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November 28, 2009
Before and After - Moving Day
Before: Taken moments before the movers arrived. Note the Cafe Grumpy latte in Chis' right hand, and pain au chocolat in his left. Delish! He was such a trooper, up early to help me disassemble the stereo and create a speaker map for our tenant (the apartment is wired for surround sound).
After: The movers left around 3:30 and I went straight to yoga. I thought it would be a 75-minute snooze, but it was one of the best classes I've had in a long time. Chis left the office early (early for him is late for most) and we listened to KPLU Jazz streamed through the internet, made fettuccine with lemon-cured salmon, parsley and parmesan cheese, and a salad. We opened a beautiful bottle of red wine. I set the table (the air mattress), and we sat down for dinner. We started a movie after dinner and I fell sound asleep, knowing that I had nothing to worry about tomorrow except how to fill the day with no house to fuss over.
I think camping in Gotham will be kind of fun. We donated a teak bistro table and chairs to our condo building for the roof deck, which I think we will borrow them back for the week. Word is that one of the chairs met an untimely and mysterious end, but there are two flea markets within a few blocks of us, and we may see what we can find.
I admit that the air mattress isn't the most comfortable, nor is it conducive to my early morning rise. Too, it squeaks against the hardwood floor. So I am sitting on my yoga mat against the wall while Chis sleeps.
Posted by dave at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2009
Moving Day
6:15am.
The Black Friday chaos began before I awoke.
People were lining up last night for the sales.
I'm nurturing my own little bit of chaos right here.
The lamps are all packed so I write this in the near dark, light wafting from the kitchen, waiting for the sun to rise.
Having a triple espresso.
I may need another.
The living room looks like a box farm.
They reproduced like rabbits over night.
I begin to imagine the chaos at the other end.
We should have signed a 2 year lease.
My heart thumps loudly in my chest; I feel it in my head.
Fetch the bikes from storage in the basement.
Wake Chis.
Breakfast.
Maybe another espresso?
How many things have I not thought about yet?
Are they going to laugh at the size of the dust elephants behind the wardrobe?
Good grief, Charlie Brown, I sound like my mother.
If the stars are aligned, they will finish in time for me to get to Rachel's class.
That will make it all melt away.
I will return to an empty apartment.
And inflate the air mattress.
Bring it on.
I am ready.
Posted by dave at 07:24 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!
The headache lingers, the eyes are dry, the shoulders are perpetually hunched.
Chis went for a run.
I went to yoga (lots of bird poses).
We had brunch at Champignon on 7th Avenue.
Fetched a brass lamp from Chis' office.
Then packed.
And packed and packed.
And called our parents before we disconnected the phone.
Finished packing.
Walked the High Line (beautiful evening).
Dined at 5 Ninth in the Meatpacking District.
Almost fell asleep watching Casino Royale.
Set the alarm on my phone.
The movers will descend like stormtroopers early in the morning.
Posted by dave at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2009
Strange Species
5:15am.
Up before the sun.
Heading out shortly to catch the train from Grand Central to Stamford.
To meet the movers.
To load the crap from our storage locker.
Why do we hoard so much stuff?
What happened to my 2-year rule (1)?
What a strange species we are.
(1) If I don't wear it or use it in 2 years, get rid of it.
Posted by dave at 06:51 AM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2009
12 Moves, 17 Years
Since Chis and I met in 1992, we have moved so may times I feel like I can pack blindfolded, although I don't recommend trying this with your favourite crystal. We are down to final strokes on this move. The movers arrive tomorrow in Stamford to fetch the crap in our storage locker, and here at the apartment on Friday. We fly out next Saturday, December 5.
Here's the list of the 12 moves in 17 years:
1992: Dave moves from Shuter St to King St, Toronto
1993: Dave moves from King St to Chis' house on Leuty Ave, Toronto
1995: Buy the Schoolhouse, Uxbridge, Ontario
1996: Leuty Ave to Balsam Ave, Toronto
1999: Balsam Ave, Toronto to Wellington St, West Vancouver
2001: Wellington Ave, West Vancouver to the Schoolhouse, Uxbridge, Ontario
2004: Schoolhouse, Uxbridge, Ontario to s/v Platina, La Rochelle, France
2006: s/v Platina, Georgetown, Bahamas to 55th Street, New York
2007: 55th Street, New York to 6th Avenue, New York
2007: 6th Avenue, New York to 86th Street, New York (replace the floors)
2007: 86th Street, New York to 6th Avenue, New York
2009: 6th Avenue, New York to Partridge Ave, Menlo Park, CA
I should invest in a moving company, no?!
Posted by dave at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)
The Greening of Gotham
I recently started blogging on www.greencricket.ca as an "expert" and thought you might enjoy this excerpt from my most recent post:
"I am wrapping up my fourth year living in one of the largest, most populated cities in the world. The New York metropolitan area has an estimated population of 19.75 million people, ranking it the largest city in the US, and fourth largest in the world. That’s about 5 times the population of Metro Toronto, and much more geographically constrained. It is estimated that over 80% of people who live in Manhattan bike, walk or take public transportation to work.
Living in such density makes a commitment to a green lifestyle challenging in many ways, and easy in others.
The easiest part of living green in Gotham is that I don’t need a car because the public transportation is excellent – an instant contribution to reducing my carbon footprint. The Metro Transportation Authority (commuter rail, NYC subways and buses) carries 1/3 of all the commuters in the US each day. This is an astonishing statistic. This means a lot of cars left at (or near) home. I like the MTA (note the absence of “love”), but I have a bone to pick with them about their recycling policy. While they sort recyclables from the trash bins in subway and train stations, there is no sign on the receptacles to tell consumers this fact and thereby create public awareness.
Toronto’s organic waste composting program has not reached our shores. There is no wet waste pickup in Gotham. Worse still is that most of us live in tiny shoebox-sized apartments with no yard to start composting. And rodents and cockroaches (called water bugs in New York) are a serious problem, leaving composting under the kitchen counter a magnet for unwanted visitors. But, those of us committed to composting of organic waste schlep our stinky bits to one of two places in the city as part of the Lower East Side Ecology Center community composting program. They also have occasional drop-off events for recycling of electronics and clothing.
In a city the size of New York, private interests like LESEC fill in where public interests can’t or won’t. For example, #5 plastic containers are not recyclable in New York. Neither are batteries (although, get this, it is illegal to dispose of them in the garbage). Whole Foods will take #5’s and batteries to be recycled.
While the city still has a way to go, Mayor Bloomberg is taking a leadership role in the greening of New York. Part of his plan was to pass a congestion tax, similar to those imposed in London, Stockholm and Singapore, but the boneheads in Albany said no. Instead, Bloomberg decided to increase bridge and tunnel tolls, convert major intersections like the Broadway-Fifth Avenue crossover at 23rd Street, to parks. A major part of Broadway in Midtown was converted to bike lanes and a promenade. And bike lanes all over the city displaced car traffic lanes. In some cases, boulevards planted with gardens separate the cyclist from the parked cars and traffic. Indeed, these initiatives have frustrated car drivers’ ability to get around the city, making them think twice about using the car at all."
The movers arrive in 3 days, and my last trip to the Union Square compost heap was yesterday. Slowly but surely, life as I know it in this amazing city is coming to halt. :(
Posted by dave at 04:39 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2009
Camping in Gotham
At last, after 8 months on the market for sale and 3 weeks on the market for rent, we found a tenant for our Manhattan apartment. The resale market in New York is dead. There are a bunch of issues that you won’t read about in the New York Times. First, the banks are still not lending. Second, the appraisers are covering their asses by assessing property 20% below market, making the financing even more difficult. Third, the brokers are behaving the same way they were when the market was booming, rather than adapting new tools like craigslist. And buyers are behaving mercilessly, making offers randomly to see if the desperate will take the bait. All this means that we were not meant to sell in this market.
On Monday, our movers deliver our packing materials. On November 27, they move us out of the apartment. Chis has to be in New York until December 5, so we have set our minds to how we will live for the week without our stuff.
Hotels are way too expensive, and the ones with a kitchen are limited and outrageously expensive. There are vacation rentals. I’m having heart palpitations with the money we are spending (shipping the boat, yard expenses, buying a VW Jetta TDI, etc) so we have decided to stay in our empty apartment for the week.
Here’s my preliminary list of things that we will need. I call it the “bare minima”.
To cook: spatula, wooden spoon, lifter, tongs, frying pan, saucepan, coffee maker.
To prepare: cutting board, knife.
To enjoy: 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 sets of silverware, wine opener, 2 glasses, 2 wine glasses, 2 mugs
To clean up: sponge, 2 tea towels
To sleep: air mattress, pillows, sheets, duvet
To bathe: 2 towels
Being hyper environmentally aware, I am crazed at the thought of tossing things. The coffee maker, cutting board, frying pan, saucepan, pillows, tea towels, sheets and towels are worse for wear, and owe us nothing. They are in tatters and need to be replaced anyway. I will use the linens as rags to clean up when we move out on the 5th. The air mattress will go to a friend. The duvet will be vacuum packed and go in the duffel bag on the plane. As for kitchenware, I am going to go to my favourite store in almost-Chinatown called Pearl River and buy very inexpensive melamine stuff that we can take with us and use on the boat. Very little will end up landfill and most will either go to friends or get packed for the plane.
It will be an interesting week. When we arrive in San Francisco on the 5th, we will do it all over again, as last week when I was out there I set us up with all of the above pulled off the boat.
From camping in Gotham to camping in Fog City. This too shall keep me young.
Posted by dave at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2009
Step 7: To Brisbane Marina
A big storm in the Gulf of Alaska was expected to kick up very high winds and big swells for the California coast on Saturday. And I was scheduled to fly back to New York early on Sunday morning. This gave me a single day to move the boat. And I was alone.
The weather forecast was reasonable - light winds and overcast skies.
They helped me away from the dock in Richmond, I stopped at the fuel dock to fill the tank, and then I was off, motoring down the narrow channel.
The fog rolled in, and the rain started.
The trip took about 3 hours, but the visibility was less than a mile. I could see the shapes of buildings in downtown San Francisco, but couldn't make them out in any detail. I was basically under the Bay Bridge before I could see it. I sailed the entire way with radar on, to be sure I could spot the container ships and other vessels.
I tied her up at the marina in her new slip and the rain seemed relentless. I was wet and cold. I decided to return tomorrow to give her a thorough scrubbing. There was a warm bath awaiting me at the house in Menlo Park. Soon I would be as comfortable as Prana.
Prana in her new slip at Brisbane Marina
Posted by dave at 02:10 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2009
Step 6: Step the Mast
The last step was to step the mast (put the mast in its shoe on the deck). This requires some patience in lining it up properly, then lots more patience making sure it is straight. Then we attached all the shrouds to the deck, ran all the halyards and lines, then put up the sails. It took the entire day to get this done.
Prana's mast being swung over to the boat by crane
Posted by dave at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2009
Step 5: Launch
It had been a pretty steady pace for several days working on the boat. The guys were crawling all over her in dirty, greasy shoes. I tried not to get too excited about it, laying down broken down cardboard boxes to protect her decks. They never seemed to stay put, so I gave up and concluded that in the end this dirt shall pass. Chis came down for the weekend and to help with a few things. It was great. We got the keys for the new house in Menlo Park, and stayed a couple of nights there, on an inflatable mattress that our friends lent us.
Pre-launch beauty - two coats of wax, two coats of bottom paint
Prana's keel touches the Pacific Ocean for the first time
Posted by dave at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)