Easter in the big city

It was a rather unusual Easter weekend for me. I'm usually back in Midville, GA with 40 or so of my relatives to be overstuffed with an out of hand pot luck. This Easter R and I spent it in the City, my lunch was a couple of cheese slices and salad from Fat Sal's. R made a nice traditional dinner, I guess like everything else..traditions change.

We did catch "Steel Magnolias", it opened on Broadway recently with quite a few well known actresses. It's one of my favorite stories and oddly enough it made me feel closer to home, maybe I need to go get a cut and curl.

The highlight of the weekend was Sunday services. At Marble Collegiate Church it almost looked like a royal wedding. White flowers everywhere. Huge boquets hung from balcony and downstairs was covered in more Easter lilies than I had ever seen. There was a gospel choir who had us praising and clapping and the traditional choir singing parts of Handel's "Messiah" backed up by a small orchestra which really made the hymns quite dramatic. I definately think I got my tythe's worth. It all made me think of one of my favorite hopeful quotes "The universe can dream a bigger dream than you can ever imagine for yourself."

Snowy Spring?

It's snowing today...only a couple of days into spring. So much for changing out the wardrobe.

So last night I decided to venture out to Queens with my friend Gina to hear her sing at an open-mike cabaret. She did a couple numbers (“Ain’t Misbehavin’ & “No Good Deed”) and blew us away. It was neat to see a whole subset of aspiring musical actors/actresses, all which were very talented. I made my way back to the City and got to take in some of the best cityscape views from the train. It’s still sometimes hard to believe I’m here.

What a great Saturday. I finally got to visit the American Museum of
Natural History that took me to lands far away and then we spent the
evening like a true New York Trump.

The museum visit started with an IMAX of "Jane Goodall's Wild
Chimpanzees" an amazing trip to the jungles of Tanzania. It's amazing
the similarities we share with these intriguing creatures. They learn behaviors,
have leaders in their societies, care for each other, share humor and partake in war.

After that it was off to wander the halls of Africa, to see a herd of
elephants, walakazoos and zebras. I shot over to see a movie about the
Big Bang narrated by Maya Angelo and stopped by the butterfly
conservatory. It was a great museum visit.

Then it was time to head to Trump International Hotel…from the moment the doorman said welcome it was like no other hotel experience I have had….there was a full kitchen with china and stemware, a living room with 50 inch plasma, computer, a Jacuzzi and a great view of the city. The gym was quite large and had a pool and fully equipped locker room. Each staff member was very polite and helpful.

Later in the evening we went down to Jean George’s restaurant and had an incredible meal with a wine I never experienced, 97 Barolo, it was great. The weekend was compliments of Mr. Trump through a marketing campaign with Macy’s for his new suit line. It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences you don’t expect.

So last night was quite interesting. A work collegue (Gina) and I went to a fashion show of the Trump Signature Collection at Macy's. Though we were a little late for the runway show (train delays) we had some champagne and hors d'oeuvres (even caviar…no thanks). Trump passed by with the stunningly beautiful Milania in tow. We chatted with Kelly (last season's winner) and his fiance about his on-going projects in New York and George about speaking at one of our events. They were both very pleasant. I was introduced to the President of the clothing line by my Macy's friend James, saying I was the first to buy one of the suits at Macy's (I didn't know I held the honor), but the gentlemen quickly said, "Did you meet Mr. Trump?". Unfortunately he had left in the meantime, maybe we will see him this weekend at Trump International Hotel. Gina and I had a good time just chatting and before long it was time to go home.  

Number Crunching

Last night I stayed in and finished my taxes....yuck!! To console my sorrows, I baked a cheesecake...Hmmm wander if I can deduct the ingredients?

Heartbeat of NY

Most days I really enjoy my work, some days it ROCKS!! Today I went with an associate of mine to the W Times Square, a very hip hotel in Midtown. The design is chic and imaginative and the meeting spaces feel more like lounges. One signature touch I really like were black pads with white pencils..I can't wait to use mine in the office. We met with their event specialist and had lunch at Blue Fin, which had an excellent selection of seafood. I appreciate W's forward thinking and sense of style.

From the desert to the tundra in 7 days….

This weekend we went to visit my partner's family in Northern New York, right now it’s 26 degrees outside, brrrrr. Family such a crucial part of who we are, yet such a different dynamic in adulthood. Siblings are raising children, parents are nearing or in retirement and figuring out just how different you are.

Oh boy, I could think I could live on sweets. My partner's mom and I made a cheesecake..mmmm. I saw it on the Food Network on my way to Vegas last week, thank goodness for JetBlue.

My partner's nephews (6 months, 2 years and 5 years) are adorable, a bit mischievous at times, but in an adorable way. At the moment, one is trying to tie a string around the cat, some creatures are so patient… I aspire to that.

This afternoon is the long road trip back to the City to gear up for another big work week. I work in event planning for a large services corporation. I’m working on a reception at the Lincoln Center & a client event at the UN with Colin Powell. I really enjoy my work and the people I work with. I’ve always enjoyed discovering new places in the City and fun stuff to do.

Viva Las Vegas

So I begin this blog partly to record life’s wonderful adventures for nostalgic purposes and to learn more from the journey, partly to share my life with friends who are far away and partly to take part in this blog phenomenon.

My approach is going to be like sitting down with a friend with coffee who says, “So what’s new with you?”

And this is how I would respond……….

Outside of work, I feel I’ve been spending most of my weekends out of town. Last weekend I went Las Vegas to celebrate several friends’ birthdays. I should have known it was going to be an interesting weekend when the guys in the back of the plane began getting rowdy…..guys were not there yet!! I got settled into my Parisian hotel room and it was off to meet the gang for drinks at New York, NY. Funny that it takes 5 hours to get there and in 15 minutes I’m in my pseudo home town.

I went to see Celine in concert, it was amazing visual experience, very dream-like where things don’t quite make sense. With such grand sets you really felt like you were in a different theatre for each song. I’m not a huge fan of Celine’s music, but I wanted one of those once in a lifetime experiences, that I got at Caesars.

The next day started in the spa and then on to lunch aboard the Starship Enterprise. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a full episode of StarTrek, but other people in the group were very geared up for it and I’m up for the full Vegas experience. An amusement ride or two later and I’ve got the lingo down…from assimilation to Borg. Who knew this would be such and intergalactic experience? We spent the rest of the day touring around and met up for birthday tapas before dancing.

Sunday was very laid back, more walking around…this place is HUGE and the best was the X-Scream ride at the top of the Stratosphere. Nothing gets your heart beating like going over the side of a building 109 floors up. That’s a lot of air between you and the ground. WOW!

I came back Sunday night, smiling, Vegas wasn’t what I thought it would be. I didn’t get hooked on gambling or binge drinking. It was hard to appreciate half size replicas of some of the world’s greatest monuments, but that’s not what it was about. It was about spending time and making fun memories with friends old and new. I appreciate life’s challenges that are catalyst to strengthen friendship and learn more about myself.

So here’s a start, I’m looking forward to the next time we sit down to share….more about life.