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November 29, 2006
Met Opera
Chis scored 6th row orchestra seats for Tuesday's performance of La Boheme! This is nostalgic for us. One of our first dates, some 14 years ago, was to the Canadian Opera Company's production of La Boheme. I love my man.
Posted by dave at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2006
I Won't Miss this place
At last, our attorney has confirmed the closing for our new condo on January 2nd! We plan to move on January 3rd. Which got me pondering the things I will NOT miss about our current apartment:
1. Putting our silverware away in a tray on top of the fridge (because there is no drawer).
2. The freezer door, which is permanently frozen shut.
3. The dark, dimly-lit hallways.
4. The front door knob that randomly pops off in my hand.
5. The bathroom sink stopper that wouldn't stop a tsunami.
6. The hot water tap in the bathtub (the one with the 'C') that spins and spins and mostly drips.
7. The next door neighbour that watches action movies at 3am.
8. The smell of simmering garlic, onions and fish at 5am (from the restaurants on 56th Street).
9. The cucarachas in the stairwells, the size of my fist.
10. The oven... er, what oven?
Posted by dave at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2006
Giving Thanks
Today, I met up with a nice man from Queens named Victor.
To understand why I met this man, we start yesterday morning. Around 9am, the start of the Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade at Central Park West and 77th Street, I shook Chis out of a deep sleep. The rain was pounding against the windows of our apartment. It was a cold, dreary, wet, windy day, but we had decided to venture out to see the parade.
With our yoga gear in tow, we flew out the door to head west to watch the parade on Broadway. The winds were strong, and they kept the huge balloons low to the ground. First, Scooby Doo went by. Then Sponge Bob Squarepants. Then Dora the Explorer. And many more we didn't recognize because, hmmm, we're over 40.
Chis got a chill, so we decided to head up through the park to a sister yoga studio on the Upper West Side for a class at 11 instead of the noon class we had planned in Midtown. We got to Central Park West and 72nd Street, and the police said we could only cross at 88th Street, or wait for the parade to finish. Either way, we would miss our yoga class. We perched on the wall and watched Garfield pass in front of the Dakota (where John Lennon was shot almost 26 years ago). Finally, Santa's sleigh, led by 8 reindeer and a big red GMC truck, slid past, and the parade was over.
We crossed to the west side and walked over to Columbus and down to the Midtown yoga studio we had originally planned to attend. By this time, we were soaked through various layers.
We had enough time before our class for a hot tea, and time afterwards for diner grub on the way home.
The message light was flashing when we walked in the door. The first message was from Victor, who had found my cell phone lying in a puddle in Central Park. The second message was from Victor, to give me an alternate number to call because my cell phone had crapped out. The third message was from my mother in Toronto, telling me to call Victor. Victor, clever man, flipped through the directory on my phone, and figured "Mom&Dad" was a good bet. He called mom. Now, at the best of times, mom is not the easiest to get off the phone. According to Victor, mom said "talk all you want Victor, my son is paying the bill". I told him he was absolutely talking to MY mother.
I was wearing my favourite wind/rain proof jacket. I love this jacket. I bought it in Charleston when we were southbound with Platina. Brother Jeff and good friend Toby were with me at the time, and Tobes, being an avid sailor, coveted my purchase a the time. It being wind/rain proof makes it perfect for sailing. Two small problems: it doesn't breathe, and the inside pocket has a hole in it. (I have told Tobes in the past about the non-breathing part, but he will now have two reasons to have made the right decision NOT to buy the jacket).
The inside pocket with the hole in it? You got it... the very place that I put my cell phone.
Victor and I crossed phone messages a couple of times yesterday, but it being Thanksgiving, our turkey gorging plans overlapped. We finally connected this morning and agreed to meet in front of the Letterman Theatre. I in my canary-yellow-wind/rain-proof-pocket-with-a-hole-in-it jacket for easy identification.
He was on his way to a job interview, having been laid off after 15 years at Ford working as a mechanic in dealerships. He handed me my phone. I handed him $20. He refused, saying that it was what he would expect anyone else to do for him. I asked him to take the cash, and suggested he treat his girlfriend to something nice. And if he didn't want it, I suggested that he give it to a homeless person or a charity. He was greatful, and amazed.
I told him that he would undoubtedly get the job, because he had done a good deed. Good things come to those who do good deeds. We shook hands, and bid each other a happy holiday.
I felt really good as this complete stranger walked away and into the anonymous city. How wonderful the way lives intersect for mere moments, but make such a big difference.
Later in the morning, I tied on my running shoes and headed for a vigorous run in the park. I was waiting for the light to change, and a bus pulled up, knelt down, and expelled an elderly lady onto the street. She was clearly having trouble walking, so I offered her my hand to get her safely onto the sidwalk. She accepted.
I felt like I had springs in my feet as I turned on the turbo power and finished my 5-mile run with loads of energy to spare.
Pass it on.
Posted by dave at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2006
Nice Dome
See the building in the background with the shiny new gold dome? That's our new home. Not the dome, but a wee smidgen of the building. We have at last got a closing date. We think. January 2, 2007 and we're waiting for the final details from our attorney. I have learned not to get too excited about these things, because, like everything in this sensory overloaded city, stuff shifts.
The New York Times ran an article yesterday about the gold dome. The two domes were removed in the early 1900s and are being restored as part of the developer's agreement with the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Posted by dave at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2006
7-time Tour de France Winner, First-time NYC Marathon Finisher
Lance Armstrong, in my mind the greatest athlete ever, finished the New York City Marathon today, just seconds under his target time of 3 hours. Unbelieveable! We were standing on Central Park South when he ran past. Not a great photo, but Lance is the guy in sunglasses just behind the raised arm. He looked super strong when he ran past, but we saw his finish on TV later this afternoon, and the shin splints he developed training for the race had clearly given him plenty of trouble.
Watching the marathon brought several tears to my eyes. There is something about 26.2 miles of determination that is incredibly life affirming.
Chis and I have run the New York City Marathon at least twice. (Apparently, turning 40 has impaired my memory, and all evidence is safely stored in plastic bins in Toronto).
While I feel better than I have ever felt before, an interview with Lance weighs heavy with me. He said that training for the marathon aged him more than anything in his life. At 35, that says a lot.
The shame about so much media coverage devoted to the top three runners, and Lance Armstrong, is that it distracts from the other 37,000 runners that finished the race. Each and every one of them is a winner! They all inspire me.
After our awesome efforts as athletic supporters (?!), I dropped Chis at the apartment and went to pick some things up for dinner. I went to my favourite wine store, and the manager, Steve, is a former marathoner and 3-time finisher of New York. When I walked in, he said, "hey, what was your time?". My heart sank. I really had no excuse not to run this year, save for having missed the May deadline, at which time I really wasn't up to it. Lance Armstrong's longest training run was 16 miles, a distance I've done twice in the last 6 weeks. But, of course, I'm not an uber-champion with steel determination. Well, I'm not an uber-champion.
It was truly inspiring to see the hoards of runners, and I decided that one more marathon is in order.
Posted by dave at 05:25 PM | Comments (1)
November 03, 2006
Caption needed!
You know how the New Yorker magazine has the caption contest for its cartoons? Chis and I always get a giggle out of coming up with some of them, but never send them in. These photos of me in last weekend's Marathon Kickoff 5-miler need captions. I look like I'm getting ready to cry. I look so intense. Really, it was a great race!
Posted by dave at 11:58 AM | Comments (1)