turkey day in the big apple

My favorite real holiday is Thanksgiving.
Going off my two last Turkey Days spent as a flight attendant I had the idea that I would be somewhere great. The first year I was fortunate enough to have a trip that landed me in Portland for the night and was able to make dinner at my house. The following year luck was on my side once more and I was in Rome on a five-day trip. My luck this year was not in place. I even moved my days around so I could be available for a five-day trip somewhere fabulous. I even signed up for airport alert on Monday with a positive attitude and was sent home empty handed mirroring the three other times I have warmed the couch this month.
So today, I was on page two of the list and as I woke up croggy from my night prior, I started looking around my room and got sad not to be at home. What was worse it that I had no idea where I would end up for the day or how I would get some much needed turkey in my tummy. I went to the coffee shop and sat hoping I could magically be home. When I returned I found my roommate leaving to enjoy with his family. After a teary eyed call from Carol, I decided to take a shower and get all dressed up and have a nice Turkey dinner at some swank place. Well I returned to my room to hear the tune. Airport alert was assigned at 1930. I made some mac and cheese and sat in the living room sad. I took a much-needed nap and then headed towards the subway. I stopped by a diner next to Port Authority and begged them to let me take turkey dinner to go. And I sat in the crew room and ate my turkey and pumpkin pie.
I got back home at 0100 and am still sad but at least my tummy is happy!

8

Great thing about being a New Yorker with a couple connections: Being invited to Tao’s 8th anniversary, getting to the door and knowing the doorman, running into Brooke Shields, Lance Bass, and Jeremy Pivan, meeting the owner, sitting at his table, and dancing the night away at Marquee. All while finishing off in my tradition of Cafeteria.

real world

The great thing about New Yorkers is that they don't give a crap about celebs. They wander the streets among us not bothered and usually completely un-noticed as everyone is in a hurry to get some where. On Friday I covered a familiar shift for a friend at Brother Jimmy's but they put me in a different section. Pretty soon here comes tons of cameras and a group of people who ended up to be The Real World Brooklyn. Granted when I was 13 I watched it but now, I could give a crap. With that said, if you happen to be a fan, watch for the waitress in the background in the red "classic" tee shirt!

early date

Of all the strange dates I have had this one goes down as the earliest date ever.
I play volleyball for a city league and we are not very good, in fact we suck. The main purpose for us getting together every Wednesday night is to have cocktails after. Well my first game with the team was on the UWS the day I moved into my apartment so I just told the crew I would meet them there versus going all the way down to the EV and back up. Ellie told me to go to the school on 79th and Amsterdam. Ok, so I show up ten early and begin to wander through the school to look for the gym. I am not seeing anyone but cleaners and noticing how the hallways lock up. I decided it best to go back to the lobby and wait as I could see myself spending the night trapped. Finally a teacher comes down and I ask her where the gym is explaining I was there to play volleyball. She was stunned and then told me that there was no gym there. First what the hell kind of school doesn’t have a gym, and what do I do now? She was kind enough to walk me to a rec center around the corner explaining that she thought I was Gwyneth Paltrow. I don’t think she has time to hang around closed schools looking for volleyball teams, but whatever! So I hear the squeak of shoes against a gym floor and bound up the stairs to find guys playing basketball. Piss! However they were able to direct me to the correct school, gave me the address and everything. So I ran over there in time to play a game and a half and then go out for drinks.
We go to this bar around the corner and after my friends ditch me I move to another table and watch the end of the Phillies win over the Rays. Upon leaving a guy gives me his card and tells me to do what I would like with it. Two weeks later I text him and then we set up this date. So yesterday morning I wake up at 715 in order to meet him at 745 at a coffee shop three blocks down the road. I brushed my teeth and hair and bundled up. I didn’t have the energy for sox and shoes and just figured sandals would be okay for a short walk. I get there 5 early to discover that this coffee shop doesn’t open until 1000. Yay, right?! So I stand there and make small talk with the lady guarding the construction sight next door. Finally Kurt shows up and is just as surprised as I am. He suggested another place on 112th and Broadway so off we go, through Morningside Park up flights of stairs and two more long blocks. And just when I think my toes are going to fall off we arrive at a great little café for breakfast. In retrospect the date was good, he is cute and funny, intelligent, and adventurous and I will see him again for sure. After tracing my steps back home at a fairly rapid pace, I climbed back into bed until 1130.

all for a good night's sleep

So my first day moved back onto the island, I spent ironically in Brooklyn. Now understand there are all sorts of areas in Brooklyn, just like there are in Manhattan. I lived in the not so fabulous part. My therapist whom I adore lives in this great are of Brooklyn called Park Slope. I walk around this area at time envisioning myself married with kids, that’s how nice it is. Proudly I figure out my way there via four train changes and we do our thing. Then following I have a dermatologist appointment right down the block. Lunch in between while still picturing a nice life here in the neighborhood. See the doctor and then decide that I am going to head to IKEA since I don’t have any form of a bed and sleeping in the recliner was all well and good last night while I was drunk however the fat that it will not stay back will become a problem while sober. I hop on the B train after calling the automated voice of BK IKEA and keep looking for the stop. And looking. Well I end up in Coney Island. I get off the train and ask the MTA guy where the hell IKEA is and he laughs and tells me to enjoy the long ride back. Ready for this: it was one stop in the other direction from where I started! Almost wanting to give up and go home, I pause re-gather myself and get off at the correct stop. Another questioning of the tollbooth to find out that I need to cross the street and hop on a “shuttle bus” to IKEA. I get on and ask if it s the right one and forty five minutes of standing in rush hour bus stops and gos I see the holy land. First thing I do is hit the bathroom then begin to wander about. I have inherited this cheapness thing from my father and not like to think about spending lots of money; therefore I sought out the less expensive bed frame I could find. My roommate said he knew a mattress guy so this was all I really needed. To get a clear picture of this scenario now, here I am with a 1 x 7 box hauling to the check out making a game plan for the overcrowded bus and two subway changes home. I paid my $40 plus tax and exited. A man approached me and asked if I was taking the bus home. I proudly said yes as I was determined to tackle this. He told me he could give me a ride home for $40…SOLD!
I assemble my bed and Jase comes up with cushions from the couch as my mattress until he can find the guys number. So for two nights I do that. Then this girl appears whom he is apparently dating but asking me if I yell at my boyfriend all the time. To which I just replied no, and he tells me that she yells at him all the time. Good relationship, I reply. So this girl shows up and hands me an air mattress. Either she feels sorry for me or wants the couch cushions back were they belong. Whatever ii is, while listening to her yell at him, my air mattress is losing air. Apparently she punched a hole in it…I am not quite sure how that did anything to him, just me. I visit this “mattress guy” and boy is he creepy. He is doing his sales pitch and I call him out on it and tell him that I am just looking for something cheap. I got a hell of a deal and delivery this time. And when he asked for my phone number I faked it and got the hell out of there. Three days later heaven arrived and I have been sleeping like a baby ever since. The mattress combined with Jase wising up about the girl makes for quite evenings.

preference of destiny

I am changing my reserve preference to request to fly to try and work on Thursday. While on the page I had the option to also change it for the Thanksgiving week. I started to change it and wondered if I was changing my destiny. I always play these games to guess what scheduling will do with me if...I never win so I just left it alone...for now that is.

ipod

My ipod is my lifesaver on the subway as well as bus rides to and from the airport. I constantly have it on shuffle and will sometimes forward to a more upbeat song or something which matches my mood at the moment. The other day I was spacing out and the song from Love Actually , "Love is all you need" came on. Immediately following was The Beatles, "Love is all you need". Do you think this little device is trying to tell me something?

300

My 300th post doesn't come with any great stories or updates. It is that time of year in flight attendant reserve life in which I sit airport alert unused and then around on call. The big difference between this year and last is that I realize this fact and have found things to occupy my time. I have been walking the pooches, playing volleyball for a city league, and picked up some shift at Brother Jimmy's for some spending money since my paycheck next month will be shit!
Today finds me hanging out at home on call listening to the rain and now watching the sun struggle to break free from its barrier of clouds. The Ducks are playing at 630 and it is sad to think it is the second to last game of the regular season. Where did the fall go?


So I went on a date with this guy the other night. I have known him for about a year, met him at the old watering hole of the UES. And he suggested bowling, which I love the idea and when a guy has actually taken the time to think about what to do. So we meet up at a bar, have a beer and head down there. He wins by one point. Afterwards we hit the Coffee Shop for a milkshake (my idea) and we are talking. We are talking about past party days and I said that I have fun in my life and he said he was a little more low key. I reply that he was a good guy then! He goes off on how nice guys are always getting the shaft and blah, blah. I was just sitting there trying to defuse the situation with no accord and finally told him he wasn't being a nice guy at the moment, he was being an asshole. And this is why it sucks to date!

elevators

I was speaking with my doorman this morning after returning from a coffee run followed by a brisk walk around the neighborhood. I expressed my love of the neighborhood in the perfect combination of old and new New York. Everything from the buildings to the stores to the people have the mix of modern and raw. He agreed on the idea and then went on to tell me about how our building is a perfect compliment to the neighborhood. He did tell me to watch out because it is a fertile building. A new mom came home on Sunday and two more are expected this week. I told him that I didn't want any of that and he warned me to be careful of those fertile elevators. To which I replied...I will be taking the stairs then!

change

Change is inevitable and most of the time unwelcome. But in my case I embraced the hell out of it and used it for motivation to get my butt in gear and to get the hell out of, not only Brooklyn but my funk. A week ago the movers pulled up (one from the previous time) and took my perfectly packed room and we journeyed across the bridge and uptown.
I have moved into a fantastic new building with a doorman (how NY is that?) and into a room which over looks the city and from which I can see my favorite building in the world...the Chrysler Building. The other night I returned home to see the little lit up and fireworks going off south of the city. It is such a wave of relief to be back into the city! I will admit that learning the ins and out of the west side subway system or how to get to the East Village in a timely manner are presenting me with challenges but this time they are not overwhelming. And do you know what else is great? It took me..count them 75 minutes to get from my room through security! The old route took upwards to three hours sometimes with two trains along with the bus ride. Love living on the westside...when it comes to flying that is. I am realizing that I have built me life around being an East side girl. But again there is always room for change!

history

This day in history has found me in Dublin, watching the television with great interest and hope. I left the tv on as I sleep because the polls were not closed as it was time for bed. I awoke to find we have a new president-elect. When asked were I was when change was elected, I can answer...in a hotel room in Dublin after many a pint of Guinness!