Bob In The Village

Greetings - my friends. Today I have a few tidbits of good news to share with you guys. I have decided to accept an offer from Register.com who offered me the job two weeks ago. After going on a few more interviews - I decided that I was ready to get back to work and wanted to work in a new industry - so I will be starting in 2 weeks. Also I have just found an apartment!!! In the last few days - I have been looking at apartments in Manhattan - and boy let me tell you - it is so exhausting. There are so many factors to look at - obviously price, location, size, kitchen counter space, and FEES. These apartment brokers will charge a fee that is 15% of your annual rent. So on a $1,600 apartment they get almost $3,000. Outrageous if you ask me, but of course no one is. The other day I was fortunate to find a gem of a place on the edge of SOHO. And the best part was that it was one of the few that did not have a fee. It was quite spacious relatively speaking of course, full size tub, immaculate and it was on top of a subway stop. There were a few negatives - it was facing busy 6th Ave., the building is on top of a subway stop, and ther is absolutly no counter space. The kitchen could only fit one person and had a stove, refrigerator, a sink, plus cabinets on top. So there was no room for counters to store a dish rack, microwave or to even cut up anything to cook. The other thing was the subway, it sure is nice to get downstairs and walk 10 feet to the subway. But you can kind of hear and feel it just a little when one passes by. Then after looking at about 8 other dives - I was just about to give up and go with the SOHO apartment. But before I could - I decided to finish the last appointment of the day and see what this one other guy had to offer. And to my surprise - I found my new apartment. It is not big - under 500 sq ft. But it is oh so charming and cute. I really like it and I had to pay him a fee - arrgghh...however I did manage to get him to reduce it by $400 and I also got them to reduce the monthly rent by $150. It is in a great neighborhood - Greenwich Village - YEAH!!!!! - 5 minutes from SOHO and 10 minutes from the East Village. So all in all I am very pleased. It is rather quite charming and cozy I must admit. It just needs a little lovin' and a whole lot of scrubbin'. And for all of those who are planning to visit soon - come on by - I know of a great hotel a few blocks away!!!

The Epiphany Of All Epiphanies

I have been reading this book called - Be, it talks about life and about : being oneself, being happy and being one with the world. The first few chapters talked about purpose and what you feel inspired to do. Well as may of you know that if I ever hit the lottery - my plan would be to work at Subway Sandwiches for four hours a day and enjoy the rest of the day sipping on lattes and getting my shoes shined. And since I don't think that will be happening anytime soon - it hit me all of a sudden. While I was sitting in Central Park on a sunny day after work reading this book - an epiphany came to me. Yes, I have had some in the past - but this one could be it. I would like to open a bakery selling only cupcakes and maybe fancy cookies. I've been to the so called cupcake institutions in NYC and have not been impressed. I think they are too small, dry and boring. It dawn on me that instead of offering the standard chocolate or vanilla butter cream frosting with the multi-colored sprinkles - that pretty much all the stores here offer - why not add a touch of pizazz to it. How about adding fancier toppings like - honey toasted sliced almonds, carmelized chocolate covered coffee beans, and dark chocolate shavings sprinkled on top of the vanilla and chocolate butter cream frosting. I see these places lined up with people all the time and I think by adding something different for the more distinguished palates - it might be unique enough to be successful. Because we all know it is not so much the batter of the cupcake but the frosting and the toppings that counts. So...we shall see...I may have to toil away at a real job in the corporate world for a bit but I think this idea may just work. And like all the others - Bob's Cupcake Emporium will become an institution as well.

Simple Pleasures

On Wednesday night I was fortunate enough to attend a fund raising event where the tickets were being sold for $1,000 per person. You read correctly my friends - that is a 1 followed by 4 zeros. It was a night of broadway stars sing various show tunes to benefit Covenant House. They performed songs from Cabaret, Beauty & The Beast, Rent, Le Miserables, The Phantom of The Opera and others. All of the stars did such a great job and my favorite song was of course from Phantom. Ah...that is such an amazing piece. There was a huge buffet before the show with an open bar and after the show - I had some dessert & coffee and even got to meet all the stars. Of course it being such a pricey event - some of my roommates asked if I got a chance to meet any new sugar mommas - and I said no because it was mostly a buch of sugar daddies there. Now, Bob does alot of things but Bob don't mess with Sugar Daddies. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

So, while it was nice rubbing elbows with the rich and somewhat famous the other day - it was just not for me. I enjoy the more simpler things in life. The two great simple pleasures for me is a nice hot latte at Starbucks. Now granted, paying $3 plus change for a latte is not simple and could be perceived as extravagant but the product itself is a simple treat. And the second thing is a nice and shiny $2 shoe shine. It has been awhile since my last one - so I decided to treat myself to one after work yesterday. There is just something nice about sitting in that tall chair, reading a paper while someone plies their trade. Ahh....nothing like the simple things in life. Have a great weekend my friends.

Free Ice Cream

Yesterday was Customer Appreciation Day at Ben & Jerry's. They were giving away one free scoop of ice cream to everyone. Of course I thought I could just walk in - get a scoop - and be on my merry way. Well when I got there of course it WAS NOT what I expected. There were a gazillion people in line. But mostly a bunch of school kids - my first thought was "Why aren't you little boogers at home doing your homework?" And my second question was "Is one stinkin' scoop of ice cream worth it to stand in line for 30 minutes?" Well by the time I finally decided - I had already made it to the middle of the line and so the answer was "OF COURSE". Although as many of you know how busy of a person I am - I figured "what the heck" it was a nice sunny day and the line did seem like it was moving quickly. Before you know it - I was already in the store getting myself one creamy and yummy scoop of Coffee Chunky Chocolate. And as I was walking pass the line on my way to the subway I looked at the hundreds of people waiting and line and said to myself - "These people are crazy - standing in this ridiculously long line just for a stinkin' scoop of ice cream - don't you people have anything else better to do?"

Rolling The Dice

I just turned down my first offer today. I told them I had a few other things stirring in the pot and that I could not committ at this moment. Not a no but not a yes either. Being somewhat of a gambler anyway - I guess I am just going to roll the dice and see what happens.

As for the weekend - it was great. Very nice and sunny weather. Met with some friends on Saturday night and hung out for a bit. Then on Sunday - I just did laundry and sat on the rooftop reading my Sunday paper with the New York City skyline as a backdrop. All in all - not a bad weekend. I guess I needed it for this upcoming week. Got a second interview at the Wall Street company tomorrow and another phone interview on Friday.

My First Offer

Well my friends – it looks like the job ball is beyond twitching and is beginning to roll. Yesterday was quite a hectic day in terms of employment activity. In the morning I had an interview on Wall Street with a big financial company. And you definitely know you are on Wall Street when the corner deli has it’s own electronic ticker board above the salad bar. That was quite interesting. The interview went well and when I got home – I received a call from a company that I interviewed with last week. The HR person called to inform me that they were extending an offer of employment. I told him “I would like to think about it for a few days”. Then about a few hours later – I received another call requesting for an in person interview at my previous company whom I just had a phone interview with last week. And then lastly, at about 8:30 at night I received yet another call at another major financial institution to schedule a phone interview for next week. So as you can see – while it was a little hectic – it was definitely a good problem to have.

Desperate Bob

The other day I was on browsing around on the ABC website and notice a link for a Desperate Housewives Quiz. Kinda bored and mildly curious I decided to give it a shot to see what character I would be like. Now I have never watched the show before but have heard all the buzz it has been garnering. So after answering about ten questions it gave me the result of being most similar to a character named Lynette Scavo. I was greatly disappointed because I was hoping to resemble Terri Hatcher's character - because she is just so darn cute. But oh well....from what I have been told - Lynette is the only housewife on the show that is not that desparate. So go ahead and take the quiz - which one are you?

Also - tomorrow I have an interview with a financial company in the financial district. And the address made me chuckle because it sounds just so New Yorkish. I will be going to...1 Wall Street. I thought that address only exists in movies, but that is where I will be going tomorrow - how cool is that!

Culture Shock

I have had quite a week for the arts my friends. My culture intake almost went into overload. Earlier in the week - I went with some friends to see The Producers sans Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. The two guys on spin city were in it instead and did an excellent job. I must say that part of the plot line could be deemed offensive to some, but I thought it was the best play I have seen. It was very fast-paced, intelligent and it had me just laughing the whole way through.

On Wednesday - my roommates and I headed over to the Lincoln Center to enjoy a performance by the Julliard Symphony. They played some high falut'n classical pieces that I have never heard of but it was quite impressive. The best part was that my roommate had a connection and got us all box seats for ... you guessed it - FREE!

Then last night - I just recently met this girl who works for The Met - this is where they hold all the fancy operas and ballet performances. She knew somebody who new somebody and got us some exclusive sneak preview tickets to the Glenngary Glen Ross play. It doesn't officially open until tonight - but we got these open tickets and made a dash for the best seats that we could. This play is a drama and had a few well known stars - Alan Alda (Mash), Liev Schreiber (Manchurian Candidate), Jeffrey Tambor (The Larry Sanders Show). It was great acting but the plot wasn't too exciting for me - but the price sure was great when it is free.

It was nice to get so much culture this week but it sure would have been nice to space it out and not have everything all at once. But when you get the opportunity - you might as well take advantage of it. Also - guess who will be going to an opera performance soon...you're right...that would be - ME!

He's Already There

This whole week I have been glued to the tv just like an infomercial junkie on a binge. The death of the Pope had me watching all the news and specials about the Pope. I guess it is just something about spinning rotisseries, indestructible knives, non-stick cookware and the death of someone famous to get peopled hooked. And while I was watching these broadcasts - I heard several people interviewed say they were so sad and how they will be praying for him. So it got me thinking for a bit. I said to myself, "If there is one person who didn’t need our prayers – it would be the Pope”. He got his one-way ticket to the Pearly Gates reserved a long time ago and has no doubt already arrived. Besides - if he were to truly need our prayers, than we are all in some serious trouble my friends. So instead, I think you should be praying for me – because I may be going straight to hell for these comments.

Fountain of Yuck

Well boys and girls - it is time once again for a "I wish I just didn't see that but I did story". This morning while waiting on the subway platform with some friends I saw something that still makes me shudder just at the thought of it. We were just standing around talking and they made a comment about a man behind us that was acting kind of strange. I then regrettably proceeded to turn around and witness something that was not only disturbing but quite impressive. Unfortunately, I had turn around just in time to see this man spew what looked like vomit 10 feet into the air and onto the tracks as if he was a geyser at Yellowstone National Park. For a moment there, subconsciously I thought perhaps I was gazing upon some statue with a water fountain coming from his mouth in the middle of the town square in a small serene cobblestoned European village with the faint sounds of music coming from a street musician plying his art at the street corner along with the aromatic smell of fresh bread wafting through the spring air. But then I was suddenly jolted back to reality when my brain processed the fact that I was not in Europe because instead of water - he projected a murky, brownish, chunky vomit concoction. And as I witnessed this, part of me thought..."No...that was impossible...no human could have thrown up with that much force, velocity and quantity". Talk about shock and awe - but after the sensual befuddlement subsided, reality settled in and I knew what I witness was oh so real and oh so disgustingly gross. Although I do have to admit that the stream of vomit that lurched out of his mouth did have a very nice symmetrical arc and looked quite fabulously splendid if it had not been for the fact that he also hurled out half of his intestines as well. I suppose the rats will be having a feast tonight.

Secrets, Shakes & Salmon

The job market has been tougher to crack than I originally anticipated. So, after much consideration and rumination– I will share with you a little secret that I will divulge with my faithful readers first. I have decided to remain in my position for one more year. I’ve enjoyed my time here so – what the heck why not stay. And... I will also let you in on another secret...shhh...April Fools.

Sorry, I just had to do that. Now on to more important matters at hand. The Shake Shack is opening up this weekend for business. Yeah!!! It is a little joint in the middle of a park on the East Side with outside seating. It was voted NYC's best burger by the New Yorker. Last year I went with some vegetarian dude and since they were out of veggie burgers – he whined and sulked so much that we had to go someplace else. Then the fall came and they closed for the season, so I never got a chance to go last year. But you can bet I will getting a nice juicy greasy burger and a shake real soon.

As for my dinner at Mooncake Restaurant the other night – it was amazing. The food was superb. I ended up getting the miso-glazed salmon and it was yummy yummy good. The place was packed when we left and it is was definite thumbs up especially when we got the bill. 3 appetizers, 5 drinks, 5 meals and 4 desserts for the unbelievable price of only $88. Wow - $88, you can spend that much on a just a few slices and regoo-lar coffees here in the Big Apple. So if you are ever in NYC with only $20 in your pockets and need a full satisfying meal – Mooncake is the place.

Also, I just got a call yesterday from a place I had a phone interview with the other week. They called me in for a formal interview next week. Double Yeah!!! Well have a good weekend. I will try my darndest to do the same.