Larb

Since I'm looking for something to cheer me up at 3 am this morning, here's a collage of some yummy Thai food from Chili Thai from last week!



Yes, I like food collages.

There's chicken pad woon sen, mhoo tom yum and larb gai. Yum. I could go for some larb gai right now...

SYTYCD 5.2

Tapper Evan for the top 20! Please!

Plazas

To the Mayor (again):

I walked through the pedestrian plazas yesterday and today, just because I was there and they were empty.

Yesterday morning, I took a picture of one block's pedestrian plaza. It was completely empty.

Last night, there were people walking in them but it was very empty and there were more people on the sidewalks.

Midday today, and this is the most activity I could find for you:

I understand that it probably gets crowded on the weekends. Why couldn't we then just do that summer streets thing you did on the east side last year? Why close Broadway all day, all night, if it's not being used, and is just creating a traffic jam?

Why don't you instead concentrate your attention on making real "thru streets" so it doesn't take me over 40 minutes to drive crosstown?

Love,
Crayon

Sick

Feeling sick, yet again. And it's going to be an early morning tomorrow since I need to bring the car in for service, so no chance of "sleeping in." Sigh.

I guess it started when I left work around 9:30 (later than expected). I thought I was just hungry since it was so late, but once I finally was able to eat something, I just started feeling ill. I don't know if it's from the weather changes (70s and sunny over the weekend, 50s and damp today), allergies (so much pollen flying around the park this weekend), no sleep (the usual), catching a 24 hour bug from A, or any of numerous other reasons. Or all of the above.

(By the way, after I left work, I made a point of walking through the "pedestrian plazas" just because I could. They were fairly empty. I think a lot of the tourists are continuing to stick to the sidewalks. The streets make for better pictures, especially since they're wide open, but is that really the reason for doing this? I saw 2 different sections at 2 times of day today, and I can't say I'm impressed with turnout either time...)

Hopefully this sick feeling really can be cured with sleep. Hopefully.

Bread

Does anyone know if Just Salad has permanently changed their bread from that focaccia type bread (which was so addictive) to wheat bread?? I hope it's not for good!

Pedestrian Mall

To the Mayor:

 

I haven't walked around the entire pedestrian mall yet, but is the "mall" from 45th to 46th really necessary?  Just asking since it was completely empty when I passed by this morning.

 

I also still don't understand how closing a major street results in less traffic.  Maybe less cars past the point of merge/closure, but I don't know how it decreases the number of cars on cross-streets and pre-merge.  I was with you on congestion pricing, because I think that would decrease the total number of cars coming into the city because of costs, but how does closing a street reduce the number of overall cars?  Is it supposed to discourage people from driving?  Somehow I think they'll just take another road.

 

I like public space.  I like pedestrian space.  But I'm still not on board with this fantastic pedestrian mall plan you keep raving about.  Maybe you can explain how it really lessens the overall number of cars in the area.  I don't see it.

 

Love,

Crayon

Nougatine

Since both A and I had the day off today for Memorial Day, we decided to celebrate by going for lunch at Nougatine (the more casual dining room at Jean Georges)!

(Pictured (all descriptions from menu), left to right on each row: tuna tartare with avocado, spicy radish and ginger marinade; warm spring beets and rich yogurt with field mache and lemon oil; red snapper with lily bulb radish salad, white sesame and lavender; pan roasted pink cod with artichokes, peas and carrot vinaigrette; chocolate-ginger parfait with lychee yogurt and crunchy sesame; citrus sponge cake with mint sorbet, honeydew and coconut.)

I love going for lunch prix fixe menus at nice restaurants. It gives you the chance to sample all sorts of dishes, especially if you've never been to the restaurant before, and they're a great deal. I also just like going out for lunch since the lighting is nice, it's a great break in the middle of the day, and it's more relaxed. When I've gone to nice restaurants for lunch, it's almost always been a summer associate lunch at work (although I don't think that's going to happen much this summer), so it was nice to have the opportunity to go with A on a rare weekday day off. (Nougatine also does the prix fixe on Saturday, but I'm not sure which others do. I'd love to know so we can try them!)

The food was excellent. Good flavors, good presentation, good service. (Our poor server had to deal with the table next to us which sat down right before we were leaving, who told her they really would rather sit in the formal dining room and then proceeded to ask her about things on the menu.) I think the most "interesting" flavor to me was probably the chocolate dessert (the ginger made it very interesting - I'm not a huge fan of ginger, but somehow it ended up in all 3 of my dishes, but I only really noticed it as strong with the fish). The tuna tartare was excellent, possibly my favorite of the 6 dishes. I can't wait to go out for lunch again soon!

To the MTA

To the MTA:

Are you still planning to reduce the number of station agents in your cutbacks for the budget?

I really hope not.

You claim that they're not necessary because people can just use the automated machines to get their Metrocards. This misses the point of the agents. The agents are there to help people when machines cannot. Can machines give directions if someone can't read the subway map? No. Can machines clearly tell people what routes aren't working if someone can't figure it out after reading the 50 signs in the station about diversions? No.

And most importantly to me today - can machines help when your unlimited card fails? No.

I bought an unlimited metrocard this morning for use today, knowing that I would take at least 4 trips on the subway, and would save at least $0.50 by getting an unlimited card for the day. I used it twice and there was no problem. On the third try (of course, in Times Square where it was busy), it didn't work. It wanted me to swipe over and over in that turnstile. After 20 or more tries I gave up and tried at least 4 other turnstiles but nothing. The station agent thought maybe their turnstiles were the problem, since she confirmed my card was valid and could even tell when it was last used.

We took our trip downtown and out of curiosity, I tried my card again on the way out to see if I would have further problems. Yet again, it didn't work. So I guess it's not the turnstiles! This station agent told me that if I swiped it 20 times at the turnstile the card would fix itself. I told him I did that at the last station but it didn't work. So he tried it and it still didn't work. The solution? Tell the station agent at every station you're at what the problem is and they'll let you in. Could I get a replacement card since I knew I had at least 2 more trips? No. Clearly each of the station agents I spoke to could see I had a valid card. But could a machine determine that and let me through the gate?

Now, MTA, please tell me. If you get rid of station agents, how would I get through with my unlimited card if there is no agent at the station? Yes, it was annoying having to go through my story over and over, but the card was clearly valid and no one could figure out why it was broken. I would have to buy a new card even though I had an unlimited card, and would you reimburse me for that? Somehow I think not.

So how can you get rid of station agents when you need people to evaluate and solve problems like that? How would that work?

Love,
Crayon

Huckleberry

Today, while at a wine tasting for Riesling Week, I discovered what might be my favorite vodka yet.

44 North Distillery in Idaho makes a "mountain huckleberry" flavor. It was so good that I couldn't stop talking about it tonight. I don't usually drink vodka by itself, even flavored vodkas, but this was really fantastic.

So if you're looking for good vodka -- I recommend that you go search for this one and try it. It's worth it!

Weekend Time

Heading into Memorial Day weekend, a few random notes:

1. I have been so exhausted lately, and I don't understand it. Most days, it feels like the "focus" part of my brain has just vanished, and I don't know what happened to it. What happened? Is this like second-stage burn-out or something?

2. I saw a gorgeous sunset today, made more gorgeous because of the clouds. I love sunsets for their colors, but the clouds made this one. See?

You really need the panorama and large sizes to do it justice, but the stitching isn't so good on my mini-camera panoramas, so I'm not posting those.

3. It's Fleet Week here in NYC and everywhere you look there are men and women in uniform. (I also spend most of my time in midtown, so that's probably why.) I ran past the piers this evening, and the place is locked up like a fortress.

4. I don't think I have ever had "vinegar peppers" until tonight.

5. I ended up walking 1.5 miles at lunch today (round trip) because I either couldn't find the places I was looking for, didn't like the options, or didn't know what I wanted. I ended up going to Zaiya, which is never a bad option, but not where I intended to go!

6. Bryant Park looked wonderful today with the sun shining through the green trees. I love that it was in the 80s today. Summer is really coming!

7. Since it's so warm, it's quite hard to believe that just last week I was wearing a fleece jacket on top of two shirts to go to the food fair. This weather is insane. But just bring on summer! Woohoo!

8. One of these days, I think I'll just sit and watch the sunset instead of only seeing it on my evening runs. Of course, this would require me to be in shape and have the luxury to not have to run at the time. Someday.

9. All afternoon, I had the song that plays on the Cafe Boulud website in my head. I don't know why. Yesterday it was Kris's studio version of "No Boundaries" and today it's some French (I think) song. I don't even speak French!

10. So excited for a 3 day weekend! Even if it's not a full vacation and I have to do some work over it, I'm still excited for an extra day, warm weather and more time!

SYTYCD 5.1

Random thoughts on the season premiere of SYTYCD:

• It was nice to see Brandon back! And Natalie, even though I liked Katee better.
• There were some good people but I don't remember all their names. I remember the guy that has a name everyone mispronounces that starts like "Ch." He was good. And they showed a lot of good contemporary people.
• Less shots of the judges while people are dancing, please. If you're going to show them, can't you just show them in the corner, like a picture-in-picture type thing? If we're supposed to watch people dancing, and see what the judges reacted to, it would be helpful to see what the dancers are doing!
• Why did they have to bring back Lauren?? Could they get no one else?
• I didn't really like how the judges (Nigel mostly) treated the two guys who were ballroom dancing together. I can understand when Mary was talking about it in leading-following terms but Nigel just seemed upset because it was two GUYS and OMG they were dancing TOGETHER. It's not like anyone would force him to pair two guys during the actual show, and they should be allowed to audition however they want! It really irked me and was kind of uncomfortable. Not really funny at all.
• Ready for more dancing!! It was all kind of a 2 hour blur, too many people to keep track of without taking notes.

In other news, the DVR was terrible. This morning we had 3 hours free (plus extras from other days that it made us get rid of), and the third hour it said would be there for 3 days. Yet, in order to tape the Ugly Betty finale at the same time as SYTYCD, it made us delete even more time! I was hoping to watch the Mentalist again but guess that won't happen. And then we had to delete an episode of Fringe we didn't even see yet! Argh. What happened to the 3 days it supposedly had?

Next TV Season

Upfronts are done! DVR will be in trouble next year, so hopefully Hulu will come through! One thing I will say is that with only 2 networks really competing at 10 (seriously, Jay Leno does not count), that does make it easier...

This doesn't include all my USA shows either... or all the midseason shows yet to be scheduled (LOST, V, etc.), but since I'll probably forget unless I put this here, here's what I'm thinking about watching:

MONDAY
(fall)
8 - Gossip Girl, Heroes
9 - Trauma?, Lie to Me (but will just watch it on Hulu if it's still there)
10 - Castle
(spring)
8 - Gossip Girl, Chuck
9 - Day One, 24
10 - Castle

TUESDAY
(fall)
8 - SYTYCD, NCIS (online)
9 - SYTYCD, NCIS LA (online?)
10 - The Forgotten?, The Good Wife?
(spring)
8 - Idol, NCIS
9 - Melrose Place, Past Life?, NCIS LA
10 - The Forgotten?, The Good Wife?

WEDNESDAY
(fall)
8 - Parenthood, SYTYCD
9 - Glee, The Beautiful Life
10 - Eastwick
(spring)
8 - Idol, Mercy?
9 - Human Target/Glee, The Beautiful Life
10 - Eastwick

THURSDAY
(same schedule both fall & spring - and trouble!)
8 - Flash Forward, Survivor, Bones, Vampire Diaries
9 - Grey's Anatomy, Fringe
10 - Mentalist, Private Practice

FRIDAY
8 - Nothing (why can't something from the 9 pm hour move here??)
9 - Dollhouse, Medium, Ugly Betty
10 - Numb3rs

SUNDAY
8 - Amazing Race
9 - Desperate Housewives, Three Rivers
10 - Brothers and Sisters

Photo Cakes

I don't understand cakes with photos on them. They're showing these photos of kids on the tops of cakes on Unwrapped, and I don't get it. Parents want to take a knife and cut up the image of their child? You have to cut through part of the person - and then eat it! I just don't get it.

American Idol 8.39

(Spoilers ahead if you are not in the eastern half of the country.)

I am thrilled that Kris won and shocked that I have now gone 3 for 3
in this spring's reality show finales. I would have been totally fine
with Adam winning since he's incredibly talented, but it's just not
always my style of music. And I vote based on which cd I'd buy.

I was so shocked though as I figured it was a given that Adam would
win. Simon was clearly not happy. Is it so hard to fake it and stand
up with everyone else?

I hope they clean up the coronation song before it gets recorded.

Dress Update

Wow.  My dress got to the store already.  I wasn't expecting that call for another 3 weeks!

Quick Question

What's with all the medical dramas next year?  It seems like they are everywhere!  Organ donors, trauma centers, first responders, nurses, doctors, hospitals... so we've gone from overdoing crime procedurals to saturating the airwaves with hospital shows?

Dress

I had always planned on shipping my wedding dress to Hawaii because we were already going to be carrying so much crap and I didn't want to risk something happening to it.  But shipping is a risk too, right?  They could lose it shipping it just like it could be lost on a flight.

Then the guy at the bridal store completely freaked me out about shipping the dress, because if something happened to it, how could you replace it?  Something that has to be ordered months in advance and then fitted?  Then I thought I should keep it as close to me as possible.

Then I heard stories about dresses being stolen out of first class coat closets or overhead bins, and other assorted problems.  Not to mention that the dress bag would take up one of my 2 carry-ons (sorry, carry-on and personal bag) and we are going to have so much stuff.  So then I was back to shipping it.  Early.  Early enough that if something were to happen, there would be enough time to try to track it down and to assemble an emergency plan B.

And now, I'm really thinking shipping it is the way to go - a bride had her gown stolen out of her checked luggage!  Who would do that?!  One would think you could just not check it, and just carry it on.  But I'm reading online on the boards that they can't guarantee you that you can even take garment bags on board anymore as carry-ons and the only way to be sure the dress travels with you is to buy it a seat.  I am not spending more than the cost of the dress to fly it on the plane with me!  That would be outrageous!

I love that we're having a destination wedding, but the logistics of getting all the stuff from A to B when it's not driving distance is definitely a minus.  Especially the important stuff for the wedding, like the clothes!  My current plan is to ship it by FedEx or UPS.  What stress!

Voting Update

5 votes, 35 busy signals.

Busy

I have tried 15 times to vote for Kris, and got through once with 14 busy signals.

NBC Cancellations

Time again to assess how I feel about the networks cancelling shows.  I'm going to do NBC first because I know I'm upset at ABC so I'm putting that off.

 

Watched it and upset that it didn't have a real chance:  Kings (one day: we're sticking with Kings! next day: Kings to burn off on Saturdays! next day: Kings on hiatus until summer), My Own Worst Enemy (but less upset than I am about Kings... I just like spy shows).... and truthfully, not raving mad about either, even if upset.

 

Watched it but knew it was doomed and am at peace with it:  Crusoe, Lipstick Jungle

 

Watched it but don't really care that it's not returning:  America's Toughest Jobs

 

Watched it and I guess it's not really cancelled if it's jumping to another network:  Medium (although if it's just gone, and not gone to CBS, I could live with that too)

 

Tried it but don't miss it:  Chopping Block, Life (sorry to Life fans, but I never really clicked with the show...), Superstars of Dance

 

Surprised that it's on the cancellation list but don't really care: Deal or No Deal

 

Ending but really wasn't that into the show:  ER

 

Never watched:  Howie Do It, Kath & Kim, Knight Rider, Momma's Boys, My Name is Earl

 

So I guess if I'm ranking... more upset with NBC than with Fox.  Had they not renewed Chuck, I would be MAD.

Weird

Why did Outlook put an email I got at 8:08 am under "Yesterday"?

DVR Schedule 2

You know, it's so much easier when there's only one network doing an upfront on a particular day... kind of hard to keep track of everything, especially with CBS butting in with their cancellations and renewals when their day is tomorrow!

 

Anyway, updated DVR list:

 

MONDAY
8 - (fall) Heroes; (midseason) Chuck
9 - (fall) Trauma (maybe); (midseason) 24, Day One; (online) Lie to Me
10 - Castle
 
TUESDAY
8 - (fall) SYTYCD; (midseason) Idol
9 - (fall) SYTYCD; (midseason) Past Life
10 - The Forgotten (maybe)
 
WEDNESDAY
8 - (fall) SYTYCD, Parenthood; (midseason) Idol, Mercy
9 - (fall) Glee; (midseason) Human Target
10 - Eastwick
 
THURSDAY
8 - Bones, Flash Forward
9 - Fringe, Grey's Anatomy
10 - Private Practice
 
FRIDAY
8 - (open)
9 - Dollhouse, Ugly Betty
10 - (open)
 
SUNDAY
8 - (open)
9 - Desperate Housewives
10 - Brothers and Sisters

 

Not yet scheduled: LOST, The Deep End, V, Happy Town

 

(1) I am glad ABC is joining Hulu (WHEN??)

(2) I sure hope a lot of stuff ends up on Hulu

(3) Sigh.

Leno

I still think this "Jay Leno every day" thing is a bad idea.  And it's bad for creative television.

TV 2

Craziness in the TV world today.  What's with all the shows jumping from network to network?  More later when I have time to process.

Bookings

It's been a productive night. Didn't do a ton of work (although I figured out the right questions for tomorrow), but got a lot done for upcoming trips.

We booked our flights for the wedding! So excited! The good thing about flying United is that they have economy plus. I'm willing to pay for the extra legroom for really long flights (and when it's cheap like on JetBlue, for not so long ones too!), and Hawaii definitely qualifies. (It's like 4 inches!) Since we haven't done all that much for the wedding over the past week or so, it definitely feels good to get this done! I don't know if I've ever booked a trip this early before, so I'll probably keep checking the flights to make sure they fill up... I never have this many seats to choose from!

(We also booked another set of flights to go to another wedding, and a hotel room for later this month. Yay for Priceline!)

Also watched an episode of 24 (from APRIL 13 - PLEASE, NO SPOILERS), an episode of Reaper (from APRIL 14 - PLEASE, NO SPOILERS) and the 2 hour finale of Desperate Housewives (sigh, I expected more). Yes, I know I'm behind. Also behind on Dollhouse, Chuck, Fringe and the Unusuals. So much to watch!

Glee is on tomorrow! :)

I really need to get to sleep!

DVR Schedule

To be updated through the week as the upfronts go on, but here's what I think will hit the DVR next season so far.  Those spots won't remain open for long :)

 

MONDAY

8 - (open)

9 - 24 (midseason; open in fall - I watch Lie to Me online)

10 - (open)

 

TUESDAY

8 - SYTYCD/Idol

9 - SYTYCD/Past Life

10 - (open)

 

WEDNESDAY

8 - SYTYCD/Idol

9 - Glee/Human Target

10 - (open)

 

THURSDAY

8 - Bones

9 - Fringe

10 - (open)

 

FRIDAY

8 - (open)

9 - Dollhouse

10 - (open)

 

SUNDAY

8 - (open)

9 - (open)

10 - (open)

 

Can you see how this might present a problem with lots of networks left to go?  I hope they continue to put most shows on Hulu...

Fox Cancellations

Looking over thefutoncritic's list of cancelled shows by Fox this season, I'm not feeling very upset.  I never even sampled Do Not Disturb, Osbournes Reloaded or Sit Down Shut Up.  We watched Hole in the Wall once or twice, but it was better in Japan.  I watched some Prison Break online, and still have to watch the dvds I have for season 1, but how many prisons can they get put in and then break out from?  I watched season 1 of Terminator but didn't think the writing was very good so I stopped watching (although I heard the show was pretty good this season, and I may have to watch on Hulu).  That leaves only one - Secret Millionaire - which I kind of liked in concept (and some of the episodes), but also felt was just a way for some rich people to feel good about themselves (really depended on the people).  (So I wasn't very attached to whether it stayed or went.)

 

So I'm not very upset at Fox this year.  (I can't say the same for some other networks *coughABCcough*)  It's kind of surprising considering they're usually cancellation-happy but I guess they didn't have many options to cancel this year anyway.  And they saved Dollhouse (yay!)

 

I'm clearly rambling so I'm going to stop and figure out what to eat for lunch that's healthy after this weekend of unhealthy food (speaking of which, I found my saved old post but am not sure if I am going to re-post it).

Early Fox Thoughts

Quick thoughts;

 

1.  So You Think You Can Dance in the fall?  While I love the show and always want more, it's my summer show!

 

2.  This Fox schedule is aimed at killing my DVR (or making me get 2).  There are only 3 hours over 5 days that might not make the DVR.

 

3.  So excited for Glee!

 

4.  For once, they didn't move Bones to Fridays at midseason.  I think they finally learned their lesson that they always have to change it anyway.

 

5.  Interested in Human Target and wonder what will happen to that Sons comedy should Reaper actually come back in some form (keeping in mind that I am way behind on what's happened on Reaper this season).

Upfronts

It's upfronts week! Yayyyyy!  More later.

Food Fair

This weekend was the Ninth Avenue International Food Fair. I went to the fair a lot as a kid. I remember doing sand art (which is still back at my parents' place), buying big t-shirts (it was the 80s/early 90s...) and trying all different types of food (I remember for some reason there being Greek food and empanadas). Ever since we moved to the area, we have been making an effort to go every year, especially to support the local businesses.

I don't know if it was always this way, but I think "professional street fair vendors" made up more than half the vendors at the fair. It's been like this the past few years, but I don't know if it was like this when I was younger. By "professional" vendors, I mean the people who show up at every midtown street fair over the summer (e.g., the mozzarepa people, the soap stand, the crepe stand, the reggae stand, the $1 Thai food stand, etc.), who also show up over and over again along the fair route. Of course they have as much right as anyone else to be there, but for this fair, we usually try to go to the stands run by the restaurants on the avenue.

Since it's late and I should be sleeping, just a quick recap of some highs (since there really weren't very many lows):


My favorite food at the fair this year was the spanakopita from Poseidon Bakery. The bakery is close to our apartment and has both sweet and savory Greek pastries. I love spanakopita. Their version is filled with spinach, leeks, onions, dill and feta cheese. (I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of the inside once we bit into it, but it looked delicious too!) I wanted another one, but there was so much else to try. Anyway, there's A holding the spanakopita before we devoured it.
My second favorite would probably be the pierogies from Millie's Pierogies. They drive their truck down from Massachusetts for the fair every year (at least since we've been back here), and they sell the pierogies in combinations of 3. This time we got kielbasa, cabbage, and potato & cheese. They were really good! (Is it obvious yet that I love starch with filling inside?)

Favorite dessert (although I guess we didn't get that many desserts because we were full) was clearly Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies. Last year, they had their truck parked outside Delta Grill, and when we didn't see the truck from down the block this year, we were worried they didn't come! No reason for alarm, instead they just dropped off a cute little trailer with the pies. Yum, key lime pie. One of A's favorites. And this one is a really good version. I'm not sure how it compares with Lahaina Grill's Iao Valley Lime Tart (one of my most favorite desserts ever) but it's definitely good.

So that's the quick summary of the food fair! We tried a lot - spanakopita, crab cake sandwich, key lime pie, pierogies, pupusas (need to go back to Red Hook, I want huaraches!), lemonade, hummus, and pineapple fried rice. I finished it off during Survivor with some pico de gallo/salsa from Chipotle since the only problem with street fair food is that it makes me want fresh vegetables! I wonder who will be at the fair next year.

Weekend Health

I wrote an entry, lamenting about how the weekend has been detrimental to my health because of the eating and inability to fit exercise into the schedule, how it's unrealistic to be able to lose weight like on the Biggest Loser because I don't have 5-6 hours a day to exercise, and how I seem to be completely incapable of losing weight and getting in shape despite trying. I have stopped copying my posts before I post them, since Blogger has been doing better with this lately. Unfortunately, it has lied and claimed there are "conflicting edits" or some crap like that (really, who else would be editing this? No one else even reads it), and to press "back" on the browser and try again. Well, Blogger, of course if you press back, it's a blank post page! Post gone! I'm not rewriting my complaint about losing weight. It's too much effort and may make me even more discouraged about the topic since I'll have had to think through it twice. Thanks Blogger.

Email

I'm so tired and can't believe I have been staying up to clean out/archive messages in my email inbox.

I'm trying to be good about my resolutions but it's so overwhelming. I wanted to get my gmail inbox under 2000. I don't even have the new messages under 2000. (It's at 3937, was over 4100 earlier tonight.)

It's also a little addictive, deleting email. I can set a cutoff point (most recently, November 1, 2006, going backwards from November 30) but there's always just one more email that would be easy to get rid of or archive. Just - one - more!

But I really should be sleeping! Not deleting email and watching Rachel Maddow!

Faraday

Best line from the Lost recap show:

"Faraday had the misfortune of dying."

Dishes

I went to Dishes for lunch today, and it struck me that it was still really crowded there at an off-peak (1:30) time.  Despite all of the "bring lunch from home" and "the economy sucks" stories, the place with expensive gourmet lunch is still busy.  (Their "market table" - aka cold/hot buffet bar - is almost $10/lb.)  I don't even allow myself to go there before 1:30 because the 2 checkout lines double back on themselves resulting in no room to walk at the buffet bar.  I'm not sure if it was busier today than other days because it's "matinee day" (midtown is no fun on matinee day) or if it's always like this (I can't afford to go every day to check that out!), but it was fairly busy.  I guess people will still spend the money since the food is good.

 

On a food note, the usual dishes I get (albacore tuna salad, brazilian chicken salad, etc.) were still good, there was a 3 bean salad with tangy cilantro dressing that I wish I got more of, and a blackened catfish (cold) that I wish I had skipped.  (I guess I should stick to the cold salmon there.)   And many other dishes!

 

What to do for lunch tomorrow...

Weird

Why does my Outlook calendar at work say Memorial Day is Sunday, May 31, instead of Monday, May 25?

Post Office

I can't believe the 24/7 post office is really not going to be 24/7 anymore.  I know it's because of the economy, but it's just so sad. 

Weekend in Review

I can't remember the last time I did one of those "weekend in review" or "weekend update" posts. I think it's been a really long time.

Anyway, this weekend was really busy. On Saturday, I started off doing some work, and then we went down to meet my parents to look at wedding rings. We surprised ourselves (well, mostly me) that we found them on our first trip. Another thing to cross off the to-do list!

We also went out for an early Mothers Day dinner with my mom since we couldn't go out on Sunday (read below). Dinner was pretty good at Dos Caminos, and of course, the guacamole was the best part (other than the company)!


Sunday started on a good note because we went to go see Star Trek. Yay for the start of the summer movie season! (I guess Wolverine really started it, but Star Trek started my summer movie season!) I loved the movie. I totally want to see it again. And not only were we really lucky to get a nice empty theater (brunchtime on Mothers Day, of course it was empty!), but we got matinee pricing and got tickets for only $6. Yay! I can't wait for the sequel... in 2 years or so.

We also went to a wedding of some distantly related cousin. I love weddings, even if I'm not sure exactly who the people are who are getting married. I guess we need to figure it out soon for our own! But I do love going to weddings. And it's also nice seeing extended family.

Here we are, all dressed up at the wedding:


And here's the bride and groom during the toasting:

There were some really memorable stories from the wedding: the groomsman who didn't want to toast A during the table toasting because A didn't have alcohol in his glass at the time and you could only toast with alcohol, the friends who went through 4 bottles and 1 handle of Johnnie Walker Black Label and kept doing shots even though people were passing out, playing with my really cute little cousin (1.5 years old) who was fascinated by video games, and many more!

Now if only it weren't 2:20 am with work in the morning...

Wedding Post 1

We are now five months out from the wedding, and the time is just flying. (I keep meaning to blog about the wedding, so I figure this is a good time to start!)

I feel like we haven't gotten much accomplished over the past month, but I guess, listing it out, it looks like we've done a bit:

• Re-did website (almost done)
• Booked venue for day-after lunch
• Picked designer for invitations
• Ordered rings
• Bought dress
• Scheduled fittings for dress
• Scheduled engagement pictures

Not a LOT, but there's some big things there like the dress and the rings (which we picked out today). Considering how long I put off searching for a dress, I'm so glad to move ordering that to the done list. And I'm surprising myself with how much more I like looking at and thinking about dresses now that I have one picked out. :) Hmm, what to do next...

Tears

I realize they save all the good stuff for May sweeps, but I think it's been TV's mission this week to make me cry.

It was family visit week on Survivor which always makes me tear up. I can't imagine being in such an isolating environment, away from family and friends for over a month, not being able to trust anyone, and always feeling like people are playing you, and finally for just a moment being able to be around someone real.

Then I watched Grey's Anatomy. And while I agree with the people who say it should have been about Meredith since it was the 100th episode, TV weddings always make me cry. I'm such a sap. Seriously, I cried with weddings on Charmed, so crying here was no surprise.

But just now, I watched Flashpoint. And I think I cried more with that than either of the other two. It was just heartbreaking. The story centered on this young couple, where she was dying from a spontaneous disease that could go from diagnosis to death in less than 2 weeks and her brain was just disintegrating. And they were our age. I just couldn't imagine that type of loss and pain, especially so suddenly, knowing that the person in front of you is literally dying before your eyes. It was incredibly depressing, and so well-done. CBS better keep going with this show next year; we don't get CTV in the States!

Mentalist

Reading over my entries from last May, and I am willing to admit that I made a mistake with The Mentalist.

I was really annoyed at the time that the show couldn't think of a concept for itself and seemed to just be ripping off Psych. I wasn't even going to watch it. Thank goodness CBS aired it online (at that time anyway, they've stopped now unfortunately) and I didn't end up missing a good thing. I guess I have room for 2 funny fake psychics in my TV life.

I can't believe it's still another week before we find out exactly what this year's upfronts will bring.

Phone

My phone was mad at me today.

And I didn't do anything to it!

It all started before I woke up (for real, half-awake doesn't count). When I finally woke up enough with my alarms to look at my blackberry, I noticed I had 15 new messages. So my first thought waking up was, "CRAP, what happened at work now..."

But it wasn't work. It was my dad sending me PIN messages over and over trying to get me to wake up. (I guess I should mention that I sleep through 3 alarms in the morning and only seem to wake up when someone calls me on the phone. Not sure how to fix that problem...) The only issue is that I have my blackberry on silent so it doesn't buzz or beep when I get a message, so 1 message would have been fine instead of 8, but I guess it's good that it made me so alarmed that I got up and didn't just disregard it as junk mail!

I was wondering why I got PIN messages to wake up instead of calls, and then noticed they started to say "turn on your phone."

But my phone was on! And it wasn't on buzz, it was on ring. And it said I had no missed calls...

Apparently it wasn't receiving any calls. I hadn't known there was any problem because the alarm worked just fine (other than my not hearing it for 30+ minutes).

The only way to get it to work was to turn it off and turn it back on again. And then the AT&T guy said he was sending me two texts but I never got them. Tried to turn off & on again but nothing. And never found out just how many missed calls I got this morning.

After going to the bank at lunch, saw that my phone wasn't connecting to the network and wasn't getting any signal to call out. What's wrong with this?? Another restart.

It held up for the rest of the day, but I restarted it 3 times in less than 4 hours. Should I be concerned about my phone's health? I barely use it (every so often for pictures, usually just for a few calls a day when I'm traveling, but it stays locked up all day at work), so why is it having so many problems? And to my phone - what did I ever do to you? :(

Feet

I have resolved to blog more (yet again).

I should be blogging all about the wedding planning process, but I haven't. And now that we're getting closer, I don't know where to start! I'll figure it out sometime.

But, instead, I will tell you about a product I like.

I first got this cream in a gift bag after a fundraising event, and I highly recommend it. It's Barielle's Total Foot Care Cream, and it's one of the only creams I have tried that really make your feet soft.

I find the "for best results" section of the site interesting. Basically it says - Step one: put cream on feet. Step two: put some socks in the microwave. Step three: leave socks on overnight. But it doesn't say to put the socks on. :)

I haven't actually tried this with socks on overnight (or microwaved socks on at all... I don't think I've ever microwaved socks), but even without that, my feet were still soft 12 hours later and that is an accomplishment.

So there's my foot cream recommendation! If you care. :)

Hulu

To the WSJ,

I think your article about Disney/ABC joining Hulu made some big generalizations.

I am quite happy about ABC shows joining Hulu.  However, you made the statement that - ABC.com's viewers are older and female and Hulu's viewers are younger and male (paraphrased).  As if that's just a fact and how it is.  Please note that I am not male and I watch Hulu all the time.

I understand that your "statistics" show that the users who use those sites fall into those categories.  However, can you please look at what programming you're talking about?  So far only NBC and Fox shows (for the most part) are on Hulu.  That's a lot of procedurals, action shows, sci-fi shows, suspense shows, animated programming, etc.  I'm trying to think of what I watch on Hulu consistently that's not that and I've come up with Legend of the Seeker, Kings and old episodes of Angel and Buffy, but I guess those are kind of action and/or sci-fi.  That's not to say women don't watch these shows, because clearly, I do and many others do.  However, I think if you're going to make a statement like that you should look at what you're comparing it to.

Did your statistics account for how heavily ABC is into relationship dramas and how few of those are on Hulu?  How about ABC having Dancing with the Stars online and Hulu having nothing comparable (and, no, Superstars of Dance does not come even close)?  If I think about everything I watch on ABC, only a couple of shows aren't entirely about relationships (Lost, Castle) but all the rest are to some degree (skipping cancelled shows - Grey's, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Cupid, Private Practice, Ugly Betty).  In any event, they are largely not procedurals.  Did your statistics factor in content when making the generalization about the viewers of each site?  I would love to know.  (If they did, I will happily admit that I jumped to a conclusion.)

But what I would really like to know is - when will ABC shows appear on Hulu?  They weren't there the last time I checked and I'm sure others would also like to know what all of these articles mean by "soon." 

Love,
Crayon