Quarter century.

In my first week of being 25, I got called "ma'am" by an NYU student. In my second week of being 25, I'm going to see this.

So I guess you could say it's basically a wash so far.


Birthday week kicked off with a ladies' brunch followed by mani-pedis. It also featured some lovely gifts and cards, as well as listening to small children shout at me on the telephone. Another highlight was the church speed dating activity, in which I managed to talk to at least two guys about Lord of the Rings, and told another one about the Titanic website I had when I was 13. One guy was in grad school for Mapmaking, so be aware that that is still apparently a thing.

The next weekend, Birthdaypalooza was rounded out with a joint party with my roommates, who are also November babies. It was really fun and we got to spend the rest of the weekend eating leftover chips and dip. It was a birthday miracle!


Getting older is kind of a fire hazard.

Central Park in Fall.

Last weekend my friend Zach and I went to watch the New York Marathon. I'd kept hearing about how cool it was, and how it was such an event--it goes through all the boroughs, and people in every neighborhood come out to the streets to watch. Apparently in Brooklyn, people start getting drunk at like 10am and then go cheer on the runners.

Also, I really liked the ad campaign that ran in the weeks leading up to it:




We had a great spot on Fifth Avenue, right at the Mile 23 marker. Since there are 40,000 people who run the marathon, they break it into several waves of runners. The wheelchair racers start first, followed by the professional women, then the professional men, and then three waves of regular runners. No spectators are even allowed at the start because there are so many people, but I can't imagine how much energy and adrenaline there must be there.


We got there in time to see some of the lead runners come through, including the two first place men (pictured above), who were neck and neck at mile 23. The American guy (on the left) ended up winning. USA! By the way, these guys are running 5-minute miles. For 26 MILES. I doubt I could have kept up with them for ONE if I'd just started running alongside them.

My fave.

At first, the runners were sparse, so Zach and I used the lag time in between to wax poetic about athleticism and the triumph of the human spirit. We were also amused by the people who had brought Red Vines to hand out to the runners.

The masses.

Lots of people had their names and/or countries on their shirts, so we had fun shouting things like "Way to be, Tom!" and "Jennifer, you are very good-looking!" to random strangers. Anyway, it was awesome, and this is definitely a new tradition I want to keep. We've already got big plans for next year, including camp chairs, snacks, and a boom box playing "The Final Countdown" to get the runners through the home stretch.

Afterwards, I wandered through Central Park for a while, enjoying the fall colors.




I can't say it was an entirely terrible way to spend a Sunday morning.

Flat Ainsleigh.

Last week I had a visitor. While getting the mail one night, I found manila envelope with my name scrawled across it in slightly crooked lettering. I opened it, and there she was: Flat Ainsleigh.

Sarah had told me a few days earlier that Ainsleigh's class had read Flat Stanley and that they were supposed to send a flat version of themselves to someone for a week, as part of their Geography unit. Naturally, as I live in the coolest place of anyone she knows, I was the chosen one for her adventure. I was instructed to take Flat Ains with me everywhere I went for a week and write about what we did before sending her back.



Commuting.



Ainsleigh taking my calls.



Saturday brunch with the girls.





After the Poland Spring Marathon Week Kickoff Race in Central Park. It's important to stretch.



Times Square. Normally I avoid this place like the plague, but it was her last night in the city so I made an exception. Notice the expertly captured taxi with the Broadway billboards in the background. I pulled out all the stops for my little paper friend.



Flat Ainsleigh was a big fan of M&M World.



We had a grand time together, and oddly enough I kind of missed the little paper doll after I sent her back. Luckily, in about 3 1/2 weeks I'll get to see the 3-D version over Thanksgiving, and I probably won't have to keep checking my bag to make sure she's not getting smooshed.

Wanda.

I recently confessed to my mom something kind of strange. I have vivid memories of being sick, and being so happy when she would put her cheek to my forehead to feel if I had a fever. I remember how soft her skin felt, and even now, the memory conjures feelings of comfort and reassurance.


Happy Birthday to my best mom, who always makes things better. When I felt under the weather during her visit a few weeks ago, I asked her to feel my forehead with her cheek, for old times' sake. I'm pretty sure she cured me. The Cheek's still got it, and so does she. Happy Birthday, Moom.

Gift horse.

One of the shows I do music licensing for happens to be a famous talk show. Today at work, I received a package that came with a nice note from the show's music supervisors, thanking me sincerely for all my help. I eagerly peered inside to see what they'd sent, and was seized by a fit of laughter at the irony. Oprah sent me wine.

I promptly handed the bottle to my coworker who had handled the show before me, as I'm sure he will enjoy it more than I can. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a very merry Thursday afternoon. But as the time of corporate holiday gift-giving looms nearer, my question to you is this: would it be ungrateful of me to say that, in lieu of more alcohol, I want tickets to her Favorite Things episode?

Back on track.

Oh, hello there.

Well, Autumn is here and I couldn't be happier, because it's my favorite season. It's not cold yet, but it's getting cooler, which means boots and cardigans and not sweating in the subway. Summer in the city can be especially, um, rank, so I'm enjoying taking deep breaths of crisp, cool air.

To highlight the awesome beginning of the season, my parents came to visit last weekend for the first time since they moved me out here almost two years ago (I still don't really believe I've been out here that long). It was really fun to have them here, especially since last time I was still one of the tourists and now I push them over on the sidewalk.

My dad had business in town on Thursday, and my mom flew in later that night. They came to visit my office on Friday and met some of my coworkers and my boss (she later commented that they are "such a good-looking couple" and I had to agree). We had a dinner of ridiculous portion sizes followed by delicious cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli, and went to see "Billy Elliot." I thought it was pretty good, but not as amazing as I'd heard. There were some good numbers but it was a bit long, and while the kid playing Billy was a great dancer, he didn't have a very good voice. Still, I was glad I got to see it.

Saturday we started off with a trip to the Natural History museum to see the new planetarium show that's narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. I think we all learned a lot from Whoopi. We walked through Central Park for a while before picking up some lunch and heading to a matinee of "Bye Bye Birdie." I already had monumentally high hopes for the show, since it currently stars John Stamos (his bio in the program buried his Full House credits somewhere in the middle, which I thought was a travesty). But the rest of the cast was excellent and I loved the show--very cute and a lot of fun to watch.


Later that night, we went to dinner in Brooklyn at Peter Luger, which according to Zagat is the best steakhouse in New York City. To my chagrin, I had felt a little queasy all day (possibly a side effect of the flu shot I had gotten on Thursday), but I powered through and was able to at least sample some of the deliciousness. We all agreed that Woflgang's was better, though, and we topped off the day with a showing of The Invention of Lying.

On Sunday before heading home, they came up to my neighborhood to get some of the local flavor (the flavor being that of the Dominican Republic). After checking out my apartment, we went to breakfast and I showed them around a bit, although they declined to attend the Medieval Festival that was happening in the park that day. We did get to see some people walking around in chain mail, though, so it wasn't a total loss.

It was a fabulous weekend, and it's always nice to have your parents tell you how awesome you are (though I can only assume my siblings haven't experienced this nearly as much as I have). I had a great time, and look forward to going home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks!

Procrastination.

Things I'm doing instead of blogging about our Orlando trip:

Enjoying the recently-reduced heat and humidity (we'd finally gotten about two weeks' worth of real summer, and I'm totally over it--no more sweating in the subway, please).
Trying on clothes I can't afford.
Repeatedly enjoying the amazing hilarity that is Heidi Montag's Miss Universe performance.
Playing Word Warp on my iPhone.
Watching Mad Men.
Being jealous of my friend's awesome new apartment on the Upper East Side (and eating takeout in said apartment while "helping" her move in).
Going to Ellis Island.
Re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Looking up airfare to London, Sydney, and the Bahamas.
Anticipating my parents' visit next month.
Eating popcorn.