New York, New York

Back for a month

2008-08-04T03:31:00.000-07:00

John and I couldn't stay away. We missed New York too much upon our return to Australia, so quickly began planning for a return visit. Given that it was my 30th birthday, we figured that was excuse enough and planned around that.
Of course, this also put us in New York for the bit we missed previously - July, the middle of summer. It was an awesome month, that did nothing to ease the longing we have to return! In fact, it seemed to strengthen our bonds with the city, and made us realise, that really, it will always be a home to us.
Some of the highlights? Gordon Ramsey's restaurant "The London", The Philharmonic in the Park, Shakespeare in the Park "Hamlet", The Upright Citizens Brigade (a must to return to), shopping, shopping and more shopping (including designer sample sales), a tour of the Steinway factory, cycling around the perimeter of Manhattan, kayaking in the Hudson, Texas hold-em poker with friends, karaoke, frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity and soaking in the sun and sites of the city in summer.
On top of all this, it was REALLY great to catch up with all our friends, and especially to meet the brand new baby of Cory and Hayley. We also got to see Cory perform in a musical in Waterbury, Connecticut - a lot of fun!
So, now we're back in Australia's winter. And it just doesn't compare! It seems that we will forever long for the New York City life. So, we've been looking at how we can make that happen again in the long term. It seems that we will never feel at ease until we are back in the city.
And you know, it's not just the big things. We love to travel by subway - it's cheaper, convenient, and allows you to spend your time reading, listening to music/podcasts etc without the concerns of car ownership. We love the buzz. We love that things are always open so that if we feel like dinner at 10pm, we still have a huge selection to choose from. We love how close everything is. We love ... we love it.

Hello All

2007-05-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been checking our blogs, you will realise that there have been no new blogs in quite some time. We have got so caught up in living here that we have had little time to sit and blog. Also, we have had some computer viruses that limited our blogging capacity. Even now, I'm not too keen to do the whole picture thing as I have to disable a number of blockers in order to do so.
So, instead, this is just to fill you in on what has been happening.

In April, it was John's birthday, soon followed by our friend Kristen's birthday. So, we decided to do "10, no 11 days of birthday fun". This included everything from scavenger hunts to Korean Barbecue and beyond! We even found time to splash in the puddles of Mid-town and throw a frisbee on the Great Lawn in Central Park. John learnt to ice-sculpt a bowl (which we ate fruitsalad out of) and Kristen and I had our make-up done in Henri Bendel. We sampled fancy caviar at Petrossian and ate ice-cream from the Chinatown Ice-cream Factory. It was a full and fantastic birthday extravaganza.

Jess (John's sister) arrived for about another 10 days early in May. So we had more busy time enjoying the delights of the city. We did some new things with Jess and revisited some old favorites. We saw the Yankee's play the Mariners at Yankee Stadium, ushered at the Blue Man Group in order to get free tickets, Made a bear (or turtle) at the Build-a-Bear Workshop, shopped at Century 21, saw an Off-broadway production of Anne of Green Gables and much, much more.
We calmed things down a little after Jess' trip and settled back into our daily routine, but we're also trying to get through all the things we still want to do. We went to the Hamptons for Memorial Day. There we snoozed on the beach and watched the waves coming in. We now understand why people the world over are amazed by Australian beaches. Nothing else compares! We were surprised how snobby the area is - all these people living the "American Dream" to the exclusion of everyone else.

We're preparing for a visit from Matt which I sense will be as action packed as (if not more than) Jess' trip. Broadway shows, more sports etc. in store.

We're also making the most of the warmer weather. I've got back into running in the mornings, and we sit out in the backyard during the evenings. The dog has come to enjoy our evening ball-throwing 'routine'! I'm hoping to get to some pretty gardens as well before we head home. It is absolutely amazing how GREEN this place is. There is no water shortage, so everything is such a rich green that seeps of life. That is one of the big things I know I will miss. Watermelon here tastes sensational.

I'll get some pictures up once I've checked things out with John. But, thought I should give you some goss anyway.

Other fun and crazy things

2007-03-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

We went along to a basketball game in New Jersey to watch the Nets play the Kings. Whenever I have to ride a bus for any real sort of distance, I realize how much I dislike public transport - with coughers and snorters all around me I was wishing I didn't need to breathe for about half an hour! At least on the subway you can escape to another car, and you're never really on the subway for too long anyway.

The game was exciting, and we had hot-dogs to complete the whole experience! My favourite part was one of the motivating songs they play in the background throughout the game. It says "Everybody clap your hands-" and EVERYBODY CLAPS THEIR HANDS!!!!! John says they should try "Everybody buy some Coke" and see what the result is! It had me in stitches every time the song came on.

When the frozen snow started to soften it was a lot of fun to play with. We threw snowballs both at and to the dog. Hilarious! Many hours were spent on such simple fun!

I found an old fashioned milk bar/diner near our place. It had antique coke stuff in the window and the old interior. It reminded me of the scene from Back to The Future, when Marty goes into a milk bar in the 50s. It's been there for ages - since the 20s or something. It ended up being very expensive (a disappointment we often face at the end of a fun meal) but the milkshakes (malts) were sooooooooooooooooo yummy. And now we've done it, we won't have to wonder about it every time we go by. Union square is a pretty cool place to hang out. There is a great book store there that has rare books as well as just about any other book you can think to look for. (Yes Sal, it's the one you went to). We spent an hour or so there with a couple of friends and John picked up a giant old dictionary. We went out with them for coffee in a nice little cafe afterward. This photo was taken before they arrived. It is in the same location as the swimming pool art that we put in a blog a little while ago. I went by the other day and now they have a life-saver ring and something else hanging on it too! All for fun. If I wasn't so worried about being arrested, I reckon I would have enjoyed the view from up there!

I got pink eye (conjunctivitis) last week which bought me a couple of days off school. It was so difficult to figure out how to see a doctor that I almost gave up! The ones I spoke to couldn't see me for a week. Finally I got an appointment with an eye specialist! They did the whole letter chart and everything - most unnecessary. I can't afford to be sick here because not only is it difficult to get to the doctor, but they don't really replace me properly at work, so whoever has my kids has a tough time of it - no real assistance. At least I have health insurance so it isn't too costly - $15 for a normal (?) doctor and $25 for a specialist.

The buttons have popped off my jacket (NOT due to putting on weight) and I've been having trouble finding somewhere to get replacement buttons. There's no Lincraft here! I'm going to explore my options tomorrow.

Every Friday the kids at our school have to have lunch in the classroom because the church needs to use the room we use as our playroom. Today I let my kids build a cubby house. They had a great time despite how squishy it must have been for them. We also had a speech meet earlier this week. The children memorized poems and stories for the meet and presented them without prompts. It was pretty amazing and they did very well.

I think John has mentioned my frozen hair before, but here it is in real life! No wonder I'm finding it hard to shake my sickness.

Down near Chinatown we found some people playing this game of bike polo. They ride their bikes around and try to score goals by hitting a ball with their polo-like sticks. We decided the sticks were home-made using some other sport stick with a bit of pipe on the end. The ball was like the sort kids play hockey or cricket with at schools in Australia - bright coloured and plastic. There are no goalies. Each team has three people. If you put your foot down you have to ride over to the side and tap a cone before joining back in. It was interesting to watch and drew participants from all walks of life.

A couple more of my paintings.

Chinese New Year

2007-03-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks have been part of the Chinese New Year Festival. We headed down to Chinatown to join in some of the festivities. We saw the fireworks and also a parade with dragons, lions etc. I love that part of town so it was all good fun for me.

We got really close to the fireworks - much closer than you ever can in Australia. Being a Chinese event, they had some pretty cool fireworks. They had flashy ones close to the ground, the swishy cartwheeling ones, noisy ones, high up ones, and loads of colours. I also got to have lots of bubble tea. I'm onto another asian delicacy too now - green tea ice-cream. Yum!

We also went to the Peking Duck House where we got a Peking Duck to share for $40 or so. It was very tasty and we left feeling very satisfied.

I've been doing a lot of painting lately too. I'm developing my style and at the moment I am experimenting with painting people. I got some charcoal and I think I'll try to sketch some landscapes as well. Painting landscapes doesn't seem so effective for me. It's also hard to get the detail into it due to brush thickness.

Just for fun I'm doing a couple of courses this weekend - decoupage and weaving! All the creative outlets are great because the schoolwork is so structured.

Valentine's Day

2007-03-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day was a big thing in school here. I needed to dedicate the first half-hour or so of the day to distributing Valentines. My class mom made us all gift bags with our names on them. We put these on our desks and then went around the classroom distributing our notes, cards and sweets to each other. It was very cute. Mean Mrs. Ryder wouldn't let the children eat their candies at school but made them take them home instead! Of course, I could eat mine!

At some point during the day it started to snow. It was the most snow that we've had this winter. It was pretty nice looking, but the snow got fairly deep so we had to wear boots to walk around the streets. John and I went out to a restaurant for dinner - in our boots! They really took care of us at the restaurant and I even walked out with a long stemmed red rose.

The snow hung around for ages on the streets. The weather got really cold so it froze solid and the grot from the streets clung to it. Within a couple of days the snow was really ugly grey slush. It was nice when the sun finally came out enough to melt it and then when it rained. Nice to freshen up.

We've had snow again since, but nothing that has lasted long.

Secrets in the Financial District

2007-02-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

When John woke up this afternoon, we headed down to the Financial District, which is where New York City all began. I love the old buildings down there. It has a very different feel to the Upper East Side. We ate lunch at Chipotle which it a chain of Mexican restaurants under the McDonalds umbrella. It is one of our favourite restaurants here. It was nice to sit and chat in the warmth of the restaurant.

Then we walked up Broadway from Bowling Green to Park Place. There they have a Canyon of Heroes - where famous people's names are in the sidewalk. It's for all the people who have had a ticky-tape parade up Broadway.

We also saw a sidewalk clock on the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane. It has been there since 1884.

We started to freeze once the sun went down, but we still had one more place to visit. On September 16, 1920 a TNT bomb planted in an unattended horse-drawn wagon exploded on Wall Street opposite the House of Morgan, killing 35 people and injuring hundreds more. The shrapnel damage can still be seen on the side of the building. So, we went to see it.

The House of Morgan is across the street from The New York Stock Exchange. As is typical of life in New York, after a quick clean up business continued as usual!

School Updates

2007-02-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

School is going fairly well at the moment. I have reached my maximum of 18 students, so it's nice to know what I have to work with. No more surprises!
I did a day of festivities for Australia Day. I started with a song - "G'day, G'day". We talked about Australia's basic history - convicts, Aboriginal people, etc. Then we did a couple of activities - dot painting and an Australia book. At gym we played "Possums in the trees" and "Fruitsalad". Just before lunch we had the story of Possum Magic and ate vegemite sandwiches and lamingtons. After lunch we played the chocolate game (which is aparently Australian) with Cadbury chocolate.

Here the children are making bridges after learning about the Brooklyn Bridge.

And the strongest was...
The mothers of the children in my class had a girls night out that they invited me to last night. I went along and had a really great time. They even paid for me! I was a bit embarrassed because I just wanted to be 'one of the girls', but you can't knock back a free meal!

I feel really blessed to be at this school and am continually blown away by people's generosity toward us.

Secret Science Club

2007-02-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

We've been going along to a free science club thing that is quite interesting. The Secret Science Club is a series of talks by scientists followed by music. It is open to the public and meets the first Wednesday of every month in the basement of Union Hall bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It's a pretty cool bar and always boggles my mind. This time it was about whether the universe is finite or infinite. Last time it was about the possibilities of alien intelligent life coming to earth! Most of it goes over my head, but it's fun to ponder these things from time to time!

Snow, Superbowl, and Ice Sculpting (John)

2007-02-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

We've had about 3 snow falls that have stuck. They make the city look fantastic, especially Central Park. Colby hasn't seen snow before, and so is mildly perplexed every time it falls and gathers. He still loves to run around in it though.
Last time it snowed I took him to the park and let him off. I then made snowballs, and chased him round, throwing them at him. He didn't know what was happening, but I thought it was hilarious. He'd try to catch them, and they would explode into fine powder, and he'd be left with nothing. Very funny.

Last Sunday was Superbowl, so we had a Superbowl party. We had a few people over, served buffalo strips, jalapeno poppers, and prawns wrapped in bacon. It was great. It's still cold, so we used the 'outdoor fridge' again. The Bears sucked arse and they cost me five bucks. Pen backed the Colts, but didn't pick the closest score, so they cost her five bucks as well. Overall a good night though.

On Monday we went to a friend's ex-work... an ice sculpting studio. We started out with blocks of ice...

Used some awesome tools...

and carved and carved...

to make... Beer mugs!

or Coke mugs.

I also tried my hand at making a love heart for Pen (how romantic).

Oh, and I'm told that they do other ice sculptures there as well...

The crazy thing was, that it was warmer in the ice freezer than it was outside. We arrived in beannies and scarfs, went into the freezers and took them off!

Australia Day

2007-01-27T07:32:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Australia Day yesterday. We got some Boag’s, meat pies, Violet Crumbles, Tim Tams, and other Australian food. We played cards and two up (we knew it was the wrong day for that, but it’s all we could come up with).

Penny made our guests drink a glass of milk through a Tim Tam, which was fun to watch and a good laugh.

It was very cold yesterday, and our fridge was full, so to keep the beer cold we just put it outside. It was the best fridge of all, the beer was icy cold, and you didn’t have to juggle leftovers or cartons of orange juice to get one!

The only other news so far, is that I got an iPod. I was listening to it soon after I got it in the supermarket. People were looking at me a little strange, but I thought nothing of it. After a little while I realized that I was singing along with the music that only I could hear. Oh well, in this city no one cares.

The other day I read that the pommy artist who does the 3d street artwork was doing one in Union Square. Ever since I first saw the e-mails about this guy I wanted to see one of his works. Today we went to Union Square and saw the one he did there. (Another tick in my list of things to do before I die). It is a picture of a lady in a fountain pond. The funny thing was that the Asian tourists who were there taking pictures were throwing coins into the ‘water’ as if it was a real pond. A local was standing near us laughing at them with us, and we thought that we should walk a few feet away and just throw some coins on the ground to show them how stupid they looked.

5th with a Friend

2007-01-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

One of my friends from Chapman Primary is in the city at the moment so we caught up today. We walked up a bit of 42nd Street and then up 5th Avenue. We checked out a few places I haven't been to before. FAO Schwarz was probably the coolest - it's the toy store from Tom Hanks' BIG. These photos were taken there...

Thinnest Apartment

2007-01-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

We wandered the streets in West Village and found this apartment which is the thinnest apartment in New York City. (P.S. This photo was taken last week or the week before when we had a REALLY warm day - hence the short sleeves. Everyone was in a brilliant mood - out on the streets, playing with their kids, eating out... I miss the summer.)

Roosevelt Island

2007-01-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

Last week we caught the overhead cable car out to Roosevelt Island (a tiny island that is closer than Brooklyn). The view was great but too hard to capture with photos. It really is amazing how far and straight the avenues stretch. Once on the island, we caught a 25c bus up to a light house so I could take some photos.

First Real Snow

2007-01-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

We didn't get the White Christmas we had hoped for. In fact, it seemed as though we may never get snow. Apart from just a couple of days, the weather hasn't really been so cold. We've had a couple of sleety snow moments, but the real stuff didn't fall until today, and then it still cleared quickly. I have been walking to school every day, except for the bitterly cold. This morning, despite the snow, it wasn't actually cold. So, I decided to walk for a couple of reasons: 1. So I can say to my kids "I used to walk 3 miles in the snow!" and 2. To capture wintery Central Park on film.

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!

More sight seeing from when Sal was visiting

2007-01-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

The order of events is all wrong - but you get the idea. We did lots of sight seeing all over New York City. These first ones are some of the cool big buildings in the Financial District. City Hall? or The Court House? Maybe?.... I just like how they look anyway.

Now, I'm not too sure about this one either. The sculptor called it "Eyes" but I have my doubts!

We caught the Staten Island ferry again. You can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The best time to do this trip out is sunset, but it's also very cold.

This is the other Staten Island ferry. There is no subway between Staten Island and Manhattan, so people commute on the ferry (for free) each day.

The Brooklyn Bridge. (I love it!) We walked across and were going to have pizza at a place I found in my new book ("1001 things to do in New York City"). Unfortunately, I'm not the first person to read the book - the line was out the door and up the street. We didn't have time, so John and I will need to go back another time.

Macy's was having big sales after Christmas. It was pretty crowded. We had planned to take some photos of the world's first escalator, but struggled against the crowds. Sal and I did shopping most of the days she was visiting. John thought it was a great joke as we both had mini-backpacks and matching shopping bags.

This giant cockroach was somewhere downtown. It's only a little larger than the ones we get inside from time to time. We're actually more at war with the mice, with John's catch approaching 20 at a rapid rate. They have normal mouse traps here, but they also have horrid ones that are just a very sticky sheet of paper. The mouse gets stuck to the paper and can't get off. As much as I hate having to kill mice, I think normal mouse traps are far more humane. It's cruel to let a mouse struggle until it starves to death.

There's a cool place in Soho (?) that serves all different flavours of rice pudding. Samples are free and delicious. We got a container to share - mmm. There are really cool signs here that I'm sure John would have photographed had he been with us, but he wasn't. I'm sure I'll be back there!

We ate lunch in Little Italy. It was a pretty good feed for a nice price (a lunch bargain) and the restaurant was well decorated. People kept flowing through the door the whole time we were there. We also went to Chinatown for bubble tea, however Sal doesn't share my enthusiasm over them!

Dylan's Candy Store has SO many lollies, chocolates, ice-cream sundaes etc, but you pay through the nose for them. I've not actually bought anything there yet. I just go for the fun of looking. Even the stairs have candy in them. We also went to the Hershey store and the Lindt store (where they gave us free chocolate) and to the M&M store that was more merchandise than chocolate.

Toys R Us is another great place to look around. The photos below show a picture that hangs on the wall and is made from lego. There are a couple of these in the store. We've all seen fancy 3D Lego creations before, but I thought this was a clever idea for something different.

I took Sal ice skating at Bryant Park.

This is a fence of tile memorial messages that were made after September 11. There was great variety and creativity. We also went down to ground zero and looked around the area. The Freedom Towers are yet to be built - a constant point of contention amongst New Yorkers.

Christmas Day

2007-01-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

We had a fairly easy day for Christmas. We slept in just a little and then went to Saint Patrick's Cathedral for the Christmas service. We got a bit confused about the times, so when we arrived, it had already started and we left before it had completely finished. The cathedral was very lovely, but the service was very formal, and a bunch of tourists (and us) stood at the back during the service.

We had prawns in many flavours and combinations, as prepared by John. They were SO good and SO filling. With full tummies and a little wine, we couldn't help but nap for a couple of hours.
When we woke up, we went to fifth avenue to show Sal all the Christmas windows and building decorations. It was a bit of a wet night, so out came the umbrellas.

After Christmas and New Years (John)

2007-01-01T14:44:00.001-08:00

All of our Australian friends have left now. It was nice while they were here, because we could play tourist with them. A couple of my favourite things are the A, C, E 14th Street subway station, and the Empire State building.

At the 14th Street station there are heaps of little bronze statues. They are mostly of little people doing various subway related activities, such as sneaking in, building the station, or waiting for a train. I love wandering around the station finding these little guys hiding everywhere.

The Empire State building is always fun. There’s not much to tell, it’s just a very high building in New York. It’s very impressive that they built it so long ago.

We did New Years Eve in Times Square, with the ball supplied by Tiffany’s I’m told. We got there at 1330hrs, so the wait was a killer. We were on 7th between 43rd and 44th, if you wanted to google it. The NYPD was superbly bad at how they handled the crowds, but I’m sure they were pushed to their limits with numbers. I only heard of one bloke being locked up… for public urination. This was probably helped by the fact that there’s no alcohol, bottles, or anything else on a long list of items not to bring. We thought that it was good, because with drink comes trips to the toilet, and once you leave for the toilet they won’t let you back in. They were expecting record crowds of over a million people, so it was awesome to be a part of it. Pen and I both wore the silly red hats they gave out.

During the night I acquired 3 red hats. After the show was over and we were walking to a job I had to do at 0130hrs, a little old Asian lady approached us, and asked if we wanted to sell one of our hats. I asked her how much she wanted to pay for it, and she offered $20! I took the money and it paid for our food for the day, and we still have one each. I checked on ebay, and people are actually selling… and bidding on these things. I’m shocked. Perhaps we don’t need two hats…

Otherwise not much else is happening; Penny got some Heelies for Christmas, and now falls on her arse while walking the dog. Very funny.

Christmas Eve

2006-12-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

Sal and I walked Colby through Central Park. It is in-between seasons at the moment. The leaves are off the trees, but there is no snow on the ground yet. We wandered awhile and then had pretzels by the portrait artists.

We went to mid-town for a late lunch and then looked at a train display inside the citigroup building.

We then caught the subway to Queens for dinner with friends. We had a brilliant night of food, wine, games and good company. The tree was impressive, with decorations that our friends had collected over the years.

ASPCA

2006-12-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

While killing some time in Midtown, I came across this cool van that was driving around with homeless animals in the back - hoping to find homes for them for Christmas. The ASPCA is the RSPCA of America.

Sal's first night with us

2006-12-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

My sister, Sal, has come to visit us here. It's so exciting! I caught the subway out to meet her and ended up waiting at the wrong gate. She came out from somewhere else and snuck up behind me. Funny!
We subwayed home and did a quick change before heading out to a party with people from my work. After that we went out for pizza at a little deli. We wanted Chipotle, but it was closed! Who closes at 10pm in this city!!!

Ice skating

2006-12-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

We decided to take up ice skating. Bryant Park has free ice skating if you have your own skates and locker lock. So... being tight... we bought a couple of pairs of skates and dug out some padlocks and we're set. We're now able to skate a couple of nights each week...for FREE! The music is always good, and it's a great atmosphere. I've only fallen once (and pulled the kid in front of me to the ground also!)

Our New Apartment

2006-12-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

We've been living in our new place for a couple of months now, and have grown to love it. It is so convenient. Anyway, we haven't shown you what it's like, so I dug out some photos. We have a few additions since these photos were taken - a sofa, TV we found on the street and a couple of other extras, but you'll get a sense of the place anyway.

Our street.

Our building.

Our living, dining, sleeping, studying etc. room. (The only real room in the apartment!)

Bathroom and Kitchen. And that's the inside!

Our backyard.

Any pond in a desert...

2006-12-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

Well since no one else has written a blog for about a month I thought I’d better do one…

Here in New York they have two free newspapers, AM NY and Metro. Both of them compete for the most widely read newspaper, which is greatly helped by the fact that every weekday morning they put people at every entrance to the subway on Manhattan (not sure about the other boroughs) to hand out the free papers. The people are always nice, and say ‘have a great day’ or something similar when you take a paper from them. They are always smiling, despite the time of morning or the cold. They are often loud (in a cheerful way) and will joke with you if you look like you have a sense of humour.
The other day Pen and I went ice skating at Bryant Park (which is free – Fish) in the afternoon. As we were walking to get the subway we passed one of these people handing out free papers. This was a little odd to start out with, as I have only ever seen them in the morning, and she was the only one there (usually there are two per subway entrance and we were near three or four entrances). We could hear her talking from a distance away, which is usual, but as we approached we realized that she did not sound too cheerful. We didn’t think much of it and started to walk past her. Then we heard her go ballistic at someone who had put their purse on her stack of papers. She was yelling things like “THAT’S NOT A TABLE” and “GET YOUR STUFF OFF THERE”. We thought this was a bit odd, as they are usually so happy. It then hit us what she was saying while we were approaching… “If anyone asks me directions again I’m charging them fifty bucks” and “I’m not here to answer questions”, and other not so cheerful remarks. I thought this was hilarious (like a Santa moving his knee before a kid sits on it or something), so I stopped to watch her for a little bit. It turns out that Pen and I must have been walking without paying attention, as everyone else was avoiding her like the plague (which is not easy at Bryant Park, as it’s a busy part of town).
I thought it was so funny that I wanted a photo of her, but I thought she’d yell at me if she caught me. So I made Pen stand next to a bush or something and I had my camera phone out looking like I was going to take a photo of Pen. Then when she turned her back I swung around and took a shot of her!
Last week I worked as an IT geek at Pen’s school (I also taught 3rd grade history for fun… what do I know about 3rd graders or history!). Pen walks to work, so I walked with her last week. On the way we passed a supermarket that had a gingerbread display in the window. It was huge; there was a little village, a sled with reindeer, trees, and gingerbread men hanging from the roof. I won’t describe it too much, you can see the photo, but this was just a normal supermarket, not a big fancy store or anything. Amazing.

We’re doing a music video for Christmas, so if we know you and you would like one please e-mail us (if you click the link on this page then it comes from anonymous and you won’t get one).

Thanksgiving Day

2006-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

We stayed in New York City for Thanksgiving weekend and opted to dog-sit for my headmaster. So, we did normal Thanksgiving things, but also did doggy things - lots of walks, plays in the park etc. It was fun. It was a cold, wet day, but we decided to go to the Macy's parade anyway because we knew we couldn't really NOT go. It's such a New York icon! So, we sat freezing, under umbrellas and got soaked through. At least I did because I didn't really dress appropriately. On the bright side, we DID actually get front row seats on fancy bleechers for the show. People on the other side of the street were standing squished together, tip-toeing to get a good enough view. When we could bear the cold no longer, we headed home (on foot through the park) for our Thanksgiving turkey. It was a fun first Thanksgiving, even though I was eating turkey for weeks afterward!

New York Marathon

2006-12-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

Being a runner (though not at my best) I just had to go along to see the New York Marathon. As it turned out, the Marathon passed by at the bottom of our street, so this wasn't a difficult task at all. I watched the tail end of the wheelchair competitors and then the leading professional women.

After that I went shopping on 5th Avenue (where the trendy shops are), visited the MoMA again at a more leisurely pace (which was EXCELLENT) and then, feeling over-inspired (artistically and physically) decided to go for a run. During the run I encountered the tail end of the marathon. Colbs and I ran around the outer edge of Central Park and then back home. So, I guess you could say that I ran shoulder-to-shoulder with the New York Marathon runners!

Walking to work

2006-11-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

I walked home from work the other day and happily discovered that it only takes 40 minutes. So I've been trying to walk more often. I ran next to one of my students on his scooter the other day. His 'mom' was there too, but I was there for the novelty. He absolutely flew on that thing! Anyway, this morning I took some photos of the park while walking through it. I'm looking out for curves in this city these days as the city, on a whole, is very angular. It's also very mathematical and celebral so I look for opportunities to escape the intensity! I don't know that you can ever escape the mathematics of things though.
So here are some pictures to please your eyes.

Field Trip to Green Meadows Farm

2006-11-06T17:13:00.000-08:00

I was very excited about seeing how New York City does a farm. On arrival, I was somewhat impressed, but also found it very DEpressing. Like all things in New York City, the trip was tightly scheduled and well managed. Also like all things in New York City, it was a plastic representation of the real thing. The man-made, efficient in-and-out express farm.
Our bus pulled into a large grassed area with about 50-70 other yellow school buses. Once off the bus, we headed to a mass eating area where the children ate their lunches quickly.
There were SO many schools there, and as far as I could tell, it wasn't a particularly special day. This is just what they do! Hundreds of guides walked around, taking groups from one animal to the next.
The sample animal was placed in a big metal bin for the children to poke, prod and throw bark at. We got to see chicks, ducks and rabbits.

The first cow we looked at refused to stand up. The guides were poking her with a stick but she wasn't playing along. The second cow, wasn't as smart. The cow had to stand patiently while children took turns to squirt it's teets from both sides! Those poor cows must go through this HUNDREDS of times each day.

The hayride was a bit of fun, apart from the incessant demands of the children for "MORE BUMPS! MORE BUMPS!" The kids absolutely loved the whole thing.
The super efficient horse rides were something to marvel at. There's no doubt about it, New Yorkans don't waste a moment. The children "rode" their horses clockwise around the circle and were quickly processed off at the other end, with very little stopping from the horses! The next child was on in no time, and so it continued on and on. Some 'spare' horses took their break, eating a snack in the centre of the circle.

At the end, the children were allowed to choose a pumpkin each. Then it was back on the bus and off to school.
It was a very different experience to my childhood experience of farm trips, but I guess it gave these city children a chance to actually see some animals that they usually only see in books!
So different!

A hiccup

2006-10-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

Many of you have been contacting us, interested in the lack of blogs lately. We have had a little "hiccup" in our time here and have been sorting it out. The night we arrived home from Washington DC, we received notice from our sublessor to leave our apartment and return the key by 6pm. We didn't arrive home until 8pm! John and I were broken. What were we to do? Return to Canberra where we had friends and family? Move into a hotel for a couple of nights? Camp out on the floor of friends' places? Having Colby with us made our problem so much bigger as 'dog friendly' places are harder to come by at short notice. The sublessor wanted us out and was refusing to return the three months rent she had (last month plus two-month security deposit). We were VERY concerned about a financial loss like that. We wondered whether it would be better to count our losses and head home, or to stick it out and take another risk on New York City. We managed to convince the sublessor to give us a week to find somewhere new (also to buy us time to find out what our legal rights are).
The next day at work, everyone was great. We had people praying for us, people on the phone to lawyers connected with the school, and people calling their landlords to find vacant apartments.
Legal advice told us that we did not have to vacate the apartment until the landlord had a court order. We also realised that the sublessor was actually in the wrong as she had not followed legal requirements in the terms of the contract. We were told that we should be able to have our money returned if we were to take it to Small Claims Court.
One of my friends from work had an apartment available in her building. It was being renovated, but they said they could have it ready for us. They were okay with us having a dog (it even has a small backyard for him). We said we'd take the apartment, even though it is in a different part of town and is smaller than what we originally wanted. We're really just glad to have a roof over our heads. While we could have stayed in the other place, we didn't want the court order! We thought we'd have a better case for getting our money back (and getting a new apartment) if we did all we could on our side.
After meeting with the sublessor again, she agreed to return 2 months rent and the third month after 30 days, minus any cleaning/repairs costs we incurred.
We are amazed yet again by how God has taken care of our situation. We have even had furniture provided by a number of people in response to our need.
We now live in the yuppie part of town - The Upper East Side which is a pretty area with shiny, expensive shops and happy families walking dogs. I'm sure I'll grow to love it, but I do miss the people of the Lower East Side - real people with real problems making the most of life in New York City.
So, we've come out the other side now. Things are back on track. Work's going well. Halloween is around the corner. And John has work on a film in Maryland. I still love this city!

John's Blog - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2006-10-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

Blog:

The Good…
On October 13 we went to Washington D.C. for the weekend. We had a great time, and saw most of the touristy things. We were amazed at how big the Lincoln Memorial is, and how big the Iwo Jima Memorial is. The Washington Memorial (or the Clinton Memorial if you watch Futurama) was pretty boring, but we didn’t get to go up inside it… so maybe it’s better inside.
There is heaps of cool war history there, and it was great to see as much as we did.
We did, however, notice a few odd things…
The walk/don’t walk signs count down to zero when they change to walk, so you know how long you have left to make it across the street. This is a good idea I reckon, but it means that you look at the opposing side while you are waiting and sigh and say ‘a whole 45 seconds till we can go… aww’.
As we were coming in from the outskirts of town (but still in Washington D.C.) there is a sign that says “U.S. Capitol”, with an arrow pointing down the street that leads to the city centre. Do people really drive all this way, pass all the other road signs to Washington D.C., get there and go “really, this is the U.S. Capitol”?
Similar to around the Embassies in Canberra, the streets as you enter Washington D.C. are named after where they come from. So we came in on New York Avenue, and we passed Florida Avenue.
The subway system in Washington is very different to that of New York. It feels like it is a whole class higher, with carpeted floors and polite conductors. As opposed to New York, where the conductors try to shut the doors just as you arrive (you are usually running to make the train, and you may run face first into the closed door… if you’re a retard).
I’ve been still working on movie sets, but things are drying up here as we move into the colder weather. I have also been doing some other odd jobs for cashola, which keeps food on the table (and alcohol in me).

The Bad…
Before we left for Washington we wrote an e-mail to our landlord telling her that we were going away for the weekend, and we’d be back late on Sunday. On Saturday our dog sitter called us and said that while he was watching the baseball at our place, he heard keys in our door. Thinking it was us coming back for something he was not too fussed. When our landlord entered he was quite shocked (particularly because he doesn’t know her). She left without doing much. When we got back on Sunday at about 7pm we checked our e-mail and saw that there was one from our landlord saying that we had to be out by 6pm… d’oh. We spoke to her and got till the next Sunday. She was not very nice and threatened many things. After a little while on the internet, and a few phone calls, we knew most of our rights and while trying to accommodate our landlord we were not going to be bullied. The end result is that we got 2 of our 3 months rent back (we’re waiting a month for the 3rd month), and we got out on Monday. The situation sucked, but now we have a new apartment, and a new neighbourhood to discover.
Our new place is a studio apartment… with a yard! It’s on the Upper East Side, which is a bit higher class than the Lower East Side. Here we feel safe at all times, and there are no areas that we don’t go at night, which is nice. We felt safe in the LES, but still a bit apprehensive at times. The new place has nice polished floor boards, a new bathroom, and did I mention a yard?
The new bathroom is nice, but like all American tradesmanship (we’re finding out) it has been done fast, not good. We have already replaced the shower head, and now it’s the size of a bread plate, and it’s like in Seinfeld when Kramer can’t make it to the tap because of the pressure. It’s fantastic.
Our old place was partly furnished, and this place is completely bare. It’s amazing how much crap you need when you start, and how much it all costs!
We’re planning a BBQ with our upstairs neighbours soon, as they helped us get this place (she works with Pen) before it was released on the market.
One of the other places we looked at was about 350 square feet (you can do the math, it’s very small). It was so small that there was no room for the bed, so they built a mezzanine (called a loft here) and put the bed on that. But the ceiling is still only 8 or 9 feet tall, so there is no room. The shower was in the kitchen, which was really intimidating no matter whether you are bathing or cooking, and the bathroom was out of the apartment and down the hall! The funniest thing was that there was a queue down the block about 100 meters to see the place! People who had seen the place were walking down the line telling people about it, which made most people want to stay just to see such a thing. The 2 people in the line in front of us started talking (as we all were), and one of them was looking for a room-mate, so the other gave her his details and they both left! Things in this city seem to only happen by word of mouth, which is why we were lucky with this place.

The Ugly…
There are many free newspapers available here. My favourites are Metro and AM New York. Where I’ve been working this week is about an hour’s commute each way, so it’s nice to have the paper to read on the way (if I don’t fall asleep). So on Monday October 23 I got the Metro and read it on the way to work. I found a few quotes that I thought were great:
On a story about how a diplomat to the Middle East said “history will decide what role the United States played [in Iraq]… I think there is a big possibility… for extreme criticism and because undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq”. The quote I loved was from a senior Bush administration official, who said “… those comments don’t reflect our policy”. What did he think? That we all thought that it WAS their policy to be arrogant and stupid in Iraq?
On a story of funny quotes – “Depopulation should be the highest priority of foreign policy towards the Third World, because the U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries”. Henry Kissinger.
- “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity”. Ann Coulter.
- “There is nothing wrong with doing something that benefits all humanity, but that is, in a sense, a second-order effect”. Condoleezza Rice.
- “I will never apologise for the United States of America. I don’t care what the facts are”. George Bush Senior.
- “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we”. George Bush Junior.
These are the people who are in charge of running this country, and whether you like it or not, these people think that they run the world. Shouldn’t they be paying someone to stop them from saying things like this?
And one last one… on Thursday 26 October in a story about a male teacher who was caught buying some drugs, the newspaper called his father… {When asked if he thought his son was abusing drugs, Dillon replied: ”Oh no doubt about it, he sleeps all day”}. So there it is people, the way to find out if anyone is abusing drugs is to find out how much they are sleeping.

Otherwise everything is going well, we can tick off a State from our ‘To Visit’ list, I now run Colb’s in Central Park (well I have once… but I’ll do more), and we are constantly entertained by the Americans. This year really is just a long trip to the zoo.

Washington DC

2006-10-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

In mid-October we took off to Washington DC for the weekend. I had Friday off work because the church needed to use the building for a conference. So we organized a dog sitter for Colby and purchased return bus tickets for only $35 each. The bus left from Chinatown, just down from us about 8 minutes (we had 8 minutes to get there when we left the apartment!)
The bus trip took about 5 hours and I got really frustrated with the people behind us. They were annoying American spoilt snoots who like had like so many like problems with like family and friends! At one point I was about to crack and only just managed to pull out my MP3 player and headphones in time!
We were amazed by how similar Washington DC was to Canberra. There were all the parliament buildings and war memorials, museums and art galleries. And then, there wasn't much else. It wasn't easy to get food like it is in New York.
It was cool to see all the famous buildings and to wander through the Smithsonian which is a stack of museums etc that are free to get into. It's like Disney for the thinking person!
We got to see the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. They had faded quite a lot, but I enjoyed looking at the signatures.
We also rocked up at the Pentagon just to say we'd been there (you can't do tours). As it so happened, there was an Air Force Open Day thing that was in the huge carpark. Most people there had tickets, but somehow we slipped through and wandered around looking at all the aircraft. We even got some photos of the Pentagon in the background (usually they don't let you photograph it).
We really enjoyed catching up with Trin, Angus and their kids Amy and Luke. It was fun to be part of a family for the weekend. We even had pancakes for breakfast on Sunday morning!
As great as it was to see Washington DC, it felt really good to come home to NYC. There's just something about this place that we LOVE!

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial (isn't it huge!)

Arlington Cemetery (you know the one in the war movies)

The Air Show at the Pentagon

The Whitehouse

Crash

2006-10-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
To save us heaps of individual sms' we decided to tap out a quick blog.
We are not affected by the plane crash. It happened at around 72nd Street, we live below 2nd Street, so it was no where near our place. Both Pen and I were at 57th Street around the time that it happened, and all we saw/heard was many sirens going everywhere (which is not that much different to every other day in NY), and heaps of people standing at shop windows watching the news.
It appears that the only person in the plane was a Yankee's pitcher. How hard can it be... steer away from the ground if you're in the air.
Last we heard there were 4 dead.

Lunch and Sewing Circle with friends

2006-10-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went out to a friend's house in the Bronx for lunch and a sewing circle. We had sweet tea and three different pasta dishes, followed by homemade strawberry ice-cream (delicious). My friend's place is much prettier than ours. She has a lot of stained wood furniture and the kitchen was very nice.
We did lots of chatting and a little knitting (I took some mending) and just generally hang out for a while. My friends in the photo above (from left to right) are: Cole, Elena and Amy.

Nextfest

2006-10-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we also went to an exhibition called Nextfest. It was HUGE! It covered technological advances in the future of exploration, security, transportation, communication, design, green, play and health. There were some really cool things on show. I particularly liked the robots (see the pictures). The blue and pink things were dancing robots that I suspect are designed to dance with a human partner. The male robot had face recognition software and has a personality that can be communicated with online. He had some problems on the day due to the number of faces he was required to store!

This invention is supposedly the future of motorcycles. I sat in it and it felt nothing like my bike! They also had a few cars on show that looked much like cars of today, but ran on electricity and used cameras instead of mirrors etc.

I lined up to have my picture taken as an astronaut! It was all done digitally (gone are the days of sticking your head through a cardboard cut out!). It probably wasn't worth the wait, and check out the expression!
Something I thought that was really cool, but didn't get a photo of, was a game called brainball. Two players sit across a special table wearing brainwave-detecting headbands. The headbands monitor each player's stress level indicating alpha and theta waves, and report the data to a computer that directs the ball away from the stress and toward the calm. So, to score and win you need to stay mellow and in control!
We also got to try a new Coke product that is a coffee flavoured energy drink. It wasn't bad, but needed to be very cold.

Food, Glorious Food

2006-10-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

I realise it's time for a food update. I've been busy 'trying new foods' lately. It actually isn't too hard to find an excuse to eat something here! My best excuse is that "it's all part of the experience" but as my sister has pointed out, I have a year to try it all. There's no reason to rush things!
I've now tried the large pretzels and the Nuts4Nuts that are sold at the stands throughout the city. We found the best donuts in the world only about 5 minutes walk from home. They are a little like Krispy Kremes but softer (if you can believe it) with a sweet creaminess through the centre of the ring. And John discovered "Bubble Tea" - a cold tea (with milk) that has little tapioca balls in the bottom. You suck the balls up with a thicker-than-normal straw and so you get to eat your drink too! As one of those people who likes to play with her food, this is a big bonus to me.
John loves Panini sandwiches which are made with thin pita-like bread (called panini I guess!). You can buy them at the delis here.
Broccoli is a feature in Asian dishes. You can get chicken and broccoli, shrimp and broccoli etc... I've never been that much of a broccoli fan!
Last night I went down to Chinatown and got some egg rolls (a little like spring rolls but bigger) and 3D Chow Fun (wide noodles with various meats). It was good but not spectacular. Maybe I'm not a big fan of Chinese food after all.
Mexican food is great and in abundance. You can get double layer tacos that have a hard-shell taco with a soft taco smothered in cheez whiz on the outside. The guacamole is delicious and I love the rice and beans that come in the burritos.
As you can imagine, my waist is growing and I'm not running quite enough. But, hopefully it will balance out at some stage!

"Field Trip" to Central Park

2006-10-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

In the last week of September the kindergarten and first grade classes went to Central Park for a field trip. I did a practice walk-through on the previous weekend to see whether it would all work out. John came for the practice and it was all good. (The park really is very beautiful!)
When it came to taking all the littlies their poor little legs weren't quite as prepared for all the walking! My goal for the trip was for the children to experience nature close up and develop an appreciation for the genius in God's creation. I planned to head toward Belvedere Castle where we could get discovery kits for the children to use as we walked through The Ramble. After that I thought we could have lunch and a play in the park.
Things didn't quite go to plan, but it still worked out really well. We paused a lot along the way to feel the bark on the trees, collect acorns, feel the spikiness of fir leaves etc. We stopped for a break earlier than planned and the children ate their snack in a large walkway section where a busker was planning his saxophone. The kids danced around and kicked up all the gravel so that we had a delightful little dust storm. It took quite some effort to then convince them to lift their feet when they walk rather than shuffle them!
We then continued our journey toward Belvedere castle with the frequent "Are we nearly there?" and "Where IS Belvedere Castle?" When we finally arrived one group got the kits (with bird watching manuals, binoculars and clipboards) while the other group looked at the education center in the castle. The Ramble was a lot of fun but only because we had the kits. The kids were looking through the binoculars (with no real idea of how they worked etc)and writing down what they 'saw' on their clipboards. They were very cute!
After we were all done, we ate, bathroomed and headed back to the school. The kids were VERY tired by the time we got back to school and the chaperones even more so.
But, as far as I was concerned, it was a great first field trip.

Sleep

2006-10-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

I seem to be finding it difficult to stay awake when I am sitting quietly for more than 5 minutes! I used to only have trouble when I went to see a movie, but these days it can be anywhere. Last Sunday we went to a baseball game - Yankees vs. Toronto. We had really cool seats with a great view of the field. I had a brilliant time and really got into the game. However... for the last 20 minutes or so I kept drifting off to sleep! There was nothing I could do to pull myself out of it. Then today, I kept dozing off during the sermon at church. I think I need more sleep!
The baseball game was at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. John picked up the tickets from someone through Craigs List. We rode the subway out there and took some of our own snacks as we knew the food would be expensive. I think that beers were $8.50 and cotton candy was $4.50 just to give you an idea of prices. It was very cool though, because they threw the snacks to customers just like they do on TV/movies. They really do sing that song "Take me out to the ball game" too. Like I said earlier, I had a brilliant time. The Yankees have now been eliminated from the "World Series" which isn't really a 'world' series at all. The Mets are still going for the time being though.

Names in New York

2006-10-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

One funny thing both John and I have noticed here is that people often refer to each other as he/she, his/her instead of using their names. For example, when I arrived here the office administrator said to the gate keeper "I'll be back in a moment I'll just take her down to her classroom." In Australia we might say this, but it would be after using their name first. Here they seem to skip the name part. The weird thing is that John and I fall into the trap of it too now! Sometimes it's great when you don't know the person's name. It just doesn't feel right though. More stories later...

Funny Kids

2006-09-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

Wow. I made it through the first full week of school. It was a mostly good week with just a little stumble toward the end. I'm learning so much each day and having to change so much across to US English in order for the kids to understand. A couple of days I got frustrated by holding up lost property and having no one claim it: "Whose jumper is this?" I asked. All the little kiddies thought to themselves "Jumper? What's a jumper? I don't have a jumper." And so we got nowhere until I remembered they don't call them jumpers, they're sweaters. Similarly, children kept complaining about being thirsty, so I told them to use the bubbler. Turns out they had no idea what I was talking about! They get their water from a drinking fountain! And of course, they don't have rubbish - it's trash or garbage. These are mostly things I knew in Australia, but it's hard to change the way you say things automatically.
When they sing "Happy Birthday" they don't do the Hip-Hip-Hoorays at the end either.
SO MUCH TO LEARN AND REMEMBER.
I'm also having to think through how I integrate the Christian side of things. I haven't been able to mention God in the public schools, but now I need to make sure that whatever I say is accurate with what the bible says and not just my personal views or the views I have grown up with. Plus, I don't want to swamp the kids with too much or confuse them to the point that they think God is disappointed when they play with their pencils when the teacher is speaking or so forth. While the little things may be frustrating for me, I don't think God really has an issue with it!
My class has been so cute this week in so many ways. We won "Luis the Owl" for having the tidiest classroom. The kids were SO excited. They have had some trouble with keeping their bags tidy, so I turned Luis to see all their bags and I told the children that Luis was feeling sad. I said that he looked like he was about to fly off. They all panicked and cleaned up the bag area. One little girl asked me how I knew he was about to fly off. I said that I could see it in his eyes! Another said, "He can't really fly, can he?" To which I replied, "Can't he?" I love it...they're so funny.
Another day, at lunch time, two children were arguing over the pronunciation of 'tomato', but had never heard the song "Let's call the whole thing off", so I intervened and showed them the song. They thought it was great!
I also heard the famous line from a Seinfeld episode "These pretzels are making me thirsty".
I'm having a ball and the kids are hilarious.
John is sorting out job options and has a full-time job at his disposal now. It's not quite what he had in mind, but at the moment, it's a job.

Central Park

2006-09-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

The weekend has been really great. We've got through a lot of cleaning and jobs that just have to be done, but have also had time to play. Yesterday we went to Central Park and had bickies with salami and cheese. When we bought the groceries, we used the self-serve cashiers which was pretty cool.
Today we saw a movie in Times Square and are undecided about what we will do for dinner.
Just thought I'd throw in a couple of Central Park pickies. It's just so beautiful and great for people watching. There were some boys with waterbombs playing near us and it was very amusing.

Just a little training

2006-09-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

I realise that my job as a teacher is to teach/train students to do new things. I guess that is why the first day is so hard. They need to be taught how to do everything my way. If it's not explicitly taught, they possibly won't do it. So, today was MUCH better. They generally new what to do. I also knew what needed more focus. I even knew what WOULDN'T work in my favour.
I took the class to Central Park today for the gym lesson and we stayed for a play afterward. We didn't take lunches, so our hands were free. And I gave them two simple rules: 1. Keep up. 2. Stay in line. The walk went much more smoothly and I maintained the structure for the play time - being the first day and all. I had a line for the slide and then four lines for the swings. I like a bit of freedom usually, but it seemed to work much better with the structure today. The school is very structured. Check out our ice-cream party. The kids sat in rows to eat and some of mine gathered in a circle!

We went out for happy hour after work which was really great. It's so nice to catch up with everyone since we hardly see each other during the day.
I'm feeling really positive today (even though I had to pack up my classroom for the weekend). John's job finishes tonight so I'm really looking forward to the weekend.
We've hardly seen each other this week as John has worked past midnight most nights. Last night he was kept back til about 3:30am. It seems like he's really quite keen to get into the film industry as a gaffer. (I'm not real sure what it is yet - but you could always google it!)
Life's good, and I'm in New York City!

First day of kindy

2006-09-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

Want to get down some thoughts about the first day but also conscious that I should be using this time to better prepare for the second day, so hopefully this will be brief.
I got up at 5am this morning to fit in a quiet time and a run before school. 5am is not early enough. I made it there just in time, but didn't have any time in my classroom to prepare for teaching. I had done most preparation yesterday, however I prefer some time to get my head around what I'm doing.
I met up with my class and we had a fairly good morning. School starts at 8:20am and goes through until 3:00pm with no real standard times for eating. Teachers supervise throughout this time. So, as you don't really get a break (except for when someone takes the class for art, music or French) it is vital to have EVERYTHING organised at the beginning of the day. For those of you who know me, this is not my strength. I am used to collecting materials and photocopying throughout the day.
Anyway, the morning was good but filled with the standard cheery kindy teacher voice explaining how wonderful our routines are and just how we do them, and making it sound like an adventure at Disney World! The kids bought it.
Then we threw in a trip to Central Park for lunch. "Wow," you say, "how cool. Lunch in Central Park." But as it turns out, it is even more difficult to walk 15 kindergarten children to Central Park than it is to walk the dog! They wanted to look at the buildings and some had very little concept of a line. As they had to carry their lunch boxes, they struggled a bit. Crossing at the streets is pretty difficult too - the lights change quickly so there is no room for error.
By the time we got there, ate and cleaned up, it was time to go back to school. So the kids didn't even have time to play - poor dears. One little girl tripped over and grazed her cheek when running back from the bin. And one of my boys threw a tanty because he didn't get to hold hands with the partner he wanted (his fingers were coated in chocolate and he hadn't proven to be the most respectful of students throughout the day).
By the time we got back to school I was well and truly ready for rest time. We dumped our lunch boxes, grabbed rugs and lay down. Kids took off their shoes and really got into rest mode. I turned out the lights and tried to put on a fairytale story but the cassette player wasn't working. I think it must have been something to do with the lights being off because it worked again when the lights were on!
The little girl with the grazed cheek came back from the office with an ice-pack but was in quite a bit of pain. Being a Christian school, we prayed for the little girl but before long she was crying (not wailing - Chapman staff) and couldn't be settled. My phone had no signal and I couldn't leave the class to take her up to the office again. I decided to send her up with a responsible boy (still wasn't sure he'd make it up two flights of stairs and find it okay - but he did). We packed up the classroom (another drama in itself with loose shoes, lunch boxes and rugs to be folded) and then finally I took them to art and had a bit of a break.
Kindergarten is always such hard work. I guess I had just forgotten! Having said all that, they really are a great group of kids.
The day improved again at about 6:30pm as I was walking home from the subway. I bought myself something I cannot name or even really describe that was fatty and cheap. I also bought myself a 75c Frosty cone. The streets were hustling with people and there was plenty to see and make me chuckle.
Now, to prepare for tomorrow...

School starts...

2006-09-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

When I took Colby for his run this morning there were kids everywhere, heading off to school. The yellow school buses were out, clothes were clean, hair tidy, new school bags on backs... I love this time of year! It's so exciting with so much anticipation for all that lies ahead.
I met my kids today and their parents, but school doesn't start for me until Thursday. I had orientation where I explained the logistics of the school year to the parents and asked them to provide information about their children. It was scary as always - I don't like talking to adult groups - but I made it through and covered mostly everything.
For all the teachers reading this blog, I'm very exciting about how I will be teaching writing at Geneva. I'll see how it goes and let you know more details if it seems to work well.
The kids I met are bright, mature and quite intellectual. It should make for a year of huge progress. Can't wait.

Up-and-down week

2006-09-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

Last week was an up-and-down week. The weather was mostly wet and a lot colder. I didn't feel very motivated and started to get the grumps a bit! Mid-week John got an unpaid job helping out with a movie shoot which was really great because it got him out an about and gave him something to do. One of his friends from Australia also arrived about the same time, so I picked him up from Penn station and helped him back to our place. His travel mate also came, but arrived by plane. So we went out for dinner a couple of nights and made the most of happy hour another night! John's job has been keeping him busy full days - 8am til 10pm, so I've had to entertain myself and take a bit more responsibility for meal preparation. Yesterday I found a great supermarket with nice fresh food, so I cooked one of John's favourites. I also got strawberries and icecream for dessert! I've been doing a bit of exploring of Manhattan. I've done some general wandering and window shopping - trying to figure out where to get stuff.
The weather cleared up this weekend. Yesterday I went to church in the morning and then went up to Central Park. I walked up the east side, soaking in all the natural beauty. I realise that it is a man-made design, but man still couldn't make the trees, birds and squirrels. While I wandered, I thought it might be cool to get a book about the birds of New York City and being a bird spotter for a year. Something to break away from the hustle and bustle of city streets. It was really enjoyable walking through the park and probably took me about an hour. Then I caught a bus back down 5th Avenue and enjoyed looking at all the shops and buildings. You miss out on a lot when you travel by subway. The underground all looks the same and it's not very pretty!
Today (being Labor Day holiday) I ran with Colby up to Central Park again (I wanted to show him how cool it is!). He struggled a bit toward the end because he was thirsty. Once we got there we found some water and he was like a whole new dog! He was very excited and keen to sniff things and splash in ponds. He rolled around on the grass and lay in the sun. I think it was as revitalising for him as it was for me.
By the time we ran home, we'd been out for about 4 hours. Needless to say, we were both pretty tired. So since then we really only ate and snoozed! I haven't done all the teaching preparation I hoped to do, but I may get some done this evening.
I was really sad to hear about Steve Irwin dying in Australia. While I wasn't a big fan of the "Crocodile Hunter" I was a big fan of Steve Irwin the man and father. I was impressed by his genuine love of animals and the way he loved and related to his family. He seemed like a really caring and passionate person. It's good that he died doing what he loves, but it's a shame it happened now!
Please remember to update me with things like this as we only get the major news items.

Coney Island

2006-09-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Coney Island, which isn't actually an island. It's on the edge of Brooklyn. It has a little bit of beach, some fake palm trees and a stack of rides and carnival stalls. I don't know whether it was really worth the long train ride out there, but it was a bit of fun and it's one of those places we felt we should see. We had a meal of cheesy fries (fries coated in cheese sauce) by the 'beach'. It wasn't an ideal day for the beach! Very cold and windy. We also went on a cool rollercoaster that had very steep drops. It was great! I had planned to have some cotton candy (fairy floss), however forgot until I was on the train home! Oh well, there are plenty of cotton candy opportunities here!

22 Short Films About NYC - John's

2006-08-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone who is following Pen’s blog. As you all probably know this is not really my thing, but a few people have asked that I do an entry so here are my three stories…

The other day I was walking around China Town (which here is more than one street) looking for a hospitality supply place to buy a good kitchen knife. As I was walking I was looking in the shop windows with my usual amazement at this city, when I saw something that I had to take a photo of.

I know the quality is not great, and the reflection is in just the wrong spot, so I’ll explain what it is.

The item was in the window of a regular Chinese shop, and appeared to be for sale. It is a porcelain figurine of two people, both Chinese. One of the people is a Chinese male in some sort of official uniform. He has a smile on his face, his left leg lifted in a kicking motion, and a gun in his hand that he is holding to the other person’s head. The second person is an elderly male, kneeling on one knee in front of the official. He appears to be held down by the official, and has a cane to help him walk.

Here’s where it get’s disturbing, other than the fact that this is displayed in the open and for sale. The elderly male with the gun to his head and about to be kicked up the arse, is looking to the side, like he is looking at you the viewer, waving and …. SMILING!

Yesterday Penny, Colby and I went for a run. We went up to Houston Street, across to the Hudson River, and then back along the base of Manhattan (past the Statue of Liberty) to our apartment. It was a nice run, about 7 miles or so (11 kilometers). When finished we saw some other dogs running in a little park, so we asked the owners if they would mind if Colby joined them. They said it was fine, so we let him off. As we were talking we saw that Colb’s was rolling in something so Pen went to investigate. It turns out that he had found a dead bird, and thought that it made him smell great. So we left and came home to give Colbs a bath. Once he was in the shower we realized that we didn’t have any dog shampoo, but the previous people had left some Pert Plus. So we used the Pert and hoped for the best. Ever since Colby has had the shiniest, silkiest coat ever, and it is quite odd patting a dog and feeling human-like hair.

A couple of days ago I was going uptown to pick up Pen after work and go to the Museum of Modern Art (it’s free on Fridays - fish). There are usually some interesting people on the subway, and I usually just look at the floor, or the lights rushing by outside. This day however I had the crazy train.

When I hopped on all seemed normal, and I was inspecting the floor a few feet in front of me. After a little while I thought I heard someone yell, so I (along with most other people) looked around in case someone was in danger. I could not see anything odd and so focused back on the floor. A short time later there was another yell, and again I could not see anything. This continued for a few stops, and curiosity was getting the better of me, and others, so we were openly looking around waiting for more yelling. When it happened again we saw that it was a very innocent looking Chinese woman. She was about 30, well kept, had good hygiene, and did not look like the average crazy. She then snapped, and started hissing and putting curses on everything and everyone, as well as what looked like casting spells that should make things blow up (with complete soundtrack). It was a little hard to grasp as she didn’t speak a lick of English. Then she stopped just as quickly as she had snapped, and by the next stop she’d resumed being `normal’. Then after the train started again she would start the whole thing over again. The funny thing was that we all knew she was crazy, but the people getting on didn’t, and would stand near her … for a little while anyway.

Beggars here sometimes get on the subway and give a little spiel about how they are not beggars, but something else and just need a little money, if you could possibly find it in your heart to spare any change you may have. While crazy Chinese lady was doing her thing we had one of these beggars get on and do his little spiel. The problem was that he was too crazy to talk properly, and none of what he said made sense. We were glad to see that when he walked up the train with his cup crazy Chinese lady was putting curses and spells all over him. He didn’t make much from our carriage.

At the next stop crazy beggar got off (after doing what I can only assume was abusing me for smirking at him getting cursed) and a new load of people got on.

One of these people I recognized, as I have had him before on my carriage. He is similar to the above beggar, but he is part of a band that does rap (not gangster and not bubble gum) and they are trying to make a start, so they sell their CD’s for $1. He is well dressed, and I suspect that he is telling the truth about trying to make a start. So he stands next to crazy Chinese lady (who is being normal at the moment) and waits for the train to move so you can’t escape his spiel.

Once we start moving he starts his spiel which is well rehearsed and presented well. However this time once he is a line or two into it crazy Chinese lady snaps and starts her whole cursing and spell routine right next to him. Not to be fazed by this ‘not bubble gum rap’ guy just talks louder, and tries not to look at crazy Chinese lady who is standing next to him. Crazy Chinese lady is offended that someone would try to out crazy her, and makes her spells louder. They both continued to get louder in a very funny but weird ‘crazy off’ until the next stop, at which time I had to get off.

So I have a dog that is so spoilt that only Pert Plus will do, a picture of a porcelain executioner, and I’ve survived the crazy train … what a city!

Movies

2006-08-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday signs went up in our street to say that people couldn't park during certain hours because I movie was being filmed. John checked it out all day, but nothing had happened before it was time for us to go to the museum.
When we got home, we found sections of our street blocked off and a film crew setting up. Because it was getting dark, they set up lights on our fire escape. We chatted with the guy out the window to find out what was going on. He told us that they were shooting a movie with the guy from "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" (John Cho) They had people with fake blood and everything! We tried to watch a bit, but we didn't end up seeing much until much later in the night. (John saw when he walked Colby for his 'before bed pee'.) We were surprised to see there is actually a NYPD unit designated as the Movie TV unit! John wondered what they do and when we walked by, saw that they just sit in the car.
We actually went out to the cinema to watch a new movie called "Invincible" all about a guy who played football for the Philadelphia Eagles. We shared a large popcorn with lots of extra butter! It was a great atmosphere in the cinema. People seemed to forget where they were and were actually clapping and cheering the good football plays in the movie. If that's what they're like for their movies, I can't wait to go to a real football game.
On the walk home we decided to have a Philly Cheesesteak (originally from Philadelphia). It was great! And a fun end to the outing. It's shredded steak served with your choice of cheese and onions in a bread roll (a little like a hotdog bun).
Anyway, here are some photos from the movie shooting in our street.

The Moma

2006-08-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Museum of Modern Art. It's a great museum with great art and it's free on Friday's between 4 and 8pm. So, we joined the throngs of tourists waiting half an hour to get in, followed by about the same again to check my bag and later to pick it up again. That said, it was well worth it and we got half price vouchers to go again (which I will need to do as it was far too crowded to really enjoy anything). There are stacks of masterpieces there which I would like to spend some real time looking at and they have audio commentary available which I think would be invaluable. I want to develop a greater appreciation of art, and where better to do that? I took some photos to throw in here but of course, it's much better to see the real thing. I've also included some photos near windows to show the art against the beautifully artistic background of New York City. It's just amazing.

Monet (left)

Picasso (right)

Van Gogh (left)

Matisse (right)

Cezanne (left)

Classroom Update

2006-08-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

My classroom is really starting to look like a classroom and I'm very excited about it. I'm going to get some cushions for my reading corner soon, and they even gave me a CD?cassette player. I'm almost ready to go - just need to work a little more on the curriculum I'll actually teach! Here are a few quick pictures.

Subways

2006-08-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for your encouragement to keep writing. I realise I have been through a bit of a writing slump this week - what with starting work and all - but I now have a whole bunch of things I want to tell you, so here goes...
The subways here are a whole culture of their own. They are the most efficient method of travel in the city with trains serving most of Manhattan non-stop (except when maintennance is required). If you miss your train during most times throughout the day, you need only wait about 6 minutes for the next one. Because they are so efficient, they're very heavily used. And because so many people use them, the people of New York have developed a set of norms for subway behaviour.
People are usually quiet and keep to themselves (not much looking around). People generally listen to music on headphones, read a book, play an electronic game, read the paper or sleep. People tend NOT to smile or joke around. I took some photos under the pretense of listening to my music (my phone is very versatile).
Something else cool about the subway is the 'free' entertainment while you wait for your train. Something uncool is that people often beg for money while your ride - last week a woman was asking for money because her apartment burnt and she needed to feed her three kids etc. You don't really know who or what to believe here.

Starting Work

2006-08-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

I started work this week. I don't really have any photos to show for it yet, but I thought I should mention how it is all going.
There are 7 new teachers at the school this year and most of us have come from somewhere other than New York. Amy is from Florida, Buck is from California, Jennifer is from Louisianna and Cole is from somewhere else that I can't remember.
The headmaster has nicknamed the school "People of the box" as we are living/working out of boxes and everything in our classrooms needs to be wheelable so that we can share the room with other groups in the church.
It's a challenge and an adventure, and I feel slightly better about it all after each day of orientation. So, at this rate, I will be confident enough by the end of next week!
John has been very busy in our apartment keeping it clean and preparing our meals. He's also been applying for jobs, registering the dog...etc.
Each evening, when I get home, we walk the dog to the park and then pick up the groceries we need for dinner. John does the shopping and I wait outside with Colby. Colby is making lots of human friends out the front of the shop and we're getting to know some of the regulars. It's a bit of fun!
We're still enjoying our time, but find ourselves exhausted at the end of each day. I think that's typical of New York living.

New furniture

2006-08-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Left side of bedroom (with new shelves).
Right side of bedroom (with new bed)

On the weekend we scored new furniture for the apartment. John was busy on Craig's List and found a butcher's block and a bed for sale. So we now have extra bench space in the kitchen and a spare bed for when all our friends and family come to stay. We also found a bookshelf left on the curb with someone's rubbish, so we found a new home for it - holding our clothes. At last we're not living out of suitcases! We've also got a few other things we needed like some sharp knives so John can cook properly and happily. We're really starting to feel at home.

Futon (for visitors) posing as a sofa.
New butcher's block.

Picking up Colby / Local Gardens

2006-08-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Many people thought we were crazy for wanting to bring our dog to New York, and let me tell you, picking him up from the airport was quite a trial in itself! We received conflicting messages about where to pick him up from, and then when we got there, his plane was running 1 hour 40 minutes late. When he did arrive, the people at cargo wasted time with paperwork and so forth and wanted $25 in exact cash (which we didn't have, nor could we get in exact change from an ATM). 2 hours after he arrived at cargo, we were finally able to leave, and as we had a taxi waiting the WHOLE time, it was quite costly. But in the end, we were just so glad to have him. He seems to be fitting in pretty well in New York. He enjoys walking around the city, but there are some things he avoids like grates on the road and metal doors that cover store cellars. People are generally afraid of him, which is odd considering the 'tough' face they usually display for everyone else! He is a big dog, but he's not scary!!!

Today I took some photos of the local parks. There is a park here called Tompkins Park where dogs can run off lead and play with other dogs. In other areas of the park there are basketball courts, a pool and a children's playground with a water fountain for children to play under. Buskers play music in the park and people sit on park benches reading the paper, watching people etc.

There are also community gardens that people volunteer in and they just keep them growing and make them fun to look at and be in. They take up the space an apartment block usually would and pop up here and there all over the neighbourhood. You don't really have to walk far to enjoy a garden, but you don't have to maintain it yourself!

Free Concerts

2006-08-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

Both last night and this morning we went to free concerts in Bryant Park. Bryant Park is another brilliant place that is on our local subway route, so very easy to get to. Last night they had an orchestral performance of a variety of popular music including the James Bond themes and songs from Star Wars. We got Thai food from about 10 minutes walk away and sat at one of the tables in the park to eat. We then had ice-cream sitting on the grass in front of the stage. It was a really enjoyable night. I couldn't have asked for more.
I stuffed up my subway entry on the way home. There are two types of turnstile and one of them I usually have trouble with, and then can't use my ticket again for a while. I'm just a big unco! So, we had to walk to 34th Street station instead!
Today we got up early to go and see the Good Morning America Summer Concert with Christina Aguilera. We watched A LOT of rehearsing before the real show and the sound was pretty terrible, plus we had to stand the whole time. It was good to have done, but not nearly as enjoyable and relaxed as last night. It was pretty fake because they were doing it for TV.
We pick up the dog in a few hours and I'm so excited!!!!

Food, Laundry and Playing it 'hard'

2006-08-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

My faith in New York food has been renewed. My memory of the food in New York from our last visit was much better than I have been discovering since we’ve been here…until last night. Before leaving Australia, I looked into local restaurants and tried to find some that would suit us. I found an Indian restaurant in the hopes of finding a restaurant here to substitute Ramas. We tried it on Monday but it just didn’t compare. John thought the Korma and Saag were okay, I didn’t particularly like any of it! However, the DID throw in lots of extras. We didn’t pay for the rice, dips, or papadums, and they throw in paper plates and cutlery, so you don’t even have to wash up. We’ve also tried pizza and lasagna from downstairs, but it was all very greasy. They gave us extra stuff too and are very friendly, but the food just isn’t something we enjoyed.
BUT last night was GREAT! When I got home from unpacking stuff at work, John popped down to Maccas to get some cheese sticks with Marinara sauce….mmmm! Then, we went to a restaurant that serves Maine lobsters on Wednesday for only $14. They come served with corn and your choice of potato. The corn was the best I’ve had since arriving here (I’m a big fan of corn), the baked potatoes were crunchy (just how I like them) and the lobster was scrum-diddly-icious!
We’ve also been experimenting with how to do our laundry. There are some people in our street who charge 80 cents a pound to wash and fold your laundry. We got them to do our last lot, and it came to about $10. There are also Laundromats where you do it all yourself. You can do quite a big load for $2.50, but you have to have the time to sit there and wait for it. So, we’ve decided that we’ll try to do it ourselves, but if we find we’re too busy, we’ll use the ladies up the street.
I was out on my own for the first time yesterday. I had a luncheon at the school, so I went there while John did some shopping, worked on applications and did the laundry. I’m finding it funny to try to balance the ‘I’m hard. Don’t come near me’ attitude with my normal, cheery, friendly self. I thought that you had to appear tough so people don’t cross you, but I find that people are cracking out of that all the time, and really, we’re all just cheery, friendly people! It’s all about this idea of ‘self-preservation’. But I find once I get to know an area I let my guard down a bit. Not too much, just enough to let people see a little of the real me. Gotta keep that alive.
Colby arrives tomorrow. We’ve booked a dog taxi so we can bring him home. Apparently some normal taxis will let you take a dog, but you have to sweet talk them, and we don’t think that will work at the airport during peak hour when there are so many other passengers without dogs. We had thought of hiring a car to pick him up, but we don’t feel confident enough about the roads etc yet. We’ve also started to plan how we can get Colby onto the subway should we need to. Central Park is quite a long way uptown and we’d really like to take him there sometime.
Just a bit of trivia to finish off: here, the word ‘visit’ refers to what you do when you are with someone ie. talk, listen etc. as opposed to Australia where it is the process of going somewhere. For example, yesterday at the luncheon I went to, we were told to visit with the people at our table.

Frustration

2006-08-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was pretty disappointing. We ran in the morning before breakfast which was pretty good except that it was already so hot. We ran through Chinatown and over the Manhattan Bridge. By the time we got back to our apartment we were hot, tired and hungry. We spent a lot of the day uptown wandering around looking for places we needed. We visited a Social Security Office, but they couldn't yet take my application for a Social Security number as they hadn't received my details from Immigration. They said to come back on Friday.
Throughout the day we took a lot of wrong turns, got confused about where to go etc...and by the end of the day I felt we had achieved very little. We went to a hospitality job fair, which we thought would be similar to a career market in Australia - where you see different jobs represented and ask questions about them. However, it was really just a mass interview session. As John is looking for work as a cook, we went in anyway. He (and about 30 other people completed application forms and then waited for someone to call them for an interview. There were about 10 people having interviews at any given point in time.
We decided to buy a printer so that we can print various documents we need in order for John to apply for work and just generally so we can print stuff. We didn't end up getting it yesterday for various reasons.
Last night I also discovered that I'd somehow managed to use up 150 minutes of talk time on my phone. I was very depressed to find that because I had neglected to lock the keypad, the phone had called Yellow Pages (which I had called earlier in the day) and because it was an automated voice recognition computer, I ended up being on the phone with them for over 2 hours. Stupid, annoying mistake! To make matters worse, the earlier phone call with Yellow Pages was unsuccessful because they couldn't recognise me saying "no" to one of the questions with an automated response call. All I wanted was a copy of the New York Yellow Pages! (By the way, if you want our 'cell phone' number, email us and we'll send it on to you.)
Anyway, after a good night's sleep, I decided to use our time more efficiently today, and we got a lot done. We ended up buying our printer, a small ironing board and a pair of walking shoes for me.
On a lighter note, we've found ourselves getting to know our new neighbourhood better and find that people are actually stopping US to ask for directions! Which even more surprisingly, we are able to respond to!
Tomorrow I go to a luncheon at my new school.

This is our apartment building. We are on the third storey at the left as you look at it. The first two windows are ours.

The city that never sleeps

2006-08-14T03:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that we've actually made it here. But it feels so good, and so right. We find ourselves loving it a bit more each day as we settle into our normal lifestyle and discover where to get all those things that make life enjoyable, affordable etc. Some of those things have included the beauty of Central Park, a Kmart store, a GROCERY store, a good Church, places to run, and subway routes.
Our apartment is really cool and we're loving it more than we expected to. It's a great size for what we need and is in an excellent location - close to EVERYTHING! The subway station is about 200m or so away and one subway takes us to most places in the city.
So far, I'd have to say that our street is busy and noisy but safe. People are out and about with friends until about 5ish in the morning, so we hear lots of people noise until then. The good thing is that it is HAPPY people noise - not loud abuse etc. People like to drive up our street with their radios blaring and last night someone thought it was cool to walk around the neighbourhood blowing continuously on a whistle! It's all part of the fun, though. Oh, and the horn honking...It's great. I actually do love it because it's so funny! We see cops around all the time, but again, in a good way. Yesterday some were talking to someone near our apartment, and I thought "Oh great. What's happened!' But they were just smiling and chatting and munching on some food from the takeaway. All good stuff.
During the day, people from our street (residents and shop owners) fill the 'sidewalks'. At first we were threatened by this (possibly because we were lugging all our worldy belonging with us) but we now love it as part of the culture of the street. It's very different to what you'll see at Times Square or Central Park, but very cool.
Now for some pictures of our apartment:

This is in our kitchen - I was amazed by how big it was for a New York kitchen where no one is supposed to cook. The oven is bigger than the one we had in Australia! This is another thing we are happy about - being able to cook our own fresh food!

This is our bathroom - pretty clean and does the job.

This is our living room with our bedroom through the doorway. We haven't got any bedroom photos at the moment because it's a bit of a mess (still unpacking). But the bedroom is a good size as far as I'm concerned - and has an air-conditioner.

This is a night view of our street from the fire-escape. We're not sure yet if you are allowed to sit out on the fire-escape, but it's fun not knowing!!!
More photos coming soon....

In Sydney 10/08/06

2006-08-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

We have now made it as far as Sydney. Earlier today we dropped off a sad Colby in Murrumbateman and loaded him up with bones to get him through the day. The drive was pretty good and we had time to catch up with friends when we arrived in Sydney. The traffic was pretty shocking and it took forever to get from our hotel to the city. I couldn’t figure out where I should find Circular Quay. How am I ever going to cope in New York?! We went out to Kingsley’s Steakhouse for dinner – tasty as always. We’re now trying to stay awake a bit longer so that we sleep well on the plane…or something!
There was a terrorist threat in the UK today – people trying to sneak explosives onto British planes bound for the US. I’m sure we’ll be safe and all, but it may hold us up a little more in customs. Oh joy!

And the cupboard was bare...

2006-08-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

We now have less than a week before we fly out. I think we got sick of sorting, packing etc about a month ago, and we've only just reached the end now. We have one room that contains all our bags (and there's quite a lot) which are just about 30kg each. We decided to take an extra bag and pay the extra rather than send it with Australia post via sea mail - it will get there sooner and is cheaper too.
The other rooms are mostly cleared now. There are just a couple of things we are waiting to have picked up from people and a few measly belongings to get us through the week. We also have a surplus of alcohol to work our way through!!
We'll be staying with my parents on Wednesday night and picking up the car from there. We have so much stuff that we're just hoping we have enough space in the car! I may be travelling to Murrumbateman with a dog on my lap! Very soon now. I'll update again later.

Somewhere to live

2006-07-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'm on holidays at the moment and loving it. But still pretty busy. We have been looking for good places to invest our money, dealing with some issues from the buyer of our house and getting my wisdom teeth pulled - OUCH! But I'm in a great mood today, because my gums feel good, and everything is working again. This week we do our tax, catch up with a couple of friends, and I finish clearing out my stuff from school. It's actually going to be a pretty busy week. And I'm looking forward to Friday night when we have a bit of a hen's night for my sister.
We've also found somewhere to live for at least August and September. It's an apartment in Clinton Street. It's in Manhattan (the island of New York City) and if you look on this map, it's just above the Williamsburg Bridge on The Lower East Side. In fact, the Williamsburg road is just out the front of the apartment block - it may be noisy!! We've been checking it out on Google Earth and looking at all the restaurants, schools etc in the area. As you can tell, we're very excited! There's a cool park nearby that has a dog run, and we've also been thinking about runs we can do with Colbs - maybe over the bridge to Brooklyn, maybe up along the water's edge...
John took Colby out to visit his Mum's place at Murrumbateman on the weekend as that's where he will be staying for two weeks before joining us in New York. He doesn't get how the runner works and looked most miserable standing halfway up in the rain! Hopefully he'll get the hang of it while he's there.
So, all the planning etc is going well still and while we're not actually counting down the days as such, we know that it's now less than a month. We're realising the things we will miss, and trying to make the most of our last chances.
Exciting!

The lull

2006-07-01T02:56:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying the lull at the moment. With the house sold and most of our belongings gone, it's nice to enjoy a moment of rest. It's the last week of term, so my last 5 days with my gorgeous class. I'm really having a nice time with them and just enjoying the special people that they are.
I imagine that it will get hectic again in the last couple of weeks before we go, but at this stage, it's just really nice.
I'll have my wisdom teeth removed during the holidays so will probably be a big grump then. But better to do it now so I don't have to think about it in the US. It's just a shame we can't get it covered with our Medical insurance - we're a few weeks too early!
We're doing the catch-up and goodbyes with everyone over the next couple of weeks. I'm no good at goodbyes so I'm not looking forward to that aspect.
John and I are starting to get nervous about the whole idea of packing up and leaving the country. We still want to do it, without a doubt, but the enormity of it is suddenly hitting home.
Not long now.

And....SOLD!

2006-06-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

John just called to tell me that the house has sold. Our offerer came through with THE offer after all! First weekend on the market....SWEET. God is brilliant!

All to get to New York

2006-06-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

[I just wrote a brilliant blog that I lost when I tried to check the spelling - D'oh. So I don't know if I have it in me to do it again.]

It's the beginning of not really living or belonging anywhere. We live in this strange house now, without our awesome couches and home theatre system. We squish up on a tiny lounge and watch our movies on the laptop. As we eat our dinner like this, we realise that it is preparation for New York. We miss what we had, but don't yet have what we dream of. We're in a place of limbo.

I've had a few good laughs over the past week when I've considered the crazy things we are doing to get to New York. We're at the 'selling the house' stage of the whole adventure and we're trying to live in the house without making a mess. There are certain every day household items that live in the shed while people walk through the house. There are other items that get temporarily prettified. Poor Colby sits out the back tied to a pole! If we use a tea towel, we fold it back up and put it away! Our meals have been take-away so we don't dirty the recently cleaned oven! Our clean and dirty clothes piles are stashed away out of sight. We've had AN offer, but not THE offer. It's early days, so we have time to wait.

Our garage sale last weekend got rained on and we ended up taking most of the stuff to the tip. Because of the rain, the tip was sloshy and muddy, and by the end of it, so were we! My hair was a mass of knots and I looked a right royal mess! Who would choose to do this on a rainy Saturday afternoon! I laughed when I realised how crazy we were. We must really want New York bad!

[Okay. I think this might have ended up better than the first one. Different though.]

Visa Interview

2006-05-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

We had our visa interview at the US Consulate in Sydney on Friday morning. John took Thursday off to arrange the last minute details, find a place to do acceptable passport photos and hire a car. He picked me up at lunchtime to duck down to Woden for the photos. We grabbed a quick Subway lunch while we waited for them to be processed. John then picked me up soon after school finished. We had a few GPS troubles, but were soon on our way to Sydney in a pinky/purple XR6!
On arrival, we had a couple of drinks in the bar in our hotel and watched the Aussies play the Greeks in a friendly soccer match. A jazz singer was also singing in the bar so we got twice the entertainment. We went for a bit of a wander through the city, imagining (as always) what it will be like to live in New York City. It was a nice, relaxing night and we went back to the hotel, beginning to feel a little nervous about how the interview would go.
On Friday morning we woke up and got to work preparing for the interview. We suited up, had breaky and made sure we had all the paper work we needed and none of the electrical gadgets we didn't. We caught a taxi to make sure we would get there in time and we got there with time to spare. John grabbed a glue stick from a convenience store so we could glue down our passport photos and I prayed open-eyed in the lobby.
We took the elevator to the 10th floor of the MLC tower, where we lined up for a security check. They checked our ID and then checked for metal/weapons. We then waited to go up to the 59th floor where they actually do the interviews. At the top, we went through another security check where they took away any cameras or electronic devices of concern. John and I had left it all at the hotel, so it was made a lot easier for us. However, I did still screw up when it came to going through the metal detector - too hard to explain how, but I felt like a dumb blonde!!!
Once inside the Consulate, we took a ticket and found a seat amongst a number of other non-immigrant visa applicants. There was a separate section for immigrant visas and another for US citizens. I imagined the citizens section to have leather lounges and tea and coffee machines, but it didn't. It was all the same. Nice to see.
When our turn came, they asked to see our passports, receipts, applications and my Application for Labor Form. Then we took a seat again and waited. We met some others while we waited and joked around a bit with them. I think we'll miss the Aussie sense of humour. Finally we were called again, this time to a different window. The woman asked to see my credentials and my letter of employment. She asked a couple of questions about the school and then asked John what he planned to do. She checked our marriage certificate and that was it. She said "You will receive that in the post in a few days." And that was it. Done.
I thought we would have to say more, but as John had anticipated, it was more a case of tick-the-box. We had the forms we needed, with all the spaces filled in, so we passed!
We caught up with Matt at Australia Square and then had some lunch in an Asian Foodcourt. Then we drove out to visit Gran in the Nursing Home. We did some shopping at Parramatta Westfield and then by about 4pm were absolutely exhausted so headed back to the hotel. I dozed and John fiddled with the laptop to get a movie to work. We went out to Kingsleys on King Street for dinner and enjoyed our celebratory meal. We shared three entrees and then had a delicious fillet minon each. When we got back to the hotel, John pulled out a Dom Perignon champagne (very expensive and delicious) to further our celebrations while we watched a movie. It was a brilliant day.
So now, we are officially going to New York City. As soon as we have the documents in our hot little hands we will book the flights and the hotel for the first night or two. I've made a long list of things to do before August 12, so now it's just a matter of working through them all. Wow!

Great News At Last!

2006-05-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

God's been great. I've been putting in 110% effort trying to get a job in New York City and praying that God will help. And, it came down to God's efforts, not mine! I have been offered a position at the Geneva School of Manhattan and I am very excited about starting. It is a Christian co-ed school grades pre-K to 8 and has about 100 students. It looks really great! Now, I'm working toward the whole visa process, hoping (and still praying) that it will run smoothly. I am not so concerned any more and am finding it easier to trust God each day. I am amazed by how God works and so very impressed by his timing. I don't think I will actually relax until the day I am standing in front of my class and saying good morning for the first time. But I AM becoming more and more thrilled and it is slowly sinking in.
I watch TV and see New York City SO often. Now I can imagine where I will be working (on Park Avenue, just 2 blocks from Central Park). It's going to be so great. Not necessarily easy, but great and absolutely amazing!

Rollercoasting

2006-02-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

This time a week ago I was on cloud nine having finally received a positive response from a school I approached. It looked like it was going to be ideal and we even had a good phone conversation about it. But, I checked the New York Times today, and the position was advertised. That doesn't mean it's all over, I know, but it means it's not all peaches and cream. So, I guess it's a matter of 'wait and see' again. Up and down and up and down and up and down.

Feelin' Sentimental

2006-02-13T02:08:00.000-08:00

Today we got our first bit of good news in terms of getting to New York. John's boss is recommending that he get leave. John also got a job interview for a security guard job.
I'm not having as much luck and on the weekend I wasn't too motivated to apply for jobs. I applied for some today - changing my cover letter yet again. I also emailed the exchange coordinator at the ACT department of education to see if there is any possibility of doing an exchange to New York. I don't like my chances, but it can't hurt to try yet another avenue!
I went for a run tonight. I didn't want to, but I'm glad I did. It made me realise that I have a lot of special memories attached to running in the dark and to our neighbourhood. I'm going to miss it. And then I realised I'll also miss the people at Chapman - and I've only just started that episode of my life! So, I've decided that I'll always miss something. When I think of the holiday in the US, I miss it and want to go back. When I think of the kids at Macgregor, I miss them. But missing doesn't really hurt me! It's just a reminder of the special experiences in my life. And I need to keep moving forward - living, and making more memories to miss!
I'm not too worried about going to New York and it bothers me when people suggest that I should be. Everything will fall into place at just the right time. God won't be rushed. He leads only one step at a time, shining a light just a little ahead.

Back at it again

2006-01-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

Today has been a flat out application day! It is 3pm and I am still in my pyjamas having left the computer only to have breakfast, get a coffee, and check the mail. I have now applied for a total of 39 positions/schools and am hoping that at some point one of them will come through for me. At the moment I am VERY keen to get a teaching job in a private school - don't like my chances much - or in someone's home as teacher/carer. Other jobs would still be great, but they are the ones I want the most.
Last night we chose dates for leaving Australia: August 26th or 27th (around this time depending on availability of tickets etc.) Having said that, some of the jobs I applied for today may want an earlier start date, so I guess I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it!

A break from planning

2006-01-16T21:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't do any planning for New York today. I had big plans, even had jobs to apply for, but ended up catching up with Steve and Ellen instead. Much better use of time really since I won't be able to do it when we're in New York! Also found out when I can get into my school for this year - Chapman Primary. Things are starting to fall into place. Looking forward to getting back to school as I miss it all - however still love the holidays, the sleep-ins, the running time, and the socialising with family.
The New York dream is definately out there, and starting this blog brings it much closer. The plan is for end of August/ beginning of September, but I'm still dawdling on making the final decision in terms of date. I want to bring the dream closer, but I also want to keep my distance.