where everybody knows your name...
Sometimes you walk into a bar and think "I wish this place was in my neighborhood". OK, it wasn't quite 'Cheers' (at least I didn't hear anyone yell 'NORM' as the customers walked in), but the Orchid Lounge in the east village is clearly a place that could attract the local artsy/alternative types. The half-priced drinks from 5-8pm was a nice surprise, as was the 'Sajito', which is a Mojito with Sake instead of Rum. The shrine to Connie Chung behind the bar is a bit weird, but not weird enough to keep me away...
dim sum anyone?
Had my first New York dim sum experience this morning, and I think it was as good for me as it was for everyone else. Went to Jing Fong Restaurant in Chinatown. Didn't have the chicken feet, but what I did have was excellent! (Thank you Hang and Songhai)
turn off your phone!
Dear Sir,
The other day at the New York Sports Club on 67th Street your phone went off while you were on the seated rowing machine. You allowed it to ring 4 or 5 times before picking up, and then proceeded to have a conversation while doing rows one-handed. I think that bringing your phone into the gym, leaving the ringer on, and chatting with your friend loudly is very inconsiderate to the other people in the gym. I realize that 95% of them are wearing iPods and may not be able to hear you, but I think I speak for the other 5% when I say that I would appreciate it if you kept your ringer off and step out of the weight room to answer the phone.
Kindest regards,
Aron
Sean's top 5
One of the best ways to see a new city is through the eyes of someone else, particularly when that someone else is Sean. For those of you who don't know him, Sean is a graduate student in the lab, and one of the funniest people I know. His random, funny comments are said in the same tone as any other statement he would make during a normal conversation, so it's hard to tell when he's trying to be funny or when he is serious. Sean had never been to the U.S. before visiting New York last November in preparation for the move in late March. His observations and thoughts about all things American have come thick and fast. Here are a few of the funnier ones - his top 5 (for now):
1) "You have to pay more to get less food"
Sean made this comment last November after eating at an upscale Portuguese restaurant, where we each had a starter, main, and dessert without exploding. I think it was one of the few meals we all finished on the trip.
2) “I don’t know why we bothered buying any furniture”
Comment made after seeing furniture, including an IKEA chest of drawers and a microwave, left outside of our building a couple of weeks after we went to IKEA to buy furniture for our apartments.
3) “It’s just like London, only the American version”
Sean referring to the Great Lawn in Central Park, which reminded him of Regent’s Park.
4) “I thought they were the sports results”
Sean response when I asked him why he was looking at the stocks page of the Wall Street Journal. Sean went on to tell me he doesn't really care about sports and never looks at the sports results.
5) “I just wanted them to hear me speak”
Referring to how nicely he is treated when Americans hear his British accent. At the time, Sean was having a coffee in the Village and was more than happy to answer the phone when I called to see where he was.
catching up with old friends...
One of the nicest things about living in New York is there are a lot of people here from various periods of my life. On Friday evening I met up with Sophie (a postdoc who used to work in a lab upstairs from me in London), her boyfriend Seb (who I also knew from London), and their almost 5 month-old daughter Zoe (who was not in London). It was really nice to catch up with them, even with Seb giving me a hard time and wanting to argue about politics... one of the things I learned not to do while I was living in Europe (discuss yes, argue no). Saturday I met up with Hoy, a friend from high school, and his (and his wife Silvia's) dog Pia. We met in Washington Square park, where they have two 'dog runs' - one for large dogs (over 25 pounds, roughly 11 kg) and one for small dogs (under 25 pounds). Pia was running around the small dog run, fighting off all the male dogs who wanted to 'play'. Just outside the dog run was a group of people, gathered around a guy playing the flute while beatboxing and two other guys freestyle rapping. I doubt we'll ever be able to buy the album, but they were entertaining. That evening we met up (me, Sean, Hoy, and Silvia) at a pub close to my place to watch the LA Lakers/Phoenix Suns playoff game. I think the game was more interesting for Hoy than Silvia (the fact that the Lakers were getting destroyed didn't help) and we spent the game chatting and catching up. It's nice knowing that on any given evening there are enough friends around that I'll be able to find someone to meet up for a drink!
My weekend in Boston...
After my 5+ hour Chinatown bus ride, I was ready for a relaxing weekend in Boston catching up with old friends and going to my friend Rob’s wedding. My friend Brandy picked me up from the station and drove me out to his place in West Roxbury. Brandy and his wife Sharifa have a 16 month-old boy, Jordy, and it was nice to catch up with them and have a chance to meet the new member of the family. After putting Jordy to bed, Brandy and I met up with Praveen, another friend from grad school, to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Harvard Square. It was a really nice weclome back to the city.
The next morning we woke up and took Jordy to his ‘music lesson’, which was in an old church in Jamaica Plain, an area that reminded me a lot of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago – a middle-class, racially mixed neighborhood with a lot of young families. Jordy’s music lesson was in a room with other children, each with a parent, sitting in a circle listening to music, singing along, dancing, etc. It was obviously a bonding experience that was as much for the parents as it was for the children. After the music lesson we went to Brandy’s mothers place for a bit to help her move some things to the garage in preparation for her move down to Virginia at the end of May, then it was back home to grab some lunch and change for Rob’s wedding. Brandy drove me to Wayland, to a very nice, simple Lutheran Church where the wedding was held. There were no more than 100 people for the service, which lasted less than an hour. I only knew a few people at the ceremony; UPenn people who I hadn’t kept in touch with, but knew from graduate school. Fortunately some of them had driven, so I was able to get a ride to the reception while catching up on what the various people from UPenn were up to. The reception was held at ‘The Warren Center’ in Ashland, MA. Pre-dinner drinks were held in a large room that looked out onto a lawn; it felt like we were in a big tent, and even had heating lamps to keep people warm. Dinner was in a large hall; Andrea and Rob had arranged for me to sit at a table with some people from Rob’s lab and some who had worked with Andrea (who is an administrator in the building that Rob works in). Everyone was extremely nice and we spent the dinner talking and figuring out everyone’s connection with Andrea and Rob. When the time came to cut the cake, Rob said a few words to thank the people who made it, who work in the bakery with his stepfather. The cake was finished in New York the morning of the wedding, and driven up to Boston and assembled at the reception hall. It weighed over 200 pounds and was about 4 feet tall. I’m not sure my pictures do it justice; it was truly a masterpiece. I got a ride back with a couple who know Rob from the lab he is in now (the husband works with Rob). Brandy met me at their place and took me back to his. The next morning Brandy got up early to golf, I went to a local diner to have breakfast with Sharifa and Jordy, and then Sharifa took me to catch the bus back to New York.
It was an extremely short trip, but hopefully I’ll be able to take advantage of having Boston so close and visit more often!
