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!