So my mom swept through New York City these past few days and you know what that means! Dinner at fancy restaurants and shopping for things I can't afford. Namely, a dress for my brother's wedding.

Sak's makes me uncomfortable although all you lovers of fancy designers, the third floor is having a major sale on all of their upscale clothing.

But the best part about my mom coming into town? Taking cabs. I never take cabs. I don't have the money and it's usually quicker to take public transit. But, I welcome taxi rides whenever someone is willing to subsidize. Over the last couple of days, I've encountered a couple of types of drivers:
-pump the gas man - you are especially annoying because you make me want to vomit all over your seats.
-pump the break man - you are equally annoying as I'm not in love with hitting my head on the partition
-need for speed man - I don't have a huge problem with you as long as I get to my destination alive
and finally
-slow and steady man - I have no need for you. This is New York City and I have places to be.


In other news, there was quite a hubbub in my neighborhood yesterday evening as a small dog in a garden behind my apartment was crying all night. While some were simply annoyed by the barking, there were quite a few of us who are concerned because the dog is left out there all hours of the day and night with no food or water. Needless to say, at midnight I was scaling the fence in my backyard in attempt to save the pup, but to no avail. My neighbor was supposed to call the animal precinct this morning and I hope she did!

This Sunday, I'll be with my brother and his fiance promoting pet adoptions at the gay pride parade. Look for me! I'll be marching in the parade. I'll be the one who isn't making out with a lesbian.

red string on my forefinger

Once in a great while, I need to remind myself of why I made the choices I did.

Man, I have no regrets.





My life was intense for awhile there. I guess I can be alright with a rather calm and quiet existence.

Well, I'm back from the country in one piece, hardly. Despite various minor mishaps, like my dog running away, my weekend jaunt was much appreciated.

Now I'm back in the humid abyss that is New York City, and let me say, I have realized why I like winter better than summer.

Regulating temperature in New York City is an art form which I have not mastered. It is generally at least 10 degrees warmer in my apartment than outdoors at all times. I'm one of the lucky Manhattanites who enjoys TWO functioning air conditioning units. Nonetheless, I'm sitting here sweating at 9:30PM.

Let me make one more comment about my day today. I went to go pick up a prescription at a different Duane Reade than I normally go to. This is because the most recent construction crane debacle destroyed my beloved pharmacy around the corner from my apartment. The pharmacist was giving me a hard time about switching my prescription to another Duane Reade, to which I said, "But a crane fell on my Duane Reade!" and he relented. I then realized that there will never be another city in the world that I choose to live in that will ever put in me in the situation I was in today.

And with that, I'm going back to reading On the Road, which by the way is not as good as everyone says. It's the only book that's taken me forever to read because I'm just plain bored.

Peace.

I feel extra Jewish

So I'm home. The trip to Israel went off without a hitch and I'm happy to say that I wasn't sure I wanted to return to New York City. That's right, this blog almost became "Sincerely (,) Israel." And it still might.

But besides that, it was an incredible trip in a beautiful and vibrant country that I will never forget. Everyone should get there once in their life.

Pictures (all 577 of them) are posted in my flickr account, which can be seen here... http://flickr.com/photos/jessicablair/sets/72157605470103878/

But enough about that.

Yesterday I had a wonderfully New York day and I'd like to share, if I may. Barney Greengrass, the quintessential breakfast and smoked fish spot on the Upper West Side, turned 100 years old. Now, I'll be honest, I'd never heard of the place. Never been there, never even thought about it. But I'm Jewish and I love smoked fish. Well, in honor of their 100th anniversary of existing (!), they rolled back their prices to what they would have been should it be 1908. That's right...Adam and I spent a total of 6.50 (tax included) on four glasses of orange juice, smoked salmon and sturgeon with eggs, and a smoked salmon and sturgeon sandwich. Let me just remind you non-New Yorkers that 6.50 is about how much I would have paid for my salad fork if these were 2008 prices. It was delicious and the line was worth it.

We skipped the bus home and took a walk through Central Park. Believe it or not, I've never actually taken the time to stroll through there. I've been in and out a couple of times, but now I was able to feel one with nature for half an hour. And now I understand why people hang out there. There's a lot more oxygen within those trees.

And finally, we ended our night at top chef, Wylie Dufresne's WD-50 for a belated birthday gift to Adam. Not only was the food excellent, but I swindled the staff into letting Adam take a tour through the kitchen and meet Dufresne himself. It was a night to remember.

And today, I'm doing what any New Yorker would do as the weekend approaches. I'm leaving. That's right, it's off to the country for me. Time for swimming, eating meat, and taking naps.

Shalom!