New York City....

is colder than a well diggers butt these days.

I'm over it.

Can we please have a break and hit say...35 degrees? This City can't handle frigid weather. It refuses to submit to the change in fashion that is mandatory for survival in arctic weather patterns.

I'm beginning to want to hibernate.

One Day I Woke Up....

and my little baby suddenly looked like he is the lead singer in a British rock band. What ever happened to Thomas the Tank Engine?

So I'm wondering why the crosstown bus isn't showing up....

and then someone coming from the west side let's the crowd at the bus stop know that a plane just crash landed into the Hudson River and is floating a few blocks north of my son's school.

The landing was miraculous as was the rescue effort. How in the world everyone survived is beyond me. The "good fortune" to crash land near the New York Water Taxi docking area...what are the chances of that? Or the chances of not crashing into the George Washington Bridge -clearing it by 1000 feet. Unbelievable. The pilot showed great leadership in great crisis.

Life went on as usual just a day later. ..It's a post 9/11 world. Luckily we have an Obama administration to help us navigate our own crash landing -- we'll all have to help in the rescue effort.

I Know I Should Like Her....

But I feel weird about her candidacy for the next senator from New York. Is this part of the "change we can believe in" or more of the "meet the new boss, same as the old boss"?

It takes a certain level of entitlement to seek this position without serving as a public servant/ or visible public advocate beforehand. At the same time, her media draw may be something New York politicos think will serve the state.

Isn't there anyone else?

2008 Bitter and Sweet

2008 was a tough year for me.

My mettle was tested to the limit professionally. I came out of it stronger, wiser and recognized for my value. If we could only become wise without the struggle!

Cancer scares - some real, some mistaken. some battles won, some battles lost.

One brother's new union not recognized by law, one sister divorces.

A decision to move on from my little East Village apartment in 2009 in search of space, quiet and nature.

The economy collapses. In terms of my sisters and brothers, three out of five lost their jobs - an investment banker, a marketing research expert, a top magazine editor.

Then November came and the spirits that built this beautiful country came alive again.

We have tremendous challenges ahead and I look forward to being part of the solution.

Cheers to all of you! May the New Year bring you good health, courage and much laughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Missing Link

I woke up at 6 am to share a cup of coffee with my husband before he headed off to work.

As is his custom, I watched him jam whole slices of bacon into his mouth.

During my second cup of coffee, I sat across the table from my lovely tween son Ben.

As is his custom, I watched him jam whole slices of bacon into his mouth.

Why don't males like to bite and chew food in the morning?

Ben's response "it tastes more bacon-y when you jam it in your mouth."

My husband nodded in agreement like Yoda.

Pristine

I am sitting on my couch writing by the light of my beautiful funkadelic, slightly slanting Christmas tree.

It is almost 11 p.m. and snow is falling gently across Tompkins Square Park.

I love that park like it's a person.

It is quiet outside, except for the sound of taxis driving by and the sound of stray voices scattered here and there.

I feel like I've slipped inside the soul of the city.

Just for a little while.

And it's blissful.

Where the heck have I been?

Hey.

Still getting used to the job, the commute, the new routine picking up Ben blah blah blah.

It's warm here in NYC. At least for today. I can't believe that Christmas is just 10 days away.

I don't feel it right now.

But I will once I turn on the lights of my Christmas tree which is taking up 15% of my living room.

Am I Friggin Hallucinating?!!

Has the Obama Era already kicked in?

I woke up this morning, looked out the window and my head started to spin. Avenue A has bike lanes on either side of the street! At first I thought it was a prop device for yet another Law and Order episode. But it looks too legit.

Folks, this is a friggin' miracle. My little family has spent so many years biking at our own risk here in Gotham City!

What next?

Turkey Business

I finished preparing the brine for the turkey and threw the bird right in -- breast first as they say.

Folks - I promise, it's one of the best ways to prepare a turkey. With all the turkeys I've roasted you'd think my favorite part of the bird would have evolved from being the wing. What can I say...it's a decision I locked into in second grade and I've never looked back.

Have a Peaceful and Content Thanksgiving. Let's remember all the military families who are without their mothers, fathers, sons and daughters tomorrow. If you have any ideas or contacts on how to help them - please let me know! I can't seem to find a way to help.

Grand Central Station

Finally a moment to update my blog. My new job at the groovy liberal arts college right outside the city is going well. It involves a reverse commute that takes me through Grand Central Station.

My God how I love Grand Central Station. It is my second favorite spot in New York after Tompkins Square Park. It feels like you are walking through the soul of the city. The main hall is huge with towering jade colored ceilings mapping out the constellations. Everything is bathed in a golden light - even the eateries and stores on the bottom floor and long hallways leading toward the streets of midtown. The energy of thousands of people in motion pulls you into the City's current. I don't know how the rush hour can have such a romantic feel to it - but it does.

I frequently get to the station ten minutes early and find myself wandering through the boutiques that have already been opened since 7:30 am (to oblige morning commuters). It is THE place to go when you desperately need a gift for a special occasion you absolutely forgot about and only have 20 minutes before work or before the train to rectify the situation.

These stores are aimed at impulse shopping.....and I just want to buy everything. I suppose I'll snap out of it in time. In the meantime, I have no defense for the "personal peppergrinder" I bought last week.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!! PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!!!

We are hanging out the windows celebrating with the crowds out on Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park - cheering, howling, clapping, honking their car horns, lighting fireworks, and shouting out our gratitude and pure joy over this historical and blessed day!!!

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN

"Mommy, I don't understand why adults keep talking about if a person is black will other people vote for him. What difference does it make what color someone is or if somebody is a boy or a girl? It just matters if they are the best person for the job. Why do adults waste time talking about this stuff?"

--- Ben, my ten year old son

He'll be coming with us when we got to vote tomorrow. We always bring him to vote. It's important and we want him to know it's important.

Life on Two Acres Meets Life on 450 Square Feet

This week I had the great fortune to meet Jodi aka Life on Two Acres. I'm pretty sure that Jodi responded to the second blog post I ever wrote somewhere back in August 2005. We've been following each others blogs ever since.

She suggested we meet at Joe's Coffee in the West Village - - which just proves that you could stick this woman in the mountains of Virginia or the middle of NYC and her good taste would always prevail.

Jodi and her husband (also a super nice person) obliged me as I dragged them from the West Village to the East Village. I'm sure I proved that native New Yorkers are the worst tour guides on the face of the earth.

I have always found Jodi's blog to be a comforting and authentic space to go to. She writes about her life and surroundings without pretense. It's through this lense that I see her sons, her home, the beautiful Virginia countryside, her beehives, her buckets of strawberries, her travels and all that we share as two women living at the same time, in the same country with much of the same joy and grief that life has to offer.

It's poetry. And it's beautiful.

But don't ask for a taste of the homemade strawberry jam or honey she gave me because I'm not sharing.

Worried....

It's been a while since I've felt unsure about how to deal with an issue when it comes to my son.

Ben has always been a very good student. Fifth grade is a big jump at his school. Work becomes more demanding and the adjustment has not been easy for him. Until this year, he never needed to review his work before handing it in and by not doing so, he is not seeing the usual grades he is accustomed to.

Today my husband picked him up at school and Ben burst into tears over a math test result. He was so upset he forgot to bring home some of his school books needed to complete his homework...

I wish I knew exactly what to do. All I can think of is to focus on his skills in terms of keeping organized and reviewing work before handing it in.

How much do you push and how do you know when they are doing the best they can do?

TED

I just got wind of a great website called www.TED.COM

It has the most thought provoking presentations and lectures. Each about twenty minutes long.

It's like giving your mind a milkshake. Check it out!!!

Viva Viagra!

...or so my son sang as he ran naked down the hallway with his towel flying over his head. He just jumped out of the shower to catch precious innings of the Red Sox play off game.

This is the fall out of a ten year old boy watching ESPN during any key sports games. He is battered with Viagra and Flomax ads to the point of nausea. But does he understand what these drugs do?

So I asked about Viagra and got this response - given to me after a thoughtful silence...

"Well mom...Viagra, I think, blocks illness...while making you look more attractive."

Viva Viagra!

Autumn in New York....

I love this time of year. Finally a crisp day.

The leaves have the slightest hint of yellows, reds and browns.

We are heading out to a gathering of friends up in Connecticut. The same NYC friends we see everyday. Only this time we won't be talking, walking and drinking coffee at the speed of light as we jump onto the subway or grab a cab.

We will sit together relaxed and capable of completing a full sentence.

Sex In the City - March of the Tin Broads

A few weeks ago, I went out with my friend Mike for a night o'fun in the East Village. It had been a long time since I wandered the streets after 11 pm (even with my husband).

Much to my surprise, I witnessed a phenomena that made me laugh and scared me at the same time. Down every street DOZENS and I mean DOZENS of young women in super high heels and short fashionable dresses were marching down the street - usually four or five abreast of each other. Each one walking in time with the others.

At first sight of this marching brigade of gals I thought "oh isn't that funny, college girls reenacting the opening scenes of Sex in the City." ....but then they were everywhere...like an army of robots..a military infiltration of high heeled Carrie Bradshaws.

At one point I was wondering what would happen if one wall of girls rounded the corner and marched head on into another. Who would flinch? Who would stand still in her 5 inch heels? Or would it be like the days of Napoleon where soldiers marched right into each other with their bayonets pointed?

As I witnessed the brigades of stiletto heeled beauties pass me by in waves, I prayed silently and earnestly... "Ladies, may you all get laid tonight - the sooner the better - just so you can get off your aching feet!"