Lived for the weekend

I've worked for the same company for 3+ years now. When I switched jobs and moved to NYC from SF, it was still with the same company, but just a different division. It seems to me (and I don't think I'll be alone in this) that since I did all new hire training 3+ years ago when I started, there should be NO reason to have to sit through it again.

I'd be wrong in thinking this.

This past week included 2 straight days of lectures from senior mgmt in order to be "aligned with the Company brand". It was torture.

Luckily, the weekend has been MUCH better. Friday night was designated "lazy night", and I loved it. We caught up on Weeds watching, a show we became addicted to when it came onto Netflix free downloads, and just generally enjoyed a night of doing shit.

Yesterday we tried out a new DVD I'd gotten for exercise. It was actually pretty killer and we're going to give it a whirl for 30 days starting next week (we have 3 of our SF buddies flying in this week to visit so no point in starting now and then making them watch us sweat and groan everyday while we do this).

After our workouts, we headed out to grab lunch. I'm a huge HIMYM fan, and the NYE episode one year had them picking up a friend and heading to Gray's Papaya and then chowing down on what looked like the most fabulous hotdogs in the world. So we headed there for lunch. They were gorgeous dogs.

Afterwards we decided to stroll through the Fashion District and just window shop/people watch. We came across an OTB parlor, and well, god forbid we'd pass up the chance to gamble. I have a feeling this is where you will find us most weekends going forward. I know that the only reason I agreed to leave finally was because there was no beer sold. Otherwise, I'd probably still be sitting there and Blondie would be pissed as hell at me.

It was a trek then down to Macys, just to see what the store looked like. And then we slowly wandered back to our hood to hit up our 3 markets for groceries.

We ordered chinese food for dinner last night, and then around 9 pm, after I had done a 3 hour discourse on "My Love For All Things Ice Cream" we headed to our 24 hour deli and picked up some pints of Ben & Jerrys. Blondie hates when I do this, b/c literally like 4 bites and I'm done. And then the ice cream tempts him all week long since he's home during the day. Sorry Blondie!

Today it's shit weather. It made for really good sleeping in though, and then I did 2 hours of exercise. We just ordered in some sandwiches, and I'm about to watch my crap shows (ANTM, 90210) and relax this day away!

--K

Strike averted!

Thanks to some serious last-minute negotiations (like 3 hours past deadline), the building crew strike was averted!

I'd be horrible at negotating contracts - I have a feeling it would play out like this:
ME: We want a 10% raise and dental benefits!
THEM: How about a cookie instead?
ME: SOLD!

--K

STRIKE!

Contracts all over the city for building personnel are expiring tonight - this includes maintenance men, concierge, doormen, etc. The contracts end at midnight, with walkoffs expected around 7 am.

I am going to miss my crew if this happens - they make me feel safe when I come home from work at night, they are always there with kind words as I come through the door (usually "Welcome home! Hope your day was excellent!"), they call our food deliveries up, they make sure that everyone who comes through the front door is either a resident or on their way to see someone, they hold our deliveries from FedEx and UPS for us until we can get to them, they send out our dry cleaning and laundry... You name it, they do it.

I have a SUPER SOFT SPOT for my building, and it was from day 1 that Blondie and I arrived. We came into the building, exhausted from a red-eye flight, loaded down with suitcases and 2 cats, freezing cold b/c we hadn't adjusted to the weather (SF, you definitely win the "weather" hand). They were there immediately to load our suitcases onto luggage racks and store them for us, and since we had arrived early and the office wasn't open to get our keys, they offered to sit both cats behind the desk with them while we went to get some breakfast and coffee.

I chickened out - I didn't want to leave the cats as they were nervous and they had a super stressful night (flying, cabs, etc). But the fact that they offered - well, you love my cats, I love you back.

Revisit the fun of travelling with cats - see the NYC blog

Building crew - you have my support.

--K

Why were we up early????

I know I didn't explain what we were doing up at 7:20 am today, I just said we were up. I actually am a morning person, believe it or not. I almost always am awake no later than 7:45 am. And Blondie, not quite a morning person, but usually an 8:30 am to 9:00 am type of guy.

We were up early because we found out about a deal at Chelsea Piers where you can go to their driving range on off-peak hours and get a fantastic deal on the number of golf balls you can get!

Off-peak is earlier than 9 am on the weekends. Sigh. Blondie convinced me that this was an awesome plan. Since I knew I would not be going to the gym today, I worked out every day this past week - so that was good! And then today the alarm went off, and we were like "W.T.F?" How was this a good idea?

But we drug ourselves out anyway, into the misting cold rain, and HAD A FREAKING BLAST! The driving range at Chelsea Piers was only a few subway stops away, and it was a 4 story driving range. Blondie is actually a damn good golfer, and my skills slowly started to come back as we hit about 150 balls each (for $25). We both agreed the auto ball loader and tee adjustment were pretty much the bomb.

My back and shoulders and chest and arms and legs are all sore now - same with Blondie. It was so nice though, the piers obviously look over the water, and it was still drizzly but we were dry underneath the overhangs. Just a lot of fun. And definitely worth the savings.

After the driving range, it was over to Katz Deli on the LES for some hot beefy goodness. ;) It. Was. So. Good. OMG. So. Good. We took our time enjoying our sandwiches (at 10:15 am).

By 11:30 am, we were back in our apt, having done our grocery shopping. The weather outside is still crap, but now I'm inside, warm and dry, with 2 cuddly cats and a hot husband. Could be worse people, could be worse.

See tour NY blog for the pictures!

And have a great weekend wherever you are, whoever you are spending it with, and whatever you are doing! I'm off to kiss a cat!

--K

Up early...

It feels really really early, even though it's 40 minutes later than I normally get up during the week.

Off to do some fun things at a discount!

Just wanted to share that I am tired. Woot!

--K

The freak heat wave...

So I have to assume that all of you are obsessed with NYC news. You know, since Blondie and I live here... ;) We had a freak heat wave roll through this past week, and even broke our record high for Wed! It was over 90 degrees in the city - you read that right.

Blondie and I enjoyed the weather thoroughly though. We had decided on Wed to find an outdoor area for dinner, but of course, everybody and their brothers were out so we ended up at a little mexican restaurant in our hood. The thing about these restaurants and bars though - all of them are built so that the entire front of the building opens up - those huge doors - it's insane.

So we stroll into our mexican restaurant, and there is a huge breeze coming through *and* it's 2x1 frozen margaritas.... And it was perfect. The guac was super spicy (and if I'm saying it's spicy, it's spicy), the steak fajita was completely juicy (moist - ew!). A perfect night.

After our mexican feast, we headed back to our apt, but ran into one of our neighborhood bars on the way. And lo and behold, it was $2 margarita night there, and we snagged the 2 bar stools right at the front, where you guessed it - the entire front of the building was opened up.

Needless to say, I felt like ass all day Thurs. But what a great way to welcome the first HOT day of the season!

--K

It is a yucky day. Rainy, in the 60's, just all around blah.

To counteract wanting to lie my head on my desk and doze (it's the weather's fault), I've instead shut the door to my office, put my conference call on speakerphone, and have been doing pushups and squats on and off for the last hour. 1.5 more hours of this call to go.

I love having an office. Also, my office is just a tiny bit smaller than our bedroom.

Sigh. Silly NYC rental properties.

Hope your day is more productive, and less crappy.

--K

Wooty Woot! We love you NYC!

The only thing that ruins a weekend for me is "Sunday Dread". I'm sure I don't need to explain it to anyone, but just in case - it's that feeling you get when you realize that your 2 sweet precious days of freedom are about done, and all you have to look forward to is work for the next 5 days. I know there are people out there who love their jobs, who don't deal with this feeling, and while I don't hate my job, I certainly wouldn't think twice about quitting if I won the lottery. OMG. Rambling. Anyway, this weekend was so good I almost don't have Sunday Dread!

Blondie and I hit up our bar on Friday night to enjoy some beers on the patio. It was so good getting to catch up with Blondie, and enjoy some cold beverages on a hot day. I know everyone is thinking "Catch up with Blondie? But you live together". And it's true - but it's still nice to get out, without a TV playing, with no distractions, just Blondie and me, and just chat.

Saturday we got up, and after nursing our headaches, I did my EA Active for the first time in like oh a year. I've been working out pretty regular for about 5 weeks now, but OMG, I hurt-ed my butt. I seriously feel like someone has punched me in both ass cheeks today due to the program I did.

After I did my work out, Blondie and I headed out to run a completely boring errand in Times Square, and then we caught the subway down to the Brooklyn Bridge (I'll post about it on the NY blog as soon as I get all the pictures downloaded). We strolled over the bridge with the 20000 other people that had the same idea, and took ourselves to a whole other borough!

A stop at an ice cream truck for soft serve, and then it was off to wait in a 2 hour line for what is rumored to be the best pizza in NYC. It was certainly delicious, but both Blondie and I agreed that it was not worth the wait or the time it took to get to Brooklyn in the first place. But, we are glad we did both - the bridge and the pizza.

When we got home last night, I collapsed completely in total pain from the EA Active program, and we ended up watching movies almost all evening.

Today we headed off to the Hells Kitchen Flea Market - I'm on the lookout for some fabulous bags so that I fit in more with NYC women. I found one that I truly loved but Blondie pointed out it was a tote (it didn't fit on my shoulder, I would have to carry it with my hand the entire time) and that's easy to get ripped off like that. So it was with sadness that I put it back.

We stopped for some turkish food afterwards. I had a grilled chicken and tahini pita wrap, and Blondie had a falafel plate (Blondie ate vegetarian and I didn't??? What's the world come to???) - the food was truly amazing and they deliver!

Then, since it's Easter, I had to have candy so we stopped at our drugstore on the way home for M&M's - it ended up being a good stop b/c they had Blondie's cereal on sale for buy 1, get 1 free - so we felt like that made the stop worthwhile.

I talked myself into working out again this evening, and actually feel a lot better in the legs and butt since I got my blood moving. I'm about to eat some more M&M's and finish watching my Project Runway. The door to the patio is open, the sun is out, it's still warm, and I live in NYC.

Yep, no Sunday Dread today.

--K