What Was I Thinking?

Over the weekend some friends and I went to dinner at a interesting Burmese restaurant and then headed over to see the final or 3rd installment - depending on how you see it of Star Wars – Revenge of The Sith. While it was not great – it was good and all the story lines tied together nicely for setting up the original trilogy. Then on Sunday, a friend was having a little get together on Long Island near Jones Beach, so a group of us took the LIRR out there for a day of food, fun and sun. Well unfortunately the weather gods were not with us. So we nixed the beach part but still managed to have a good time because he had a nice big house with a huge deck overlooking the river/canal in the back yard. I took two shifts manning the grill and that brought back some fond memories of cooking up some shish kabobs and chicken back in Texas…ooohh…the memories.

Last night a friend who has been running regularly invited me to join them on a nice run in Central Park. It has been a long time I’ve jogged and so it was nice to get my big butt self out there again. At least that is what I thought anyway. My body is so sore now from the 4+ miles we ran yesterday. We started in Midtown made our way up CP east – did a loop around the reservoir and then jogged back down to 72nd and headed for the nearest Crème-Lita frozen yogurt shop we could find. The Snickers flavored treat was soooo good and best of all fat free – at least that is what they advertise anyway. The counter person gave me kind of a small portion and I said – “I just ran over 4 miles – can you like fill it up a little higher please?”. He laughed and ended up giving me almost double the original amount – yeah!!! I needed a treat for the hard workout I had you know. And now I am paying the price for over exerting myself for the Herculean run I had yesterday as my tush – thighs – toes – and back are cursing me right now. Serves me right I suppose....

Blimpy in NYC

Today for lunch I went to the falafel place that looks like it is in an abandon building or shipping dock. The place was small but quite busy. I got a pita filled with falafel, hummus, and topped with a cucumber&tomato salsa. It was very good but at the same time not that filling even though it was a very decent size. On the way back to the office and still feeling a little hungry – lo and behold – what was before my eyes – a pizza joint that had .99 slices. So of course I just could not resist. While it was no Ray’s it was definitely better than Tostino’s. I have eaten quite well this week – actually a little too well. I think I need to start looking for one of my favorite Craig’s – and no it is not Craig’s List but Jenny Craig. I may to to start changing my site from Bob in NYC to Blimpy in NYC.

P.S. I will be going to a monthly town hall meeting later today where - according to the email - beer and munchies will be provided. Yippy!!!

Oodles & Oodles of Noodles

Today for lunch I stopped at a little nice looking asian cafe appropriately called "Asian Cafe". The place was small but looked new and very inviting. The eatery was filled with only Asians and no other ethnicities. To me this means only one thing - well maybe two. That either a) it is really good and authentic or b) it only sold weird stuff that only Asians would eat. Well luckily for me it was the former and not the latter. I got a gigantic nice steaming bowl of noodles with some pork and veggies - all for only $3.95. Wow, what a deal. I also saw on the menu that they had a breakfast special for a 2 egg and ham sandwich for only $1.50 and you get a free cup of coffee too. Tomorrow I am thinking about trying out a falafel place my boss told me about. I walked past it this afternoon. It looks like it is situated deep inside a storage dock in the middle of an abandoned elevator shaft. Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Although I only ate a few hours ago – I am already thinking about my nice hot breakfast sandwich tomorrow morning. With all of these treats so close by – do you think it is okay to ask for a raise only after 3 days at work?

Aloha

For lunch today - I peruse the block to find something interesting to eat. I happened to cross this Hawaiian joint and recalled that my boss told me yesterday to avoid this place - but since I am a glutton for punishment and since she told me not to go there - of course I just had to go there. In hindsight - maybe I should have listened to her. The food really wasn't that bad - but it really wasn't that good either. And since this isn't like say....Indiana - where they only have about 5 places to choose from - and because I think there are so many other places to try, it is safe to say this will not be one place where a repeat visit is warranted. The only thing that really saved the lunch was on the way back to the office - there was an M&M's promotion going on right in front of my building. They had people there passing out a new candy bar called M-azing. Not a very good name if you ask me though. But what do i know - I went to eat at a place where I was warned not to. Well I am off to make a cup of fancy espresso to eat with my new candy bar now.

The Real World

Sorry for not updating in awhile. I did not have internet access and I was busy working on my apartment. Well, after a whole lot of scrubbing and cleaning - my apartment is looking great. Now only if I can get some furniture in it. After a horrendous week of Ikea experiences at 3 different stores - my furniture is finally coming this Saturday. I have to say, living in Greenwich Village is so great. No more hour long commutes late at night back to Astoria. Now I am usually home in 15 minutes and maybe 25 at the longest. Haven't met any of my neighbors yet - seems like everyone is coming and going at different times. And the best thing is my commute is 20 minutes max from door to door for work. The only bad thing is it doesn't give me enough time to read my paper on the train before it is time to get off.

And today is my first day at work. It feels weird to be back in the real world and yet nice to get back to some sense of normality of what I was used to. The culture and environment here is so different and nice then the company I used to work for back in Texas. We work from 9 to 6 and get free bagels in the mornings two days of the week, have a fancy coffee machines that makes individual cups with fancy cartridges, and get to go home at 3:00 on fridays in the summer months. And the area is amazing - it is busy and just bustling with people. My group took me to lunch and we walked by several interesting eating establishments. I will give you reviews as I try each one. I will try not to eat at the same place twice so it will be very interesting.

Now that I have internet access again, I will try to update more regularly. Whew...is it time to go home yet - I am tired already.