed in the show that I found myself wishing for another 40 minutes in the air! It didn't hurt that I was cozy in my blanket, I had an empty seat next to me and I was in a row with extra leg room. All in all, it was a heavenly flight and a very relaxing end to a quick weekend away.

Have a good week, Blogosphere!

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Happy Hhalloween!

Still two weeks early but at least these decorations are more timely than the Christmas tree and snowman on 23rd Street.


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Fashion Faux Pas Friday

It's a top hat. Covered with thick white lace. Someone should tell her Labor Day has passed.

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Rain, rain, go away!

It seems to be monsoon season in NYC.


And I'm over it.

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An out of borough experience

I met up with a friend tonight and we took a short trip across the river to...The Melting Pot! I'm not sure if it was our outfits (urban chic) or attitudes (we scoffed at the uncivilized large group at the front), but they seated us in the wayyyyy back of the rear room. A little out of the way, it was quite a nice spot. We ate (cheese, meat and chocolate) and drank (me: beer, her: wine) in relative peace...until karraoke started. Yes. I said karraoke. Wednesday night is apparently karraoke night at the Hoboken Melting Pot. Or perhaps at all Melting Pots! But there we were, enjoying a quiet meal and catching up when all of a sudden, bam! George Michael's "I never wanna dance again" came on. And let me tell you, after that man's rendition, George is promising to put all his shananigans on hold if this man promises never to sing another one of his songs again. I captured a video, but Blogger won't let me post it. So here's a visual.


Unfortunately this picture doesn't show the bottom of the room. The entire crowd was wearing sensible shoes. Enough said.

The restaurant felt so bad for us that they brought out a complementary bottle of ice wine. It made me want to puke. But it's the thought that counts, right?

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It's fruit juice

Or sangria.


You decide.

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What not to wear...

...when it's a "holiday" and you don't think that anyone will be at the office.


Because if you do wear it, and stroll in at 10am, you're guaranteed that the rest of the office will already be there and will glare at you when you walk in under dressed. Everyone including senior management. Happy Columbus Day, Bloggy Buddies!

Spotted: In Manhattan

Absolute Brooklyn!


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If only I had four quarters!

Then I could buy a chewable toothbrush.


As seen in the bathroom at Regal Cinemas in Union Square. What will they think of next?

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A bit early

During one of my four walks between offices today, I noticed someone new in Madison Square Park. I'd never seen him before. At least not this year.


I stopped to stare. And then I turned around and saw this:


Really? It's October. Not even in the double digits. This is unacceptable. I demand an explanation.

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Funny

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Celebrate!

Had a nice day of celebrations at work.


A flower cupcake/flower delivery from @ErinnVoytal,


dirt from a sweet co-worker,


a huge sign on our HR white board, and cupcakes with a surprise party from the JS team. Weekday birthdays can be kind of fun!

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I don't wanna grow up!

Ok, people, what's the answer?


I'll give you a clue. It's not:








Final Jeopardy and all three ding dongs missed it.

What's your guess, Bloggy Buddies?

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Stream of consciousness

Sister Wives: this show is like a train wreck. I just can't look away.

Pedicure: I need one.

Caffeine: I can't live without it anymore.

Stuffy: my nose.

Facebook: can't use it anymore without thinking about the Winklevosses.

Monday: really? That's today? Feels like it should be at least Thursday.

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I saw the Sheriff but I didn't see the Deputy

I was walking across 23rd Street today when the Sheriff drove by.


I thought sheriffs were only in small towns. I learn something new every day.

Have a great week, Bloggy Buddies!

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New silly band

The piñata at work has finally been busted. And in addition to lots of candy, a ton of silly bands came tumbling down. I snatched one.


It's a pumpkin. Or a bat. But whatever. The main point is that it glows in the dark. I didn't notice that last night and it shocked me tonight. I miss my duck but I think that the bat/pumpkin and I will do just fine together.

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Fashion Faux Pas Friday

Team USA is competing for the Ryder Cup in wet and rainy Wales. And it was perfect cheering weather here in NYC yesterday: wet and rainy. The perfect opportunity for me to wear my Ryder Cup jacket. Unfortunately I also wore my green rain boots. Hence my appointment to Fashion Faux Pas Friday.


I heard the word Christmas a few too many times. I hope that this is the last time that I'll be the faux pas. I prefer to be the one pointing the finger!

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