Rockefeller Center

I have the pleasure of working very near Rockefeller Center and last night I was very close to the commotion of the tree lighting events. As I left work I could see straight down 49th Street into Rockefeller Center with the crowd of people and big jumbo screens set up for those not fortunate enough to have a close view. I resisted the temptation to join the throngs of people and went the opposite way to New Jersey.

As I watched the events unfold on television I have to admit, I was jealous. I spent some time sending my brother text messages as he was there, not in thick of it, but close. He works for Tishman Speyer the real estate firm that runs this show and owns Rockefeller Center. He was fortunate enough to look out the windows and go out on a roof deck from some of the Tishman Speyer owned buildings.

Today a co-worker and I needed an afternoon caffeine pick-me-up so we strolled underground to the concourse for some Dunkin Donuts and then continued west to see the tree. We headed up from the concourse and exited right behind the tree as it overlooks the ice rink. It was definitely a magnificent tree. We admired the eco-friendly solar powered led lights on this year's tree and due to the crowds and cold we made our merry back to our office. After seeing the tree we were quite curious about the history of it all. You can read all about the Rockefeller Center trees of past at www.thetreenyc.com . The most interesting thing has to the timeline. You can see all the different heights of the trees and read about the tree's decor for a particular year as well as other events in history. There's also video and pictures about the tree that currently sits in midtown Manhattan.

I am still amazed by all that I have access to while working in Manhattan. It's been one awesome 9 months!

Well played Moberg, well played.

Almost straight out of James Blunt's song, You're Beautiful, a guy sees girl on the subway and he doesn't give her up but rather searches for her with the powers of the internet. He would've gotten the girl right away if he had real super powers rather than the powers he leverages off the internet. Enough about his or the internet's powers but the story ...

<-- This is the before (he finds the girl) image.

Guy (Moberg) sees ("locked eyes with") girl on NYC subway. Too many people getting on and off subway cars equals guy unable to chase down girl for her number or strike up conversation (he totally could've knocked a few people over like a typical New Yorker). Guy decides he must meet this girl and launches on his blog (www.patrickmoberg.com) and through a much hipper name and redirect (www.nygirlofmydreams.com)

The after --> (I found the girl and had a date with her) picture from their interview on Good Morning America. I gotta give Moberg some points for scoring an Aussie. She's got the coolest freakin' accent and says godsmacked during the interview.

Aloha!

I've been waiting close to forever for this. Our very own has finally opened! I've known about the existence of Trader Joe's since college when my economics professor would reward students showing up for class with various treats from Trader Joe's. Usually the huge bucket of half dollar sized chocolate chip cookies. Last year a Trader Joe's opened up near my last job but it was always on the wrong side of the highway at rush hour. I've literally been stalking the Edgewater NJ store on my way home hoping for signs of life and finally determined it would open in early November. Well it's just about mid-November and I've been there twice!

First trip was this past Monday with the hubby who thinks it may just be his new favorite store. We spent about $40 on random things that we hoped to be good. The orange flavored (dried) cranberries were a little too much orange. I had some teriyaki mushroom sushi rolls and didn't like the teriyaki much. There were some other stuff but I couldn't remember. The second trip, on my way home from work, one night was much more successful. I highly recommend their garlic naan for those Indian dishes, or if you're like me and just like naan. Also good is their microwaveable (only 3 minutes!) Jasmine rice. They had another kind of rice but I can't remember what was. They didn't have microwaveable basmati so I just bought that in a bag and I'm sure rice in a bag is good.

I've heard that there are some Trader Joe's with a liquor section, unfortunately due to NJ ABC regulations it's a no go, but there's plenty other stuff to be excited about.

Baby it's cold outside...

For those of you that do not live by NJ, be thankful. It was freakin' freezing today!

Christmas is all around

I feel it in my fingers
I feel it in my toes
Christmas is all around me
and so the feeling grows...

On my way home from work I stopped at Target. I walked in and it was like Santa's workshop in there! There were holiday gifts and decoration everywhere! From the dollar spot section to the front and back seasonal sections! And don't forget the card section and the end caps with all those subliminal holiday gift suggestions. I was suckered in and bought two rolls of wrapping paper from the dollar section. (For those that don't know - I love wrapping paper and all the accoutrements that go with gift presentation.)

It makes me feel like I need to get a jump on Christmas shopping (apparently Target is no slacker and I am). I thought Christmas was coming fast at me like a freight train, but (holy smokes Batman!)Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks! I don't even know where I am going to eat turkey this year. I did prepare and order some (what I tasted for the first time ever and thought was) yummy pecan and pumpkin pie from dining services at work. Yes, I bought pie from the company I work for, sort of. Apparently, for who knows how long, our dining services area sells pies during the holidays (also something called a chocolate yule log and cognac pumpkin cheesecake) and has a tasting day. Yesterday was tasting day and I had samples of apple, blueberry, pumpkin, sweet potato and pecan pie. The blueberry, which is usually my favorite, wasn't that great. Apple good but the pie eaters in my family won out and got their pies of choice.

At least the Target holiday shopping bags aren't out ... yet.

My Heart Goes Out to Mother Earth

The hubby and I have been watching this two-part CNN documentary series called Planet in Peril with Anderson Cooper, Jeff Corwin and others. The funniest thing is that it's a AC360 Special Report. That's right, you guessed it - Anderson Cooper 360. Apparently, Anderson Cooper is so awesome he gets a special reports segment with CNN and his name reduced down to his initials. On top of that (and to make it sound cooler) the brilliant minds at CNN decided to throw on some numbers, specifically 3-6-0. Honestly, 360 is only cool if you're someone like Tony Hawk or Michelle Kwan not CNN news guy 360.

Moving on to more solemn matters, our doomed Earth. Planet in Peril focuses on issues of overpopulation, loss of habitat/deforestation, species loss and global warming. It's was a very interesting 4 hours of television but it definitely left me a bit depressed about what has happened to our planet and its inhabitants as a result of human actions.

I highly recommend spending some time watching this as it will at least open your eyes up to things that are happening all around the world, as well as right here in our own backyards.

Time Lag

Is there such a thing as time lag? If not, I am going coin the term. I completely understand why the U.S. gets involved with daylight savings time but it's absolute torture whether we fall back or spring forward. I had one hell of a busy weekend with my cousin-in-law's wedding (the business began on Friday and didn't end until yesterday, Monday) and messing up my times certainly did not help (nor did staying up until 2 am for 3 nights in a row).

My final thoughts - go with the happy-medium route and we'll spring forward 30 minutes 'round Easter and call it quits on this daylight savings time mess.