one year ago...

...i was actively planning for my trek to hawaii to celebrate my birthday. it was such a great vacation. joani and i talk often about returning soon to hawaii for some more island fun. the house, weather, food, pool, and ocean were so gorgeous. it was fun to share it with my family and watch my brothers try to boogie board on the "waves". :)

instead of packing for a hawaiian adventure this weekend, i'm packing up everything i own into boxes to move it around the corner to my new apartment. always amazes me how much stuff i accumulate and find space to store in my shoebox of an apartment. kinda crazy.

wish me luck that no more head injuries or bleeding occurs while cleaning out the apartment. feel like everyday i make progress.

now it's vital not to think about unpacking.

come a long way

most all know of my overwhelming love and devotion for 'n sync back in the day. don't think i'll ever be fully cured from enjoying a nice boy band number. i can even enjoy an occassional new generation peppy JoBros tune.

a couple of days ago my iPod when into shuffle mode and came up with the song below. i must admit i rocked out and sang along to the cheesiness. it was fun to return to the days of when boy bands ruled the world. check it out:

plain white t's obsessed

introduced to the plain white t's by netter. bought tickets to their show at irving plaza. went to show this past monday and had a fantastic time! they know how to put on a great rock show. would absolutely see them again and again.

their final song was my favorite from their big bad world album called "someday". haven't rocked out that hard in a really long time.

check out a live performance of "someday" from an earlier concert in hawaii. (ny's version was even better!) tom introduces the band, music starts at about 1:29 mark.

making some changes

this summer i'm seeing a large majority of friends leave the city (or upper east side). about four years ago the same thing happened when a whole host of my good buddies left to experience new education, career and family goals. still miss them and hold out hope that they will one day return (you know who you are).

everytime a mass exodus occurs i tend to re-evaluate my long term relationship with new york city. thankfully i'm still "in love" with the city and will remain. my realization that i'm still supposed to be here doesn't stop the need i have to make changes in my life. so i've made some (in my opinion) decisions to "spice" things up a bit in my life:

1. MOVING to a new apartment - strangely enough i'm going back to the building that i lived in for three years before moving to my current pad. big move happens on the 29th. send happy thoughts that all my possessions come from the 5th floor walk up to my new 2nd floor abode fully intact and functioning

2. CUT OFF my hair - my one true vanity got a lot shorter when i visited claire last weekend. my hair had reached my mid to lower back and was so heavy. the summer humidity is painful with long hair so i decided to ask claire to chop it. it is now all layered up and hits just below my shoulders. SO HAPPY with the end result. (pictures coming soon)

3. BUDGET my money - with the new apartment comes more rent every month (believe me, the apartment is worth the additional $$s). i've never been good at giving myself limits on expense categories like food, entertainment, luxuries (spa pedicures), clothing, electronics, etc. it is time to take control and carefully monitor the funds that come and go because i have some upcoming big purchases i would like to make in cash rather than AMEX currency.

4. TAKE simplier and cost effective VACATIONS - netter, flex and i are going to boston for one night instead of 3 and staying in out of the way hotel because its cheaper. claire, m.c. and i are going to jet down to florida and have the time of our young lives in the second happiest place on earth. i'm so looking forward to becoming my inner child and eating lots and lots of churros. these trips plus my flights to indy in july and home for christmas combined are cheaper than the 5 days i spent in prague earlier this year. kinda like getting 5 shirts for the cost of 1 at banana republic or ann taylor.

5. CAR SHARING membership - i'm going to join ZipCar because i find it essential that i have the option to take some wheels into suburbia as often as possible. the thought of no rental car line and gas/insurance included sold me on the car sharing with ZipCar.

i'm excited for my friends' new adventures and happy that my love for new york remains strong. it is also great that i am able to shake things up whenever possible to remind myself how lucky i truly am.

a little something to do in the city's summer

you wouldn't know it's summertime by the constant wet weather but IT IS! hooray!

the city has so much vibrance (and stench) in the summer with a whole host of free and fun things to do. i alway try to embrace all that i can in this city. for those on a trek to the big apple, here are some options for summer enjoyment:

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK
Twelfth Night runs to July 12th and stars Anne Hathaway, Raul Esparza and Audra McDonald
**saw it last night. very funny and music was fantastic!**
Free tickets by standing in line at Delacorte theater - tix distributed at 1pm

MOVIES
Bryant Park becomes a giant movie screening lawn beginning June 15th. Movies start at dusk.

CONCERTS
Today Show Summer Concerts - every Friday morning at Rockefeller Plaza (i'm dreading June 19th b/c the Jonas Brothers are coming which means 100s of screaming girls will follow)

New York Philharmonic in the Park - July 14th & June 17th at Great Lawn in Central Park
**never been but have every intention of going to at least one of these**

Opera in the Park - July 13th at Summer Stage in Central Park

(there's a whole host of other musical performances throughout the summer)

MUSEUMS
Free MoMA Fridays - every Friday evening entrance to the Museum of Modern Art is FREE!

Museum Mile Festival - June 9th on 5th Avenue with free access to 9 museums.
**went this year. fun to be out amongst my neighbors**

OTHER
Restaurant Week - July 12th - July 31st
Great restaurants offer 3 course menus at discount pricing of $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner http://nycgo.com/restaurantweek

Move with PinkyMcG - June 26th - June 30th
A once in a lifetime opportunity to help me pack up, disassemble and move all of my belongings from my 5th floor walk up apartment to my new abode. Oh the summer just got a lot more exciting! Email me to hold your spot for this amazing offer! Pizza and water provided.

HAPPY SUMMERING EVERYBODY!

Top 20 revealed & prediction

it's on! the top 20 were revealed last night on SYTYCD. i'm very excited and interested to see who does well in the opening rounds and who the couples are.

i thought it might be fun to make my "prediction" for the top 10 this year. (in full disclosure - one of the female dancers graduated from the same high school as i and another female currently resides in the same city as my joani, grandpappy and Moocher).

Here is my list for the Top Ten:
Kayla Radomski
Jason Glover
Caitlin Kinney
Evan Kasprzak
Paris Torres
Phillip Chbeeb
Ashley Valerio
Max Kapitannikov
Randi Evans
Brandon Bryant

everyone watch next Wednesday night for the first performance show on Fox! (that includes you too Joani!)

and thus it begins...

...the joy of SYTYCD is upon us. watching the below performance on "dancing with the stars" just reminded me of the great joy received from watching professional dancing. i'm so ready to have the top 20 revealed and for the competition to get under way!

a concert with keane

i can be quite the concert snob. have found pure joy when i attend shows that are in smaller venues which is one of the reasons i pretty much boycott concerts at madison square garden because it is just too large and too many people.

last night i made an exception by going to see keane play at radio city music hall. they did a fantastic job and the british boys were smart to use ceiling-to-floor banners to cut off the stage. made it feel smaller and more intimate somehow.

thanks keane for the joy of "bend and break", "everybody's changing", "spiralling" and "this is the last time".

a "wicked" lottery UPDATE

a quick update on a previous post where i mentioned my burning desire to beat the wicked ticket lottery...not because i really want to see the show, but because i wanted to prove that i'm a "winner"

so here comes the update - last night my good friend claire came to the city for a quick evening. i mentioned that we should try the lottery because i haven't been in the last couple of weeks. we walked over there with enough time to write our names on the green index cards and hand them over to the constantly wearing sunglasses man and then stepped outside to await our fate. on the walk to the theater i told claire she should come up with a plan B for our evening activity since i had yet to win the lottery. she said and i quote "no, we're going to win this time."

apparently having faith in your luck and acknowledging it out loud proves to be a lucky combination. claire's name was called FIRST as a winner! congrats claire! thanks for letting me be your +1 to see the show.

claire's win does not mean that my lottery quest is over. i still have yet to hear my name called as one who has earned the right to wear the "winner" button with pride. i think that after my win occurs that i should get the backstage tour for free. i mean i've always wondered how exactly they are able to pull this off:

after the idol

i don't watch american idol (except for that moment of weakness while i was broken last year - thanks much netter). however i had heard such amazing things about a show called "glee" that was showing a pilot preview after american idol that made the decision to support a show on fox other than SYTYCD (that's "so you think you can dance" for you not in the know). the show was fabulous except for the fact that i got 3 minutes of carrie underwood rather than the ending of the show because i didn't set the DVR to record longer than the scheduled time.

i must say that the clip below hooked me on this show. i will be a fall watcher of "glee" especially because it follows my beloved SYTYCD.

a love/hate relationship

this time of year always forces me into a love/hate relationship. i LOVE the flowers blooming, birds singing, trees blossoming and sun finally shining. i HATE the sneezing, itchy throat, watery eyes, running nose and overall congestion and annoyance brought about because of allergies.

i still think enjoying the "loving" part of the relationship is worth enduring the "hating" part of the relationship.

Park Avenue with flowering trees and blooming tulips

big lug in the big apple

big lug came to the big apple and took a serious bite. we had a great time at Top of the Rock, Wicked and Grimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn.

i also had the extreme pleasure of introducing him to my Wii and the joy that comes from Rock Band, tennis, bowling and golf. we watched "The Mummy Returns" on my Blu-ray and i must say the picture quality was stunning.

come back same time next year big lug and i promise you won't have to climb 4 flights of stairs. :)

dear utah...

quick question...how does one pack for 13" of snow and 70 degree temperatures all within 4 days?




it ain't easy.  trust me.  thanks a lot utah.

a prague story, the finale

we made a few discoveries on this trip to Prague.  while on our boat cruise we sailed by this beautiful church on a hill.  netter wisely suggested a 'get out of the city' plan to view that church up close.  took a tram a little ways out of the city, climbed a hill and spent a blissful time in enjoying the gorgeousness that is Prague.  we saw the first Christian church and heard some beautiful church chimes.  loved our little trip within a trip.

church had an amazing graveyard

great view from church hill overlooking bridges and Castle

first Christian church in Prague

another fabulous discovery was gelato.  i know nothing can ever compare to the goodness found in Florence but "cream & dream" at least transported me back to italy.  must confess that netter and i indulged a couple of times.  (we were on vacation and did lots of walking)  

our final day in prague started out with a walking tour of the jewish history.  there are some amazing synagogues in the city and a very strong heritage.  it was very cool to see the history of the people through their architecture.  

we always seem to save the best for last on our european trips - shopping!   both netter and i increased our jewelry and prague crystal vase collections.  good thing i had the extra over the shoulder bag to fit all of my new goodies.

flight back to the usa was quite uneventful when compared to the flight from the usa.  one thing that was somewhat annoying was not obtaining a stamp in my passport from prague.  i got three from amsterdam (don't ask), one from france and the usa.  but not one from czech republic.  shoot.  guess i'll have to go back yet again.

all together it was a great experience to go back to prague and stay in a nice hotel while enjoying a chillax atmosphere.  i look forward to flying my way back to the other cities visited on central europe vacation 2006 - budapest and salzburg.

because i just can't stop myself from hugging a tree

view from Charles Bridge towards Castle - one word "stunning"

a prague story part 2

landed in Prague without incident and were whisked (quite scary to be whisked) to our lovely hotel on the banks of the Vltava. we dropped our bags and decided to head to Old Town for dinner. first night was pretty chill because netter and i were both exhausted from the sheer amount of traveling and time change.

day 2 consisted of making our all important reservation at Cantina. one of the best mexican restaurants EVER! once that was accomplished we headed out to find things we hadn't done or seen on central europe vacation 2006. grabbed our first pizza meal and then saw cool sights like the powder gate (below) and a shoe store. ahhh!

we walked around the square and found ourselves at the wharf where they have boat cruises. netter suggested taking a cruise before our dinner and because i trust her travel suggestions completely, i hopped on board. (hee hee) the cruise was an hour and one of the best parts of the whole trip. we had a great time on the open air upper deck because everyone else stayed below. we put our iPods in our ears and sang, rocked out, waved at tourists on bridges and laughed and laughed all while seeing the stunning architecture and scenary in prague. this is always when i began to perfect my jumping in front of cool scenary abilities. i give all the credit to my action photographer - netter.

Charles Bridge in background

notice the iPod earbuds

Prague Castle in background with beautiful clouds

we spent time exploring the Easter Markets in Old Town Square as well as enjoying the scrumptious breakfast provided each morning by our hotel. this trip was great because we didn't need to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure we spent as much time as possible seeing everything we wanted. instead it was a "chillax" vacation.

part 3 up next...stay tuned.

...an amsterdam/prague story part 1

my last minute trip to Prague was a great success...once we got there. here's part 1 of the story.

arrived at JFK with plenty of time to check in, grab some grub and hit the toilets before our 7 hour flight. while standing in line at Czech Airlines ("CSA") we were informed by a fellow line waiter that out direct flight landing in Prague at 6:15am was CANCELLED. horror of horrors! the harried customer service rep booked us on a flight through KLM to Amsterdam and then a connecting CSA flight to Prague arriving at around 11am. At least that is what she told us she did. little did we suspect our plans were about to be changed...

walked about 100 feet to stand in line at KLM. as we were getting checked into the flight we asked again about when we would arrive in Prague. the nice lady innocently told us 4:40pm. Excuse me! the lovely CSA rep had booked us on the latest connection from Amsterdam to Prague giving us a 5 hour layover in the city of fabulous artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer. luckily Netter and i are pretty low key and embraced the opportunity to explore Amsterdam.

we arrived in Amsterdam looking a little worse for the wear but were able to pull out some essentials for our Amsterdam whirlwind prior to checking our luggage (but neither of us pulled our umbrellas - this will be to our detriment later). shoved our carry ons into a locker and headed for the train ride we were told would take 45 minutes. about 15 minutes after we boarded the train we were in Amsterdam. got a daily transit pass and headed on the tram toward the van gogh museum. stopped along the way for some food, bought a necessary and very expensive H&M parasol/umbrella, took some pics and realized that we wouldn't have time to enter any museum but simply gaze at them from the outside.

best part of amsterdam for me was the flower market. boothes and boothes of merchants selling all types of flowers, plants, seeds, etc. along a beautiful canal. my one souvenir from amsterdam was a small wooden painted pink tulip key chain. think i need to go back to stock up on the dutch shoes and pictures of me in front of windmills.

we said a fond farewell to amsterdam as we boarded our flight at 2:30pm to Prague. i hope to visit again soon.

Here are some pictures from our time in Amsterdam:

Flower Market booths along Canal

Such a cool art installation - love the kind you can climb on and around

a little Prague preview

things have been insanely busy lately so haven't had a chance to fully commit time to blogging about the trip to Prague a couple of weeks ago.

this will be a little preview until the full story can be gloriously detailed with pictures. i promise it will be worth the wait.

the dancing returns

so you think you can dance season 5 premieres on Thursday May 21st. very much excited to dive back into the dance pool. hopefully the audition portion won't be too horrific. the actual competition probably won't begin until the end of June. once again...time to develop that patience.

prague

leaving for Prague tomorrow. i'm very excited. i had a great time when i went 3 years ago and this time we're staying in a fabulous hotel. we also will enjoy a delectable dinner at Cantina one of the best Mexican restaurants ever. here's to hoping it won't be too cold.

blogging will be put on hold until i return to the states next week.

a weather rant

i'm very much done with the daily coat, gloves, scarf and hat wearing. as much as i love my coats it is definitely time to shove them in my big suitcase and push them under my bed.

the cold weather has definitely let its presence be felt and can now go far, far away until late October when i'm done with the warm weather.

crossing my fingers that april comes in with some lovely 60 degree temperatures. tired of keeping kleenex in my bag because my nose starts to run from being so cold. (although springtime allergies are much worse)

now my rant is done.