CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK

I'M DREAMING OF A WHIIIIIITE CHRISTMAS
Alas we didn't see any snow and being away from family was hard, but rest easy everyone because we still had a great Christmas!

CHRISTMAS ABODES

Although we didn't leave the city, we did enjoy a mini-vacation from Chinatown.

This tree on the roof was the only sign of Christmas on our
street.  Apart from that it was business (and smells) as usual.

 
Thanks to Ma & Pa Pak we lived the high life for exactly 2.5 days in the Mariott Marquis.  When Mum mentioned the hotel was centrally located, she wasn't kidding! The entrance to the hotel was smack bam in the middle of Times Square on the corner of Broadway and 46th Streets.  



Times Square feels like the centre of the universe.

The space-shuttle like elevators whisk you
from floor to floor at stomach jumping speeds.

Greatest shower ever!  Look at the size of the shower head!
You could wash an elephant with this thing.

CHRISTMAS TREES
Before Tim went home for a pre-Christmas trip to Oz, he left me a little surprise.  My own mini Christmas tree.  This is actually the first real Christmas tree I have ever owned.  FYI.... real trees smell delicious!

Handmade owl ornament courtesy of
Anne, my crafty workmate

From the tiniest Christmas Tree in New York, to the grandest.  Meet the 2011 Rockefeller evergreen. 

This 74-foot, 75-year-old Norway Spruce was cut down

in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.



Then was transported to the Rockefeller Center, where it was
decorated with 30,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED
Christmas lights strung over five miles of wire and topped with
a star containing 25,000 Swarovski crystals.

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
Whoever said Christmas isn't about giving is straight up crazy!  Never fear, Santa has a fantastic GPS system and never fails to locate us, despite our ever changing locations.  This year we were showered in clothes, jewellery, video games and concert tickets.

Look at all our prezzies!

 Gotye tickets from Mel and Jeff.

Ahhh, a sheepskin hat.  What else could a girl ask for?
Some eye cream me thinks.  Check out those dark circles!

 

Most terrifying zombie game on the market -
Dead Island, courtesy of Tim's secret santa, Julie.



Gorgeous silver cuff & new wallet from my secret santa, Miriam




I may not have gotten a White Christmas, but I did get a white dress. 

PS - What was the stylist thinking by pairing this dress
with riding boots?  I like me some boot action with a short
skirt but this looks like a barn yard mess.



CHRISTMAS DINNER
Temperature plays a big part in the type of meal you eat at Christmas.  We kissed the cold seafood and chilled ham goodbye this year and enjoyed a hot dinner at Brasserie, a delicious french restaurant at the base of the Seagram Building (Canadian distillers) on East 53rd Street.

Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Seagram Building

stands 516 feet tall with 38 stories, and was completed in 1958. 

It is considered one of the finest examples of the functionalist

aesthetic and a masterpiece of corporate modernism.



Appetizer: We both had the scallops and brussel sprouts

Entrees: Tim enjoyed the duck and I devoured the lamb. 
Sadly my New York existence is highly lacking in lamb. 

Desserts: They changed the menu last minute. 
Tim had carrot cake (not listed) and I had the chocolate tart.


Big hugs and kisses to everyone for their Christmas messages, cards, presents and cheer! 

LIVING IN A NEW CITY CHANGES YOU

Disclaimer: While Tim is enjoying a quick trip home to Australia, the blog will be highly
Bek-centric.  I promise to provide a more rounded perspective once he returns. 

Moving to a new city involves significant change. New home, new jobs, new local bar, new breakfast spot, new coffee place and if you’re lucky... great new friends.­
   

Clockwise from WPA, our apartment, Kabin: our local watering hole,
Nolita Mart where they serve the best coffee in Chinatown and
Fiat Cafe where an eggs benedict and coffee brekky only costs $12.

Great new friends: the lovely ladies of NYC

With all these external changes it’s not that surprising that one may experience some personal transformations as well.  Lately I’ve recognized a few changes in myself:

1. I’m more aggressive on the road.  In Australia I was a very conservative driver and pedestrian.  I rarely jay walked and I typically erred on the side of caution when it came to crossing the street.  Living in New York has changed all of that.  Last week whilst crossing the main intersection in Soho, I got into a verbal stoush with a cab driver.  As a pedestrian going straight, I had right of way over the traffic making a turn in front of me.  However a particularly reckless cab driver thought otherwise and cut me off.  Normally I wouldn't have reacted but he came within one foot of hitting me so I extended my hand and slapped the boot.  He then stopped his cab in the middle of the intersection, got out and we exchanged heated words.  I knew I was in the right so I smiled smugly, turned around and continued on my way -- my baptism as a surly New Yorker now complete.

Aerial view of the intersection
of Broadway and Houston

Me channelling Dustin Hoffman

2.   I’m a little less Dad and a bit more Mum in New York.  Having never lived anywhere with extended cold periods, I’ve always been exposed to constant sun and therefore my skin has remained olive in color.  Lately I’ve noticed that my face is getting noticeably fairer.  Last week I had to buy a lighter shade of foundation because my old color was so starkly different to my actual skin color.  I'm sad to admit it, but I'm now “beige” (according to the Clinique color chart).

Me and Sal at Splendour 2010.
Despite being winter I showed no signs of pastiness.



Me and my sallow skin now.  Winter hasn't
even started, but I am looking downright pasty!



JUST BECAUSE...Anyone who knows me also knows that I am obsessed with all things vampire fiction. I know it's lame, predictable and my commitment to the genre is inappropriate for someone my age. However I am not alone and I do not apologize for my enthusiasm. For all those girls (and guys) who share my passion for True Blood, checkout the ad they are running this Christmas to market the DVD box sets. Brilliant!!!



Okay Grandma, it's this show about a crazy town in
Louisiana filled with sex-crazed vampires and they all want
Sookie's blood... yarda yarda yarda and the whole town has
 a huge orgy.  Merry Christmas Grandma, I love you so much!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p91VTAFsBoc&feature=related



ODE TO FALL A.K.A. AUTUMN

We call it Autumn, but here in the States the prettiest season of the year is called Fall.  Some say it’s because of the falling leaves and others believe it marks the time when the sun starts to hang lower in the sky.  I always thought it was cliched to ow and ah over the changing seasons, but that's probably because I hadn't seen it done right (sorry Brisbane it's not your fault that Summer dominates 75% of the year).

Central Park's duck pond

The leaves had started to turn orange and red
when we visited Philadelphia

It's not too hot and it's not too cold.  It's official, Fall is my favourite time of year and here are the top 3 reasons why:

Reason No.1: Halloween

"Eye of the Beholder" was this year's theme
at the Annual Village Halloween Parade



We represented our proud Aussie culture
by dressing as bread-thieving convicts. 



No.2 Reason: Thanksgiving

Carly, Bailey & I at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade
(Tim was behind the lense)





The Koolaid guy (he's a jug of sugary goodness).
Oddly this soft-drink guzzling nation don't have cordial.
Instead they drink flavoured crystals dissolved in water.

 

Sponge Bob Squarepants (with a dislocated his elbow)

To infinity, Macy's & beyond with Buzz Lightyear



Paul Frank character, Julius made his first appearance at
this years Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade


 

Australia on 34th Street, Manhattan (I wish it was that easy)



Our traditional Thanksgiving dinner (at Jo's http://josnyc.tumblr.com/)
Clockwise from the cranberry sauce: brussel sprouts, garlic & kale
stuffing, sweet potato mash, shredded turkey & turkey breast.

No.3 Reason: Pumpkin Infusions

Espresso + frothed milk + pumpkin + spice = ahhhhh



The sponge is dense and moist (thanks to the pumpkin)
and then topped with cream cheese frosting & walnuts

Texture is like flan or a baked cheesecake and the
base is biscuity and crunchy

 

Not the obvious choice for an ice-cream flavor,
but surprisingly delicious!



The pumpkin makes the traditional bitterness
of beer disappear



JUST BECAUSE.....
For a strictly limited time only! Broadway's smash hit returns to Australia.  You can see Tim Daley's one man show from December 2nd until December 20-ish.  Check Facebook for dates and venues.

A VERY BELATED WEDDING GIFT

WHAT DO YOU GET THE COUPLE THAT ALREADY HAS EVERYTHING?
This is a question that we have all asked ourselves ALOT.  Now that we are "middle-aged" (e'gad), more and more of our friends are getting married, and the task of getting a good gift has confounded us all.  More often than not, the lucky couple have already been co-habitating for years and therefore have all the normal housey stuff.

When we realized that we were going to miss the weddings of so many good friends whilst overseas, it broke our hearts.  Not only do we already miss you all intensely but now we are missing some of the most special moments in each other lives.

Back to the quandary of wedding gifts.  I was searching online for a gift for Sam and Christine's wedding and a few ideas came to mind; flowers before the wedding (blah), a bottle of arse-wine A.KA. Gossips delivered to their room (funny but difficult to execute),  sensual bath oils (cheesy).  Hmmm, what is a cool present that is also meaningful and a sincere reflection of our mutual interests and long-lasting friendship? 

Flowers, Wine, Bath Oils?
Nah!!!

A board game, better yet, a personalized board game.  Anyone that knows me, knows that board games are my passion.  I do enjoy winning, but because of fairly average logic and poor trivia knowledge I don't always win, with exception to pop culture in which Tim and I are basically unbeatable.  Yes, board games is the answer!  Me, Sam, Christine, and a very reluctant Tim have spent many a Friday night drinking wine and playing board games.  I even found a company here in the States that makes personalized Monopoly Games, called Lovopoly.  I thought I had hit the jackpot!  What a cool idea!!

http://www.lovopoly.com/best-anniversary-wedding-birthday-valentine-gift.php?gad=COaBsoYEEgiiqX-nt-_-AhiQ0r39AyDC9J0c


Then I looked at the reviews.  The currency is in US dollars and some of the Monopoly squares have been changed to married-esque situations so it is a bit tacky .  Also, how many of you have actually finished a game of Monopoly?  I adore boardgames and to my memory I have only ever finished one game and it took over four hours.  By the end of it, we were both just praying for bankruptcy so the game would be over.  I feared that the novelty of this gift would fade quickly and it wouldn't be played very often, so I scrapped this idea too.


What other boardgames can be personalized?  A basic 'google search' gives plenty of options for custom-made boardgames, but in my opinion the best one is this sucker that you have to make yourself.



http://www.instructables.com/id/Personalized-Guess-Who/




Personalized playing boards

It's just like normal Guess Who,
except it stars all of us

HOW TO PLAY PERSONALIZED "GUESS WHO"
The fundamental rules of the game are the same, with exception to the type of questions you can ask.  Rather than just asking the typical aesthetic questions ie: "is your character wearing glasses?", you can ask personal questions about each character/ friend. 

Examples of questions:

1. Did this person go on the group holiday to Thailand in 2008?  Or more specifically, did this unlucky person get bali belly,  travellers' diarrhoea, or the rangoon runs on said Thailand trip in 2008?
2. Did this person attend Marist College in Ashgrove?
3. Is this person married?
4. Does this person have any children?
5. Does this person have a dog?
6. Has this person lived in London?
7. Has this person been to a Splendour in the Grass festival?
8. Have you known this person for more than 5 years?
9. Have you worked with this person?
10. Have you seen this person naked?  Now, this is trick question.  At first you would assume that it eliminates those friends that you have not shagged, but think again.  Who of us have not seen Viso naked on one of his nudey runs? 

If you want, you can also ask the normal Guess Who questions.  Ie: Am I female?.  The questions and opportunity for hilarity is endless!!!!


LETTER TO THE HAPPY COUPLE
To our dearest Sam & Christine, we love you both from New York to Brisbane and back again!  Sorry we couldn't be there on your special day, but we hope this will help make up for our absence.  We look forward to playing this with you when we get back home.
Love Bek & Tim xxxxx


SPECIAL THANKS
A while ago I asked you to send me head shots of yourselves.  Thanks to everyone that emailed me their photos.  Now you know what I wanted them for.  Also a big thank you to Sars and Viso for carrying this home from NYC and delivering it for us.



Available at all good retailers

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE

TIM'S NEW JOB
After six months of hard slog in an extremely difficult labor market, where unemployment sits at 8%, Tim Daley is now employed.  On September 6, Tim was offered the role of Independent Living Counsellor at Good Shepherd, a youth development, education and family service agency. Good Shepherd provide individual, family and school-based services to prevent youth from becoming disconnected from family, school and society.   To learn more about the organization checkout their website:  http://www.goodshepherds.org/ 



Reenactment of actual event


And when it rains it pours.  The following day Tim was offered another role at Covernent House, the largest privately-funded agency in the US that provides food, shelter, immediate crisis care, and essential services to homeless kids.  Tim is extremely grateful for both opportunities but has accepted the role at Good Shepherd as it allows him to work 4 days per week instead of 5 (for the same money).

Special thanks to Mikey, Chris and Sherene for providing Tim's impeccable references. 


WORKING CONDITIONS IN NYC
Okay, so they don't have it as good as us aussies - they only get two weeks of annual leave per year, there are less Public Holidays and no-one here has ever heard of long-service leave but working in New York is great!  They estimate that there are 3.5 million people in Manhattan at any given time, 2 million of which are not residents and commute from other boroughs, towns or even States every day.  For this reason, New Yorkers are super lax on their start times at work.  When Dolly Parton sang about working from 9 to 5, girlfriend was not talking about this city.  Typically 10am is a perfectly acceptable start time in most work places.

It's actually more like 10 to 6

The primary source of  my work-related joy is my love for WPA - the Women's Prison Association, and the incredible Development (fundraising) Team I am lucky to be a part of.  WPA is a fantastic organization and I find the work extremely meaningful.  For those who haven't already seen our Back to School Appeal*, checkout our website: http://www.wpaonline.org/ 

*Note: American kids start their school year in September, at the end of Summer.

You know you are a real fundraiser when you
shamelessly ask your friends and family for money :)

If you are sympathetic to women and families that have been impacted by incarceration, enjoyed the video and interactive back-pack tool, or are simply feeling generous, please email me at rpak@wpaonline.org .  Unfortunately our online donation page does not accept Australian billing addresses but I would be happy to make a donation on your behalf if you would like to deposit the money into my aussie bank account. 


Here is a pic of a few of our kids with their new school supplies!

A big thank you to Kate, Mel, Sal, Mahoneys
and Daddy Pak who have already donated

JUST BECAUSE.....
There is a new reality TV show here called "Storage Wars".  The contestants on the show hunt thru repossessed storage units with the purpose of selling whatever they find.  Does anyone else think the dude in sunglasses looks like our own 23rd Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke?

Hawkey, is that you???