On Demand

And again, I unintentionally went on a little hiatus from the blog.  I've had a few requests for an update. This time it mostly had to do with not having internet and being SUPER busy trying to get everything done.  I took two trips and moved all the remaining stuff from the old apartment to the new apartment, including the cats. They joined me the night before last and are adjusting to their new home.  The first night they ran up and down the length of the apartment.  In addition to just being freaked out, I think they were enjoying all the new space!

Things are coming together. I got the last of the things I ordered yesterday, including my TV. Woo hoo! I ended up finding a great deal on a 42" plasma, and I got my cable and internet yesterday as well too.  I still have so much to do.  I need to finish doing some sewing, including the duvet cover, possibly some shades, some shams, and maybe even some curtains.  I need to finish painting the furniture, buying and hanging some wallpaper, and I need to find some good decorative pieces for the walls.  I miss all my tools that I left in Texas, and having cable now is decreasing the chances of me getting my stuff done anytime soon.

Speaking of sewing, I bought some of the most expensive thread I have every bought. Yikes.  I had several errands to run the other day and realized that if I took public transportation it would take me hours upon hours.  I needed to load up stuff from the old apartment anyway, so I just rented a ZipCar to knock my errands out.  First stop, I picked up a vase I bought on Craigslist down in Greenwich Village. Next stop, a fabric store on Fashion Avenue to check out the fabrics and get some thread. Whoa.  I have never seen so much fabric in my whole life.  Three stories of hundreds to thousands of bolts of fabric.  It was almost overwhelming.  There were young designers browsing everywhere (don't ask me how I could tell they were designers, I just could).  I didn't figure I had time to look through all the fabric so I just grabbed some thread and ran.  It should be noted that the elevator up to the fabric store on the third floor of the building was actually run by hand by an elevator attendant.  I have never seen that except in movies.  It was kind of awesome.  Anyway, by the time I got out to my ZipCar, I had a nice orange parking ticket sitting on my windshield.  I knew this might be a possiblity since it was 30 minutes before the commercial turned into a regular parking zone, but I seriously ran in for 10 minutes.  That was obviously 10 minutes too long. And yet another lesson about New York...parking tickets in NYC are not your normal $20 tickets.  Of course not.  No, it was $115.  Fantastic.  So that is why that was the most expensive thread I have every bought. 

The rest of running errands went better, but I was pretty worn out by the end of the night.  After moving the rest of my things including my clothes, I was ready for bed.  I stayed in the new apartment, and have to say...I. Love. My. Bed.  After spending the last 2 months sleeping on a horrible mattress with an equally horrible pillow that both caused me neck pain, it's like sleeping on a cloud.  The only problem is that I have been late to work the couple of times I have slept on it because I don't like waking up.   I ordered the mattress from Walmart.com for an amazing price so I was a little concerned I would be getting what I paid for.  I am extremely impressed.

This past week hasn't had too many interesting events.  I am part of a Fantasy Football league, and we had a training session on Wednesday at my friend Farron's house.  The training session mostly consisted of the boys fighting over the rules, my ADD keeping me from being able to pay attention, and me eating more pizza than anyone has any right to eat.  I am not sure what came over me.  I think it was magic pizza because all the girls just about doubled their normal intake.  Yeah, that sounds good.  Magic pizza.  Our live draft will be occurring next Wednesday.  I am not really sure what I am doing, but we will see how it goes.  Hopefully, the magic pizza won't be making another appearance. Or will it...

The next day at work we got a little unexpected break.  A transformer blew up and caught fire next to the hospital, and we had no power.  No power equals no clinic.  The other residents and I headed to a pub for beers and lunch and stayed for a few hours.  What a nice, easy day.  Oh yeah.

So now I have a chaotic old apartment to clean and a chaotic new apartment to clean, and I am not feeling much like doing either.  Oh well.  I will pull some motivation out of the deep recesses I guess.  I have been getting lots of requests to send pictures of the apartment.  I will send them once the final touches are put on.  It might be a little while, but it will be worth it.  Promise.

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you guys about all the good food I have been eating! And you know this blog would not be complete without a section describing food.  Lauren and I made a deal with each other to make more of an effort to try some new restaurants with the coupons she's been buying on Groupon and LivingSocial.  The first place we tried was Mr. Chow's. You may have seen Mr. Chow's in tabloids or celebrity magazines because it's seems to be a celebrity hot spot.  We tried it for restaurant week (which has now been extended to restaurant month).  Restaurant Week is usually a week during July when NYC restaurants offer a three course meal for $35 for dinner and $24 for lunch.  The idea is to make normally inaccessible restaurants more accessible to the general public.  We picked Mr. Chow's because we figured we would get our money's worth and more.  We were right.  This place was awesome.  We each ordered an appetizer.  Lauren got Mr. Chow's noodles, and I got the Squab.  Both were great.  The squab was like lettuce wraps with a yummy chicken mix. For the main course, she ordered sea bass and I ordered the Ma Mignon.  Again, both were awesome.  I don't even like fish, and I thought the sea bass was light and not too fishy.  The Ma Mignon was incredible.  It's sliced filet mignon that had a nice light, peppery crust on the outside.  Dessert was an assortment of ice cream including green tea, vanilla, and chocolate.  Yum yum.  If I could afford it, I would go back there.  ;) Maybe for restaurant week next year. 

The next night we went to a pharmaceutical dinner at Ruth's Chris, which is Lauren's favorite restaurant.  Of course, we were not let it down.  Ruth's Chris is always good.  It was a pharm dinner on a Friday night, so I think it ended up being more like an awkward dork convention, but we enjoyed the food nonetheless.  Lauren and I were the only residents there.  The next day we headed down to midtown to do some shopping.  We grabbed a bite at a Thai/Japanese fusion spot and walked a few avenues to Macy's.  This is the Macy's on 34th street (think Miracle on 34th Street, Macy's Parade, etc.).  They were having a One Day Sale, and it was INSANE. We found some great deals though. 

MIA

Man, I am really behind on my posts.  Needless to say, the last week has been super busy.  I got back from vacation and hit the ground running!

This past week has been mostly running around collecting pieces of furniture, painting furniture, and setting up the new apartment.  And..

I drove in New York!

Remember that Zipcar concept I told you guys about?  Well, I put it to use, and rented a Honda Odyssey for a few hours. I started off by picking up a headboard from the upper west side, which I thought was going to be fairly easy. However, like all things that I assume are going to be easy, it was not.  Getting the headboard in the back of the van was like getting my rear end in my pants...it's barely too big and just might fit if I wiggle it around enough.  So after 15 to 20 minutes of struggling, I finally barely squeezed it in only to spend another 15 to 20 minutes getting it out.  By the time I went to pick up my bigger pieces later that night, my arms were already worn out.  Nonetheless, my colleague and I ran down to the financial district to pick up some jackpot of some pieces I found on craigslist.  The seller was basically selling her entire apartment for crazy low prices.  I thought the dresser and desk looked fairly light in the pictures, but it turns out that they were made from solid wood. So not so much...

Thought this was clever...sorry if it offends anyone.

After dragging these things down from the seller's apartment and up my impossibly narrow and steep stairs to the 3rd floor, we were exhausted! I decided there would be no more moving furniture up the stairs.  Like everything else in this city...delivery, delivery, delivery!

That lasted only a few days of course until I found a 12,000 BTU window air conditoner unit for $25.  Yeah, $25!! I got pretty lucky with the air conditioning units. I have a total of three.  This one for $25 was a STEAL, and I actually FOUND one sitting with some trash in the breezeway of my apartment.  It works great! I couldn't believe it.  However, this 12,000 BTU was an 80 lbs monster.  Again, one of my colleagues and I headed down to Soho in a Toyota Matrix zipcar.  Dragging it down her five flights of stairs would not have been so bad had it not been leaking water all over our hands, which made it impossible to grip, and also all over the marble stairs, which made it impossible to walk.  He nearly wiped out once, and I nearly wiped out once.  Getting it up my stairs was a breeze in comparison.  Getting it in the window was another story.  Again, it required some wiggling, heaving, and maneuvering with already worn out arms...all of this with rain falling and the constant fear that the window unit would fall 3 stories.  Phew! Needless to say, I hired a mover for the sleeper sofa tomorrow to move it down 3 flights and up two.  Oh yeah.

So coming back to driving in New York.  Now that was fun.  No, seriously.  I was very nervous, but I figured if I could drive in Ireland, I could handle New York.  It went pretty well.  There are no such things as lanes here.  As my colleague described it, everything just kind of sways.  If someone comes in your lane, then you move over to give them room, and the person next to you gives you room.  You know, a sway.  I had a blast using my horn.  In Texas, using the horn is a last resort and not considered quite polite.  In New York, using your horn is a pass time.  And I fully engaged all the while giggling.

The apartment is coming together.  I am covered in bruises.  I got my sewing machine but have yet to find a nearby fabric store to buy thread and trimmings.  I also got my bed frame, and the mattress came today.   I decided to test it out by lying down for a couple of minutes.  Two hours later, I woke up and decided that it seemed comfortable enough.  Awesome.  

I did manage to find some more relaxing activities to do in between all the chaos.  Friday night, I joined some girlfriends for dinner and margaritas a Mexican food restaurant.  The food wasn't bad, but I have to say it was in the shadows of the one and only Rice to Riches. Remember that place? That one was the rice pudding phenom I found on a trip prior to moving here.  Three of us split rocky road rice pudding and chocolate hazelnut pudding. Bless my stars. 

My colleague Katy and her fiance joined me for some Peruvian food at Pio Pio on Saturday night.  I heard this place was awesome, but the menu was limited and involved eating chicken off the bone...a bit of a hesitation for me.  However, it really was amazing.  Although the menu was limited, EVERYTHING was good.  The chicken had lots of white meat and was very flavorful (we all three split a whole chicken).  The saffron rice, red beans, and maduros (sauteed sweet plantains) were all out of this world. The sangria hit the spot.  I don't know how they managed to pack such flavor into such a small menu, but I will be returning.

Sunday night I headed to Arriba, Arriba with Cherie (the wife of my chief resident).  Cherie and I hadn't had much of a chance to hang out prior to this, and we had a great time.  The food at Arriba, Arriba was pretty close to good ole Tex Mex.  I had the fajitas and inhaled them.  No kidding.  We then headed to the movie theater to see Eat, Pray, Love.  I resisted reading the book for a very long time, but when I finally did, I was so glad.  Liz Gilbert is a fantastic writer.  Very relatable and witty, and I just loved how candid and real she is.  I wasn't disappointed by the movie.  Julia Roberts was perfect.  If you know me, then you can understand why that particular story tugs at my heart strings.  I loved it. 

Cherie and I also loved the two middle aged women sitting behind us that were making crude comments at every male that made his way onto the screen.  It hit a high point when a love scene began, and the scene ended with the door closing and no screen action.  This was obviously just cause for obscenities.  Cherie and I were cracking up.  I just HAD to see what they looked like when we left, and sure enough, they were how I pictured them, right down to the bleach blonde hair,white pants, sequined belts, and smokers voices. 

The walk home was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Wafels and Dinges.  Wafels and Dinges is a Belgian food truck that I did not know existed until the moment that it's smell and it's sign appeared.  You know that waffle cone smell that hits your nose when you go into an ice cream shop?  It was like that but much stronger and better.  Cherie had seen the truck on TLC's Best Food Trucks show, and it was also a contender in a Bobby Flay throwdown.  I ordered the waffle with nutella, bananas, and whipped cream. Cherie opted for nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream.  I swear that I heard an oink escape my lips, but I didn't care because it was that good.  These are not the decisions that will help me lose some pounds before my 10 year high school reunion in October.

Last night, I headed way up west to Inwood/Washington Heights area to join Farron and Julie for trivia night at the Garden Cafe.  I had been invited a few times but never could muster up the motivation to head up the west 200's.  It's a hike.  But I drug myself there last night and was glad I did.  Tables break off into teams, and trivia ensues.  Topics including everything from Zombie movies to acronyms to trainwrecks (both literal trainwrecks and those trainwrecks we call celebrities).  Every two rounds consisted of a beer tasting during which the trivia revolved around a small glass of beer provided to the table.  What kind of ale? Where is it made? What is the name of the beer...etc?  If there was tie, the winner was decided by a chug-off.  A representative from the team had to go chug a beer and place the glass upside down on top of their head once finished.  This occurs every Monday, and I do believe I will be returning.  One of the girls on my team is an occuptational therapist, and we both requested that a round next week be dedicated to medical terminology.  It's on. 

Sorry for being absent for so long.  There were just a lot of goings-on.  I can't wait to show you all the final results of my apartment.  Yay!

Hello!

Wow! That was a long break! I left on July 30 for a little over a week-long vacay in Texas.  I flew into Houston, stayed the night in Galveston, went to Austin for a night, went to Abilene for 4 nights, back to Austin for 1 night, and then to Galveston for 2 nights before coming back to NYC.  Phew!

But I had so much fun! I won't bore you with all the details.  But you all should know that my 2 1/2-year-old twin niece and nephew have to be the cutest, sweetest, smartest toddlers in the world.  Hands down. I had so much fun with them! They are talking, talking, talking, and they are getting to an age where they recognize me and are interested in me.  All I heard was "Aunt Jaffy, watch this!"  "Jaffty, this" and "Jaffy, that." (We won't go into why I am called Jaffy but I don't mind it).  I loved every minute.  I can't believe how smart they are.  My nephew knows the names of a million different animals including a caribou, hippopotamus, shark, and dolphin (to name 4 of about 50!)  He loves ocean animals and talks about dolphins, sharks, and Shamu all the time.  And he runs back and forth going "I superfast!"  My niece is little miss pretty princess. She has tons of hair that curls perfectly at the ends, and she loves to clean and help and take care of her babydolls by feeding them, wrapping them in blankets, and cleaning them. She is one sassy cookie...which reminds me, her name is Sawyer Kate but they both call her Sawyer Cake.  She informed her brother, "I not Sawyer Cake.  I Sawyer Cookie."  Where do they come up with this stuff? They know their colors.  And they sing lots of different songs (sometimes singing=yelling).   They play with each other and fight with each other. They swim.  They can run in circles for hours in the living room with no endpoint in sight (although I was told by my nephew that they were in fact running in a square and not a circle...silly Jaffy).  They are potty training right now and are doing pretty well (with a lot of patience from their mommy), although Mimi's floor was well used at times. I will leave it at that. I really could go on and on about them.  Just know that they are adorable and made their Aunt Jaffy very happy.

I also did a lot of shopping, and I pretty much wore T-shirts and jeans and no make-up for a week (forget this dress stuff).  I know it must seem weird that I shopped more in Texas given that I live in one of the biggest shopping capitals of the world, but it is just sometimes a little easier to shop when you have a car and a wide range of affordable stores (think Walmart, Target, Ikea, etc).  This did prove problematic at the airport when my large suitcase was 6.5 lbs over the 50 lbs weight limit.  I had to shove 6 lbs of stuff into my already overflowing carry on that I bought at Garden Ridge just to carry all my crap.  It took me no less than 10 minutes to zip up my carry-on while approaching security in the airport.

I bought a lot of things for my new apartment including some fabrics and things for DIY projects.  I love that kind of stuff.  I am having to invest in a new sewing machine since I sold mine when I moved. I can't wait until it comes in.  I have keys to the new apartment already.  Once I get a bed and air conditioner in that puppy, I will likely be spending a little more time in the new place.  Craigslist browsing has become a bit of obsession, as has decorating magazines.  I love the Do It Yourself magazine and website.  They have tons of feasible, affordable (and cute!) ideas that are actually obtainable to the normal (and monetarily challenged) folk such as myself at present.  I am just so excited about getting my apartment in order.  I measured allthe dimensions of the rooms today so I would know what I can fit. 

Speaking of Craigslist browsing, I wandered up into Harlem for the first time today to pick up a rug.  It was a different kind of experience.  I don't mean any of the following in an offensive way by any means, but I just felt a little out of my comfort zone.  Let's just say the Starbucks located at the corner of streets named Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X has a somewhat different atmosphere than the one I frequent at E 85th and 1st Avenue in the Upper East Side.  There were a lot of interesting sights and sounds, including a very pretty park.  I am not sure if I will spending much time up there, but it lent for a new experience for the afternoon.

I was happy to see my kitties when I got back, and I am pretty sure they were happy to see me.  This does not make it okay for them to walk all over me in the middle of the night, scratch the furniture and wake me up, or plop their furry little selves on top of my computer keyboard, but we will soon be fixing all that. 

Oh yes, we will.