I was there!

Yelp!

Discovered Yelp today.. I'm likin it! Its so much better than scouring the internet for reviews and ideas about what to eat or where. I like that the reviews come from real people not someone working for a company who might withhold a bad review because the place in name is affiliated with their sponsor. Well thats just one reason I like it, its pretty fun to assess the places I've been to recently and write up a review. Anyway, not feeling too chatty today so I'll end there but if you live in NYC be my yelp buddy.. if you don't but you might be visiting some day.. be my yelp buddy :) http://flutterbot.yelp.com

cheers!

me

The R.A.O.K project

I just had an idea, actually two ideas but I'm only going to focus on one right now. I'm going to start a new project called "The Random Acts of Kindness Project" I could have gone with a more creative title but I decided to stick to a more descriptive one.

Anyway I got this idea when I was downstairs just now taking a walk. I'm not sure what sparked this memory but; back when I lived in San Francisco I used to cross the Bay Bridge several times a week. On occasion I randomly gave the Bridge toll taker(?) what the heck are they called hmm. Anyway on occasion I would randomly pay for the car directly behind me. Just because you know. I thought it would be something that would become a chain of some sort. You know like I did it for someone then they would in turn do it and so on and so on.. Also I chose my bridge frugally the Golden Gate would have broken my bank acct you know what I mean?

I suppose that I would have to go looking for what this random act would be unless there are rare occasions when they are just obvious. It can't always have to do with money either since I have none. But I will be creative and come up with these random acts, then carry them out..

I'm thinking it might be a helpful way to improve my overall happiness as well.

The only other thing that worries me is that now that I am in New York my random acts of kindness might not be taken the same way that they are in the bay area you know? I mean I'm not just talking about giving up my seat on the subway to an elderly or pregnant person I already do that. Something more, something that people don't usually do for strangers..

Anyway I think you get my point. I'll post them when I do them.


Pay it forward

Sunset over New Jersey

Yesterday I took the dog for a walk to watch the sun go down. I was on the Manhattan side of the Hudson. As I watched the sun decending from the sky I was wondering why New Jersey gets such a bad rap when clearly the sun prefers to decend into it rather than Manhattan.

The sunset was the type that had huge beams of light shining down here and there. Every once and a while one of the beams would draw a reflective line across the river that was so bright it made my eyes water. While I was looking at those beams I couldn't help but wonder what parts of New Jersey were blessed with the the sun's last rays of the day.

I've decided that watching the sun go down across the Hudson is one of the coolest things I get to experience in my life. And... I'm so very happy that I have the capasity to recognize its beauty

Anyone up for a Swim?

I heard this on Buzz Out Loud the other day so I had to try it and its true! So all you have to do to get from New York, NY to Dublin, Ireland is turn right, then turn right, then hop in the Atlantic and go for a swim... yup, and its only 3,462 miles Hmm... that's quite a swim.


(click image to enlarge)

If I Can Make it There, I Can Make it Anywhere..

I've been a new Yorker for 2.2 years, and I still have some questions...

New Yorkers,

1. Why do you insist on getting your cup of coffee in a paper bag?
2. Why do the bodegas give me a straw no matter what I buy?
3. Wait and why do you call them bodegas?
4. Why do you regularly risk you life by darting out into the street in front of a Yellow cab traveling at least 45 mph?
5. Why does McDonalds deliver?
6. Why do you walk so damn fast?
7. Where the hell are you going in such a hurry?
8. Why does it now piss me off to get stuck behind a "slow walker"?
9. How the hell do you manage to speedwalk through the city and into and out of the subways in 4 inch high heeled shoes?
10. Why aren't there more Trader Joes?
11. Oh! Oh! and why is Two-Buck-Chuck $2.99? Thats not two bucks!
12. What the hell is a fall out shelter?
13. Why is it so hard to find yellow mustard? I hate this deli crap!
14. How do you live without real Mexican food?
15. Why aren't there cross town Subways Uptown?
16. How do you stand the frigged winter weather?
17. How do you stand the sweltering heat in the summer?
18. Why aren't there more cute little espresso cafes?

I like it here but it will never be a dear to me as my beloved San Francisco.

My Friend Killagrrrl (Donna)

Unfortunately I have something sad to talk about. My Friend Donna, whom I know best as Killagrrl had a brain aneurysm on New Years Day while visiting friends in San Francisco. She is currently in SF General hospital...Still in a coma. As of yet we do not know the extent of damage to Killas brain. What we do know is that Killa has a rare disease called Moyamoya, which caused the aneurysm, she's had it for some time now but didn't know. On New Years Eve and into the next day Killa was dancing and having a great time until she started complaining of having a headache and her friends noticed that she was no longer dancing, which is out of character for Killa. So her friends luckily had the sense to drive her to the emergency room. She got there just in time. Had they not left when they did Killa probably wouldn't have made it. Killa, as I said is currently in a coma, and not projected to wake up for at least a few more weaks.

Killa's family live here in New York and don't really have the money to stay with her as much as they'd like to. So the good people of the Burningman community, through which I met Killa, have come together and created a website. We're trying to come up with some ways to raise money to help get her family back by her side. Please take a look, you can read about Killa, read more about Moyamoya see some pictures of her making life a party. Killa is a really special person and if you have met her you know, it goes without saying. Anyway take a look.

I will keep the link in the side bar so that it doesn't get buried in the blog.

OMFG!

"TWO MEN STRUCK BY SUBWAY TRAIN"

So turns out that not two stops away from my stop on 1 train waaaaay up yonder in Harlem, two men were struck by a train. At first your like "Dear Lord thats awful!" and... well its not as bad as it sounds I mean, well its bad just not that bad. Turns out that a young man 18 years of age had a seizure and fell onto the tracks, so another man hopped down to try to save him, but didn't have enough time to get him off the tracks, so he laid on top of the seizure victim to protect him while the train sped over the two. Miraculously they lived!

Who says New Yorkers are mean natured?

So the man(hero) who jumped onto the tracks to save the kid is a Vietnam vet and said "I think I did the right thing," then he said. "And it ain't about being a hero, it's just being able to be here and help the next person.". This is an amazing New York story. The kind I like. The kind I want to hear more of.. so go out there and put your ass on the line to save someones life! Go on.. Go! (and not just you New Yorkers, and not just you Vietnam vets)

Oh and make sure someone sees you do it so they can tell me about it.

In The Last Hours of 2006

Lets see... a few final thoughts on things that still are and things that came to be for me in 2006.

1. Nazbatags are cute
2. so are puppies and kittens, and babies....
3. 30 is the new 20. (and I'm very happy about that)
4. Its still not cool to be a trekkie (no I'm not)
5. New york did not suck as much this year as I thought it did last year
6. I still love cheese
7. and beer
8. surveys say I spent more money shopping on line in 2006 than any other year
9. Podcasts have made my commute more enjoyable
10. Macs are better than PC's
11. iPods are now semi-affordable
12. Blogging and podcasts are on the rise (big suprise)
13. Google rules
14. Kevin Rose is hot (see posts "casts and other geeky goodness" & "its getting hot in here"
15. Kraft still is the cheesiest
16. Trader Joes wine shop is awesome
17. I still miss San Francisco
18. War still sucks
19. So does our President
and finally.....
20. I am still alive, and healthy. (Yay!)

Happy New Year!

xo,
< /KO >