Sweet hymns of old, a weary world rejoices...

Merry Christmas!

Rockefeller Christmas fun

Ollies reunited!

Last week I had the honor of having a guest. Molly came to visit and we ran amok in NYC. Well, actually it was too cold to really run amok, but we did the best we could. I showed her some sights, she showed herself some sights while I was at work, we ushered at Blue Man Group, attempted (and failed) to win tickets to Wicked and had our first taste of Ethiopian food, on recommendation of Molly's husband Matt who used to live in New York. Fun times!

Other than that, not much going on here, except I'm experiencing for the first time the world of corporate holiday parties. My goodness, there are so many! These things get expensive! Tonight is the last of three.

Oh, also I saw I am Legend, the movie we saw being filmed near Grand Central Station last spring ("You are able to hear gunshots. Do you not be alarmed – they are NOT REAL…"). I usually don't do scary movies but since I had vested interest in this one, I went with Erika, who promised she'd let me grab her arm during the scary part. The movie itself was ok, scary parts aside and plot holes aside, but the main appeal was the eerie scenes of almost every street imaginable in New York City deserted and overgrown. Creepy. It was also fun see our "our" scene, which was pretty pivotal. It was fun see the tipped taxi from another perspective and decipher Will Smith's shouting.

This is an interesting article about the blurring of government and non-profits. NYC has been using non-profits and private dollars a lot lately, to fund pilot programs like the Conditional Cash Transfer program. The pertinent question, I think, has occurred to me as I am learning more about how city government operates:

Government already contracts with charities to perform work formerly done by government, such as managing social service programs, making charities more like government. Now, as it turns to private donors for voluntary contributions, government is becoming more like charity.

Leaders argue nonprofit funds allow the city to spend money on neglected or experimental programs, but others question whether giving to the government is the most effective charitable cause.

It seems like the oftentimes confusing path of funds from private to public and back to private hands can't be terribly efficient, as there is a cost to each transaction - making the funds like a glass full of water that spills a little over the side every time someone passes it along. Nonetheless, it seems to be a trend, especially under Bloomberg's administration. It makes for some interesting partnerships. Anyway, just thought you might find that interesting.

Going home on Saturday for Christmas! Happy holidays to all.

Happy Hanukkah

Just to give you a little flavor of my neighbhorhood, I thought I should tell you that my neighbhorhood has a "Menorah Mobile" (so named by roomie Erika) that drives around the neighborhood blaring (and I mean blaring) what sounds vaguely like a cross between "Rockin around the Christmas Tree" and the "Hallelujah Chorus" played by a marching band, but is actually a song in Hebrew (although I'm guessing on the language), and has a "Happy Chanukkah" banner draped over the sides barely covering the painted "Rent Me. Call ***-****." It passes around the block a few times every night like the icecream man. Welcome to BROOKLYN!

Oh yes, semi on the same subject, the first night of our DC trip was the second day of Hanukkah, and the Jewish Fellows invited everyone to take part in lighting the Menorah. We congregated in Sarah's room as she lit the candles, and she and Bracha sang their song. Then, at our prompting, we made Etan tell us non-Jews the story of Hanukkah. It was fun. It reminded me, oddly, of being at a youth hostel in Argentina and watching Isrealis do the same thing. Traditions are pretty amazing - uniting across space and time.

Fellows take DC

After leaving at the crack of dawn on Wednesday, the Fellows made their way to our nation's capitol via charterbus and arrived early Wednesday afternoon. The goal of the trip (I think) is to introduce us to the ways in which city and national politics interact, especially for a city like New York City. The schedule was jam-packed with at least four seminars a day. Highlights included meeting with a former fellow who is now a senior education advisor for Senator Kennedy, a guy from Homeland Security (who pronounced certain key words, like "terrorist" with the exact same inflection and intonation as his boss, Mr. Bush...), and someone from the Department of Treasury. I was childishly excited to see all the national monuments, since I haven't been to DC since I was six, but sadly I didn't even get to see the front of the White House (I only caught a brief glimpse of a side garden from the Treasury Building. However, we did take an evening trip to the Lincoln Memorial. It had been snowing all day and it was absolutely beautiful. I didn't realize everything was all lined up like that - from the steps of Lincoln you can look straight out and see the Mall, the Washington Monument and the Capitol building, all glowing very white against the snow.Lincoln can be pretty formidable...
Fellows in front of the capitol building, in front of the Museum of the American Indian, our one cultural stop.
Other than the monuments, though, I wasn't all that impressed with DC as a city. It's so square and squat. Everyone told me that there was a law forbidding any building to be taller than the Washington Monument ("Or the capitol building. I can't remember..." was how the conversation usually went) but the internet says it's actually because of a 1910 law restricting a new building's height to be no more than 20 feet (6 m) greater than the width of the adjacent street. Either way, it makes for a streets that look like they're lined with giant air conditioners, or something...

In other news, I am officially qualified for the New York Marathon after completing a pretty slow and painful 10K this morning (I haven't run for close to a month...). So excited. But now I have to stop just talking the talk and start running the run - 11 months to get into shape. I'm going to have to find a club or team to train with, I think, because I need some accountability.

You, me and a tree

The roomies at Rockefeller Center, with ice rink, a glowing Prometheus and of course, the infamous tree. It's a little blurry and I look a bit like a bank robber, but so it goes.

a small world, once again

So last night I decided it had been far too long since I'd done any dancing, so I decided to throw a good night's sleep to the wind and go to the monthly swing dance hosted by the NY Swing Dance Society. I'm on their mailing list, so I get reminders all the time, but for some reason or another I've never been. Anyway, I went, it was fun, I danced a lot (as usual, attracting middle-aged men for dance partners. But they're the ones who can dance really well, anyways...) AND I ran into Mike, who used to be a Swing Bum at Trinity. He just moved up here a few months ago, and of course is already dancing like crazy. It was fun to see a familar face, and he luckily introduced me to a few more dance partners, more my age...

I also met someone who, learning I was from Ohio, asked me if I played Euchre, then told me about a group that meets in a Manhattan lounge every Saturday to play. I probably wouldn't go, but for some reason I really like the idea of a Euchre club. I love New York!

Unfortunately with the true retreat of warm weather, we seem to have lost warm water in the apartment, and it is not pleasant. I'm not showering in cold water all winter. Seriously. That is not an idle threat.

I'm going to DC with the Fellows this Wednesday through the end of the week. I'll try to come back with good stories.

Until then,

Happy December!

Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive and well. My absense was caused by a convergence of many things: work, travel, holidays, sudden general aversion to the computer, etc., but I'm back in action. What has been happening these last few weeks?

Workwise, I had been working to put together an evening event to get Bronx shelter residents enrolled in bank accounts. I was VERY nervous about it all, since I was principle planner, but it seemed to go well. Attendance seemed low, by my accounts, but in general it was declared a success. I am happy to have it over with, but I also have three more to go (we're trying to do one event in each borough), so no rest for the weary. After the event, I went with some coworkers to a restaurant in Little Italy in the Bronx that supposedly has the best Italian food in the entire city, no mean feat. There was no menu; the waiter simply stood at the head of the table and told us what they were serving that day. The food came out heaping on steaming plates and the red wine flowed in abundance (in general, I mean, not necessarily for us...) with Italian Christmas carols as a backdrop. Mmm, my eggplant parmesan lived up to expectations!

Travelwise, I made it down to Texas the weekend of Veteran's Day for some warm and balmy fall weather. For Thanksgiving, I traveled with Ryan to his home in New Hampshire, then onward and upward to his relatives in Lowville, NY. Despite cold weather and much time spent on the road (Friday was the only day we didn't spend at least 4 hours in some type of vehicle), a good time was had by all, with great food and lots of Euchre. Many thanks to the Condons and Sunderhafts for hosting me. :-)

Citywise, I'm working hard not to let the recent descent into bitter cold keep me from enjoying life in NYC. The roomies and I ventured out tonight to see the Rockefeller tree and all the accompanying Christmas hoopla. It's not as awe-inspiring the second time around, but still fun, although a bit overwhelming. There were actually crowds of people lined up to get into the stores on Fifth Avenue like they were waiting to ride a roller coaster. Trying to get through the hoards of people on the sidewalk involved dodging families with bulging bags from FAO Schwartz and American Girls. I think I'll stick to weeknights to visit the holiday sites. (PS, most of the window displays were still cool, and also I can't help liking the light display at Saks Fifth Avenue that blasts "Carol of the Bells" all the way down the street...)

Anyway, that's it!