First Week In New York

I'm on an extended assignment in New York City, doing something I've never done before in my career. I'm leading up a effort with Jetblue to test our systems end-to-end. My first day I had no clue - I didn't know the key players on either side, and most of the frantic e-mails I got made absolutely no sense to me.

But I made it through the first day, and the second day I had to give really bad news to Jetblue and ask them to make a decision. That's when I realized I was on my own. All of the leaders from my company had already left for the airport to go home for the weekend. There was a little shouting, but I'm happy to say that when they left the room there was laughter heard. We're all on the same team after all, and we all share the pain.

But this week has had a lot of "firsts". My first time taking the subway by myself, my first time walking up Madison Avenue and back down 5th Avenue, then down to the Helmsley building at Grand Central Station before going back to the hotel. I'm on my own this weekend, so I plan to catch up on work today and maybe see a Broadway musical tomorrow or go to Radio City Music Hall, where the annual Christmas show has started. Yesterday they were parading camels, sheep, and other assorted animals through Rockefeller Center, which is only 2 blocks from here.

During the week, I leave at sunrise, and I get home after dark, so I haven't been able to take any pictures. Today is rainy and cold, but tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny, so I'll try to get out and take some photos.

In the Waldorf Astoria lobby (where I'm staying), they are decking out the Park Avenue entrance with thousands of red roses. It smells so good! There is some big event tonight there, so they're closing the lobby for a few hours. Last night I saw men in Tuxedos wearing the Maltese Cross and women dressed to kill parading down the lobby. I felt like I had somehow been transported back to the 1930's or 1940's!

Getting What You Asked For, and the Ultra Secret Conspiracy That Felled a Gecko

What an eventful day I've had today! It's my last day in town before Thanksgiving, and I had a list of things a mile long to accomplish. My kitchen remodel continues - James the electrician came today, Roger from AT&T came to repair my phone jack, and Kevin the remodel supervisor removed several feet of drywall. There were some surprises today today - my house apparently has no insulation in the walls! At least I'll have insulation in the kitchen walls now when this is all done.

I was able to sweet-talk Roger into installing a new phone jack in my bedroom to replace the ones in the living room and kitchen that are old and keep breaking. I convinced him that it would save his company money in the long run, since they won't have to keep coming out to fix my jacks.

I also sweet-talked James into fixing a bad electrical outlet in my front room. It's surprising what people will do for you if you're nice to them, and well, just ask. Turns out Roger and James went to high school together, so they had a great chat.

When James fixed my outlet, he must have moved the couch, because I found a "historical treasure" laying next to the outlet.

Since I keep seeing those Geico commercials starring the gecko, I assume this isn't him. Unless there's a secret conspiracy to hide the fact that he disappeared and died under my couch!

Being Neighborly

I love the street I live on in Fort Worth, Texas. It's only a block long, so cars aren't zooming by unless they actually live there (or are lost). The houses were all built in the early 60's, and according to my 91 year old neighbor, this area used to be a squirrel hunting patch of country. The squirrels are still here in abundance - I guess once people stopped shooting at them they multiplied freely!

In preparation for my kitchen remodel, I parked my car on the street today so the workmen would have clear access through the garage to the garbage trailer. In order to use my car, I need to actually set foot outside and walk down my sloping front yard to get in. It's a beautiful day - 80 degrees and sunny. The leaves are falling, so there's a crunch underfoot. And the air has that clarity you only see in the Fall - like God has just finished cleaning the windows on the world.

The first time I had to go out to the car today I ran into Cliff, my 80-something next door neighbor doing his regular walk around the neighborhood. Cliff uses a cane, and is so hunched over I bet he knows every crack in the asphalt for blocks around. He fell a few days ago in his house, and the fire department and ambulance came to help him. Normally when we see an ambulance on our street it's for Joe across the street. Joe is a retired train engineer, and gets his oxygen tanks delivered weekly. He likes to get around outside on one of those motorized scooter chairs, and is often seen chasing his black and white dog down the street.

My second time out to the car I ran into another elderly neighbor out for his walk. I'm ashamed to admit I don't know his name, although I've seen him around since I moved here in 1996. We had a nice long chat. The neighbors all wonder where I am all the time - they know I travel a lot, and sometimes all they see of me is when I'm zooming into my garage. My neighbor was proud of the fact that most of the streets around here are named after the first homeowners, including his family. And he talked about the cemetery just down the street, which wasn't built until 1935 or so.

Speaking of the cemetery, it has an infamous resident. Lee Harvey Oswald is buried there. When I brought it up, my neighbor seemed uncomfortable talking about such a shameful memory, but he told me how to find the grave if I was interested. Not that I'm interested.

The house across the street is up for sale again. It's a real steal at $66,000. I wonder what's wrong with it? Then there's Fannie Mae (that's the owner's name, not a housing loan) next to that house. She's out most days raking her driveway. Raking driveways seems to be a favorite pastime for the elderly homeowners here. The sound of home is the sound of a metal rake on concrete. My 91 year old neighbor told me he still takes care of his own yard, and goes bowling on Wednesdays. Actually he said it's not really bowling anymore - he just drops the ball and hopes it makes it to the end. In response I told him that I was in assisted living. Someone assists me with the yard work, someone assists me with the house cleaning...

Next to Fannie Mae used to live Cecil. His wife died earlier this year, and now he's been moved into a home. I thought he was getting around just fine, but my neighbor friend said that he was moved there for "mental" reasons, whatever that means.

See what I've gained by going outside today? I've also gained a mosquito bite and two house flys, but who's counting?

There's a New Girl in Town!

Well not yet, but there will be a new, albeit temporary, resident of the Big Apple starting Tuesday.

I'm not the ambitious sort of career gal. I've done just fine sitting back waiting for the next good thing to happen. I've never had a clear goal in mind, just an idea that I'd like to be paid good money for doing fun stuff. And *poof*, just like that, it has always happened. Mind you, I've had months where I hated the people I worked with, hated the work environment, hated my life...but I never hated the job. How many people get paid to travel and meet exciting new people?

So once again it's happening. I was checking my Blackberry last night, and a frantic e-mail went out asking for a volunteer to coordinate a work effort. I'm a team player, so I said I would do anything if I was wanted. And I was! I was just sitting back waiting for good things to happen, and wouldn't ya know it, they did!

Busy, busy life right now. My kitchen remodel is (finally) going to start tomorrow morning. Knock on wood. The foreman did a walk-through today and dropped off a garbage trailer in preparation for the demolition. And I need to spend the next 4 days getting ready for my move to New York, especially in the fashion area. I am not Sex In The City ready by any means, so plan to spend the weekend at Macy's and Nordstroms. Wonder if they sell long underwear?

Tuesday I hop on a plane to LaGuardia airport, and get in a taxi to our lodgings - none other than the famous Waldorf=Astoria, inventor of the Waldorf Salad, Eggs Benedict, and the Rob Roy. I'll be living there until the night before Thanksgiving, when I'll fly back to Texas for a nice long weekend. Then I go back until December 18th before I go home for Christmas and New Years.

And just like magic, I'll have a new kitchen when I come home! Knock on wood.

How a Tree Ruined My Diet

If you remember my post from earlier in the year, there are very good reasons why you should eat your vegetables. because when you don't, they go bad in the fridge, and when you throw them all into the disposal at the same time, they have a tendency to clog up the sink.

So what does that have to do with ruining my diet, you may ask?

When the plumber unclogged my sink in January (in actuality, he unclogged the sewer pipe somewhere between my house and the street), he found tree roots. Uh oh.

So Monday, when my toilet clogged, I called the same plumbing company, who sent out a kid still wet behind the ears. He gave me an estimate of $800 to unclog said toilet. I laughed so hard at him he scurried himself to the curb and drove away without looking back.

I'm starting a kitchen remodel project, and there will be plumbing involved, so I called in a favor from my contractor. What's the name of the plumber? I called him, and, in my best southern voice, told him that his work on my remodel depended on whether or not he could give me a good deal on my toilet unclogging. You see, I can't afford $800 when I'm about to lay 20 grand down for the kitchen!

The plumber graciously came over on his lunch hour, removed the toilet, and found...wait for it...more tree roots. You see, my house was built in 1961, and back then sewer pipes were made of porous clay, and trees just can't help burrowing in search of good (albeit stinky) water supplies.

I paid the plumber $200.00 and felt very smug because I didn't have to pay $800.00. I felt very smug that is, until Tuesday, when the toilet clogged again. It cleared on its own, and I felt out of the woods. Until this morning, when it did it again. Not to get gross, and I know several men that are proud of clogging toilets with their prodigious dumps, but this was just a liquid affair, with minimal toilet paper involved.

So I called the plumber. Again. He couldn't make it out here until this evening, and since I'm working from home, I had to find other means of relieving myself. So I drove to the McDonalds just down the street. Nice, new bathrooms, with natural stone floors, and an interesting tile pattern on the walls. Very soothing.

But being who I was raised to be, I couldn't use the facilities without buying something. What would my mother say? So after admiring the Kohler faucets in the bathroom I headed to the counter and ordered a breakfast biscuit, complete with sausage, egg, and cheese.

Now you know how a tree ruined my diet.