My only day off.
Today is often the most glorious day of my week. Usually, it consists of sleeping, eating, perhaps a yoga or spin class, more sleeping, some tv watching, and if I'm particularly motivated, cleaning.
Lately though, I have been feeling the urge to get all my holiday shopping out of the way before I fly home to CA on Dec 18th. Thus, today became a day like all my others; planned down to a ten minute window for error from about 8am to at least 8pm.
Got up this morning at 8am for some yoga (paying $79 a month for a gym membership really inspires me to work out when usually I'd rather sleep). Turns out I really needed that, because I spent the next three hours with the Future Project, corralling some adorable yet nervous teenagers before their first ever presentations to request project funding.
After that, I managed to get way way way uptown (I'm talking Inwoods/Washington Heights, people) for my first ever grown-up people baby shower! Seriously... I have never seen more legit theme work and party planning in my life (Rock ON Met Opera super ladies)! Amazing food spread, everything was the color blue (down to the "it's a boy" Hershey's kisses), the entire registry was purchased ahead of time, and the house was immaculate. **Incidentally, now I want to live up in Inwood**
The ladies who co-hosted it have totally inspired me to be more creative, as have the Met Opera performers - men and women alike - who showcased their superior knitting skills in the form of beautifully made baby clothes and accessories! One of the male supernumeraries made a gorgeous matching sweater, hat, and booties set - and it only took him the down time of three weeks of rehearsal.
EPIC.
EPIC.
Midway through the gift opening portion of the afternoon, I had to peace out for my lady date with Anna near Rockefeller Center. WARNING: Woe be to those who go to visit the Rockefeller Christmas Tree during the holiday season in New York. Never in my life have I experienced such spectacular madness... there were tourists being barricaded and police officers with automatic weapons. Is that REALLY necessary?
Also, I'm pretty sure it took Anna and me 10 minutes just to cross one tiny street... I'd say I usually get across a New York street in 10 seconds. Anyway, after a good amount of rest and relaxation (and hot chocolate) far, far away from the mayhem of the crowds, Anna and I did some fun window shopping on Fifth Avenue and wandered up to Lincoln Center for some holiday gift forays (though I bought myself stuff too... gift shopping fail).
As the last anecdote for today's novelistic entry, I feel compelled to warn all New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers alike... If ever you are in the city on the second weekend of December, hide your children, because the Saturday of the second week of December has become infamous for it's Santa Con bar crawl. Imagine thousands of erstwhile twenty and thirty somethings (and in scary cases, forty and fifty somethings) dressed up like Santa Clauses and trolling the city completely WASTED. Then add some candy cane projectiles and the occasional drunk walking dreidel, and you have some idea of Santa Con. I KNOW that is not apple juice in your water bottle, thank you VERY much.
I can only imagine that the children are very confused, to say the least.
By the time I bid Anna farewell, it was 9pm and I was ready to fall over (but NOT due to any participation in the Santa Con madness). Still managed to drudge my way over to an adorable jewelry shop to pick up some presents for my girls, but CURSES to all the Santa con-ers who got all up in my business with their inebriation! One guy propositioned me with a pick up line involving his reindeer nose. Needless to say, my eyes rolled so hard they almost got stuck that way.
Oh... New York. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways....
