All in a Week's Work

Monday
1. Dinner with cousin Laura at cute West Village Italian restaurant to celebrate her pregnancy.

Tuesday
2. Lunchtime mission to see President Obama on his way to Ground Zero. No one knew which route he was taking, and I followed the wrong press group...we were one block off. But still fun to take part with all the supportive Americans. Positive vibe - not inappropriately vindictive (as, in my opinion, characterized many of the most publicized celebrations), but patriotic and supportive.

3. Evening run in Central Park with my friend Victor, trying to get in shape for the hills of our 10K a week and a half later (yesterday, actually...documentation coming). Ended at the Reservoir with a gorgeous view of Midtown. I didn't have a camera, but this was basically our view.


Wednesday

4. Rem Koolhaas (superstar architect from The Netherlands) speech at NYU with my coworkers and bosses. The lecture room was in a building on the south side of Washington Square Park looking up 5th Avenue.

Thursday

5. Broadway show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) and John Larroquette. Both were phenomenal and hilarious, but I think Larroquette may have stolen the show. The theater was beautiful! I've been to a number of shows, and still attending theater loses its charm.

Friday

6. Birthday dinner for my friend Liz, whom I've known since kindergarten and now lives in NY. In the photo below, Liz is in the middle, and my UT friend Elizabeth is on the right. Elizabeth and I work near each other and often have lunch dates. Great story involving her and crazy Texas pride here: http://singleforareason.tumblr.com/post/3549270627/dont-mess-with-texas (it's worth the quick read). Liz and I witnessed this occurrence from across the room, and can confirm that it happened exactly as described. She is now dating the guy and reports that he also owns the shirt in polo version.

Saturday

7. Run in Central Park with Amy. Stopped midway to hear a talented violinist and smell the roses (tulips and azaleas to be perfectly honest...really not so scented).

8. Perusal of the "Festival of Ideas for the New City" street fair, on the Lower East Side, with Amy and her boyfriend Chris. We wandered from booth to booth, listening to hippies' visions of a city full of roof gardens. Stumbled into an art gallery and listened to the artist explain her pieces, all made from trash. They included a huge "painting" composed entirely of melted plastic item from around the house (including green army men, highlighters, and bottle tops). From afar it really looked like paint.

Sunday

9. The most glorious park day of the spring so far: flowers in full-bloom, new discoveries (including waterfall pictured below), and sunshine galore (enough to do a little laying out). It started with a stroll through a street fair on my way to the park, where I ordered a Nutella crepe for breakfast, evolved into a lunchtime picnic with a group of friends, and finally ended by 3 of us giving solicited advice to a self-proclaimed "brooding, love-sick" (and quite attractive) young man who had emerged from over the hillside where we were sunbathing. No matter where I found myself throughout the day, my reoccurring thought was an awe-filled "I walked here from my doorstep."