4/3/13 – Rockefeller Tour

Hans and sue Sauer arrived late last night on a delayed flight from London. They are our guests in NYC for the next ten days, so this morning we set off to show them the town. First stop was ‘Top of the Rock’ – the viewing platform at the top of the Rockefeller Centre. We will never tire of this view. We caught up with Christine, our favourite guide for the ‘art and architecture’ walking tour of the Rockefeller Centre, had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the famous ice skating rink and the statue of Prometheus and then hopped on a NYC Tours double decker bus to see the sights for the rest of the day.

At 5pm we disembarked from the bus at Times Square where Sue and I made fools of ourselves trying to get our pictures up on the big screens overlooking ‘The Red Steps’ and the statue of Farther Duffy. We then enjoyed a long walk down Broadway to Houston Street, with stops at Jensen-Lewis and the West Market. Finally, just after 7pm, we reached Restaurant Jean Claude in Sullivan Street for an authentic French dinner – squid, scallops, escargot and steak au poivre – all washed down with a lovely St Emilion red. Life is good and we are ready for bed.

But the night was not over yet… Spotty and Scotty called and soon we were on for drinks at the Stone Rose Lounge in Columbus Circle with a beautiful view of 5^th Avenue and the Park. Sue was introduced to NYC’s signiature cocktail the Cosmo (and I assist her with this joyous task). Boys had beers and then moved on to whiskey.

Funny bit for the night – when Scotty (so named as, despite looking ‘Russian’, he has a strong Scottish accent) asked the waitress for a ‘cleansing ale’ it was immediately clear that she had no idea what he was on about and directed him to the men’s toilet!

Slept soundly, very soundly!

3/3/13 – Always keen to try new things…..

The key to being happy in life may be connected to not only to our willingness to choose to look on the bright side of life but also to our ability to be flexible and to accept, embrace and even effect change in our lives. In addition to our physical environment which we are told is constantly changing… there is also our life’s journey – our intellectual, physical, social and emotional journey.

In most cases, when we are kids we are nurtured by our parents and family. Then we stretch our wings, we leave the nest, then wish we were back in the nest, then make our own nest and if we’re lucky it will be with a partner with whom we can go on to experience lots of new adventures. Our environment and relationships are continually evolving and anyone who expects them to remain fixed and unchanging is sure to be disappointed.

So I guess the idea might be to establish a stable base at first and then welcome change from that secure foundation. In my experience it is people who have an insecure base who don’t seem to adapt well when faced with change and instability … they seek consistency and the world they know.

Peter and I have been making a conscious effort of late to seek and embrace change. How have we gone about this? Well, we’ve been going to the gym and keeping an eye on what and how much we eat in order to improve our physical health. We have also been reading more widely which may have improved our intellectual scope (trouble is I keep forgetting it all - hence this blog acts as my journal). We have been spending a lot of time together, a rare thing for us and something that can be a ‘make or break’ for any couple emotionally. And finally we have set up a life for ourselves in a new city, with the result that we have had to make new friends and do all those things (great and small) that one needs to do in order to put down roots in a new place eg find a supermarket, doctor, dentist and wine merchant!     

So in keeping with our ‘trying new things’ theme we decided that today was the day we finish off the ‘new wardrobe for Peter movement’ that had been begun by Cameron when he was here. Now I can hear cheers from home but, to his credit, the man we all know and love in a suit or tracksuit (with no middle ground in between) has been willing to go beyond his comfort zone and try some fashionable items as recommended by the ‘wardrobe consultants’ of NYC.

I am so proud of my husband who now has an array of new clothes – including suits with braces, cufflinks, vests, sports coats, an overcoat and even some Calvin Klein undies! And would you believe me if I told you that, in addition to aftershave he now has his own moisturiser? The question now is: when will I work up the courage to take my own advice, follow his lead, and step into a world outside my usual ‘t-shirts and black pants’ attire? Mmm perhaps a few more months at the gym before I bite that bullet….. 

ps Hans and Sue’s flight has been delayed so it looks like we will not be seeing them until tomorrow morning sometime!

2/3/13 - How long can one spend shopping?

I spent the morning exploring the local traders – post office, shoe repair, meat, fruit and veg, pharmacy, pedicure and haircut. There is a huge array of vendors and a massive selection of stock. Where does one start and how does one decide on what to purchase and how much one should pay. Not to mention that everyone in NYC seems to be on the lookout for a ‘schmuck to fleece’.

We then spent the afternoon in the Australia Bar watching the WF v Bulls …the boys did ok forgot to stay in front on the scoreboard by the end of the game! This was followed by the Tahs v Rebels game. During the game we were joined by two guys from the Perth rugby scene - Scotty and Spotty. They had lost two wives and a daughter – apparently they had gone shopping 7 hours ago and their phones were turned off! Not looking good guys…..

1/3/13 - Are style and price tag in a relationship??

Peter and I had a lovely time pretending we were rich in Bloomingdales. I had a facial and purchased some cosmetics. Peter purchased some braces and new underwear. I am not allowed to mention the toner, moisturiser and eye cream he bought but will sit on this information and mention it later when I’m feeling lucky! Perhaps he will coach the backs this year?

We also to ‘Supreme’ the skater’s shop. The creation of demand and a point of difference in the market place is most evident in this enterprise. The shop is located in a grungy but cool neighbourhood (Lafayette and Prince). It has a limited range in stock and you can only buy one hat per person. The merchandise in the two shops (Tokyo and NYC) is not available on line and what hat designs and colour combinations appear this week will not be available ever again. New stock comes in each Thursday but staff don’t know what’s coming in and they don’t answer the phone if you want to make enquiries. End result is that ‘Supreme’ gear is ‘uber’ desirable, the store is packed and it often sells out. What a business/marketing plan - no stock left over, ever!

28/3/13 – NYC Gotham City

 The sun coming out today enticed us to cycle along the river down to the gym. Having had a lovely ride down there we were keen to try the long way home via the northern loop of Central Park. This idea sounded great in theory, but after twice around the weights circuit and 45 mins on the stepper my legs went on strike and things suddenly got ugly. And to make my lot even tougher, it seems that the gears on my bike had rusted up, and so I had to walk up the big hills pushing that big old bike. Worse still was the damage to my ego as I was passed by not one, but two joggers while I was peddling up the little hills along the west side of the Park! Poor Peter had to endure receiving several very acute recommendations for future activities and it took ‘a little rest’ back at home before I was ready to walk and talk again! 

Once I get the bike fixed it is going to be wonderful cycling everywhere in the Spring … and Spring in NYC is definitely on its way. Little buds are emerging from the branches of trees and shoots are pushing their way up through the soil. The shops are filled with daffodils and jonquils and the perfume is intoxicating. The floral displays in shops and businesses here are fantastic and compensate somewhat for the lack of grass in the city! Something is certainly needed to lift the place as much of the architecture is very 1930’s (ie ‘very dark’) hence NYC’s nickname ’Gotham City’ … a nickname which I have discovered that most New Yorkers think comes from an association with Batman.

But does it?

The New Yorkers we have surveyed (most of whom were wearing gear with the logo ‘NYC - Gotham City’ printed on it) either have no idea where the nickname ‘Gotham City’ came from or assume it is associated with the Batman movies and cartoons. But according to Peter’s hero Alistair Cooke, it’s all the fault of Washington Irving. He applied the name to New York in an issue of a humorous magazine name Salmagundi, a title taken from the name of a salad which consists of a variety of ingredients (just like New York). The original Gotham is popularly supposed to be the village of that name in Nottinghamshire, though I gather there’s little good evidence of this. The story is that bad King John (Magna Carta etc) decided to visit Gotham on a royal progress, though why he should when he had a perfectly good castle to stay at just up the road at Nottingham is not explained. The villagers realised this would be inconvenient and expensive because of the size of the king’s retinue. They decided to pretend to be imbecilic in front of the king’s heralds, by trying to fish the moon out of a pond, running madly in circles, trying to drown an eel, clasping hands around a thorn bush to imprison a cuckoo, and other crazy actions. The ploy worked and the king decided not to come. A collection of tales about stupidity was published in the reign of Henry VIII, entitled The Merrie Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham. So the name had by Washington Irving’s time long been associated with stupidity, even though the original story was actually about a kind of twisted cleverness. Washington Irving thought this just the name to give to a city which he believed was inhabited by fools. So does this accusation fit? We’ll let you know in four months’ time.

27/2/13 - Howler

Today was a stinker of a day with heavy rain and 50mph winds. In the end we caught a taxi to the gym and back and then spent the rest of the day cleaning and doing other chores indoors.

We were interested to read that the State of Colorado has recently declared a state of drought. This struck me as crazy but upon reflection not everyone get their water from rain but snow.

26/2/13 – She’s been thinking again……

I spent this morning reflecting on our trip to Dartmouth College over the weekend. We had a lovely time up there with those who have the privilege to live and study in such a wonderful place but on the long bus ride home, travelling on roads in need of repair and past the towns that looked like they were struggling to survive, it made me think about what the people who live in these two locations want (and expect) from life and what steps they are willing (and expected) to take to achieve those objectives.

We all spend our time seeking something. Some spend all day seeking something as simple as clean drinking water. Others spend all day seeking food and shelter and a safe place to sleep. Some spend months, even years, seeking a job. Some spend a lifetime seeking love and understanding. Some seek equality and justice. Some seek wealth and power. And people seeking all of these things can be found right here in the USA (and in Australia). But I have to ask, why are there so many people here who seem not to have the basics of life that me and mine can take for granted? Surely everyone on earth deserves the right to water, food, shelter, education and unconditional love.

On LSL, I have time to put my head up and not only read about what’s happening in the world but ponder my beliefs and actions. And observing this inequality as to the basics of life got me thinking about some other questions. Like, why do we want what others have? Why do we have so much trouble sharing? Why do we think that we know what others should have (or should want)?

I am beginning to worry about the corrupting effect of social media in this regard. I’m uneasy that this medium just encourages those of us who use it to pretend, through our ‘perfect’ profiles and ‘happy’ photos, that we have it all (whatever the current conception of ‘having it all’ may mean)? Are we too scared to be honest on Facebook? Or are we celebrating the positives? In an age when the news is filled with the negatives perhaps this is a good thing.

So my praise today is for those who do are not continually seeking to have the latest and most fashionable of everything for themselves. Eventually one finds that these ‘fashions’ change all too quickly in our material word, with the result that life just becomes a long and slippery pole. I affirm those who choose to be real and take time to seek the important things in life. I am in awe of those whom I have been both meeting and reading about who are making a difference.

So I guess I am challenging myself to live simply, be real and be grateful that I (and the people I love) live in a place and time in history that allows us to have much to be grateful for and to do something that makes a difference … to whatever we choose to make our ‘thing’. What say you?