Once again my apologies, dear reader, for lack of updates. As I may have said before, days are split into 2 types – the first is that they are so busy that there is no time to update the blog and the other type is so little to do I usually fall asleep and don’t get to update the blog.
Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess) the former outweigh the latter significantly.
I hope everyone had a good Easter, or Passover or whatever you do at this time of year. Personally I eat chocolate eggs, and have not been disappointed.
A few items of interest, we have joined the hordes of people in New York who have a storage unit. We are the proud renters of a 10’x10’x10’ space in another part of Brooklyn where we are gradually moving stuff we don’t plan on using for the foreseeable future. Amazingly the boxes in the apartment remind me of couscous, you can move as many as you like but the same number remain. (You eat couscous not move it but I hope you get the similarity).
Did I tell you all about the Bacon Takedown which almost turned into the Williamsburg Bacon Riot of 2009. The event started at 5:00pm, we arrived at 4:58pm the line was very long, at 5:05 the organizer came out to let everyone know that it was sold out. The line was not happy and we thought there was going to be a rasher of trouble (sorry couldn’t resist) but the crowd was smoking !! Anyway good humor won out and the crowd dispersed peacefully. We went home and while craving bacon had to make do with pork chops.
Another wonderful trip was to the Chip Shop, where else can you buy cod and chips that taste good enough to be English (apart from the fact they have to use Soy Oil to fry – where is the beef dripping that makes it taste sooo much better) with a side order of mushy peas and follow it up with a deep fried Twix Bar. We even picked up a couple of genuine British Easter eggs (Smarties and Milky Way).
We have had a busy Easter/Passover – and by we I mean the neighborhood. On April 8th, our Hasidic neighbors celebrated the Blessing of the Sun , the photo was taken just down the road, and it was on the first day of Passover for only the second time ever. Then on Good Friday I heard a loudspeaker outside the window and I expected it to be something normal , such as an armed standoff (just kidding of course) but it was a fully fledged Passion Procession, complete with large wooden cross, roman soldiers and marching band. It all happens here.
Back to food, and we found ourselves featured in Bon Appétit (the gourmet cooking magazine) . We had not known about the barbeque place (Fette Sau) which is interesting as I can literally see it from my office window.
Other miscellaneous events Peg and Claire visited Macy’s in Harald Square (the biggest store in the world – a full city block) and it apparently has two floors of shoes. Fortunately I was simply the driver and was allowed to drop them off and pick them up a couple of hours later.
We have purchased a few pieces from IKEA and I think the kitchen is pretty close to complete. The men were in today to start work on the punch list, so we have a couple of days of additional people in the apartment.
This Easter weekend we drove to the inlaws which is a journey or 75 miles (and about 1.5 hours) as opposed to 310 miles from Boston, much better.
Today we tried to get a NY state drivers license for Peg, but having stood in line for close to an hour we were told that we needed to have a social security card (we had all of the rest of the stuff including a Social Security statement) and we would have to go to another government office to get that. So we went home to make sure that we had all the stuff necessary , we were looking for birth certificates etc and just to make sure we looked it up on the internet and much to our surprise, all you need to get a replacement card is, wait for it,…… a drivers license. You gotta love it.
More soon !!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Better Late Than Never!!
Well, let me start out this entry with an apology. I have had many complaints about the tardiness of entries (well 2 actually but I can hear the blogosphere mumbling in discontent). This will not happen again (I hope). There is nothing wrong, we haven’t been eaten by those tarantulas that inhabit the sewer system or the wolves that roam the plains of Long Island. Although we have had an infestation of a different and complete unexpected nature – but you will have to read on to learn more about that.
So where was I when was so rudely interrupted….
Friday night, March 13th. Claire came with us to dinner at Fiori’s which was very good indeed. We arrived and the restaurant was fairly empty and we were seated in the back corner of the room. We ordered and the food came although my order was wrong (that will teach me to order off the menu – but I don’t much care for pasta that isn’t long and thin). By the middle of the main course the restaurant was packed, and we were worried that we might need a crane to get us out of there without disturbing the other diners.
When we had finished we had to squeeze out of our seats we had to squeeze past the family next to us and I apologized before the maneuver as I was worried that it might end badly. The father who was as chubby as I, laughed and told me that it was alright and said I didn’t need to worry because chubby people needed to watch out for each other.
I like it here!!
Saturday dawned and it was time for our weekly visit to the Statue of Liberty, well, to the grocery store that looks out over Lady Liberty, but I was the victim of the shopping Bait and Switch. Little did I know that IKEA was about a block away from the store and we just had to go look for some stuff. An hour later I remembered why IKEA is not my cup of tea. Although if you have to go, getting there 5 minutes after it opens in the morning reduces the pain somewhat.
So onto the grocery store and it must have been Firefighter’s Day there as there were about 20 firefighters, all dressed in firefighting gear, wandering around the store. Gone are the days when all they cooked and ate was Chilli, these guys obviously wile away the hours by creating gourmet culinary delights.
Back to the apartment and Williamsburg was very proud to host this year’s NYC Beard and Moustache competition. We strolled up to the main street and sat in the Verb Café looking for contestants but it was not to be, not a one. A great disappointment!!
Sunday Claire came over for the weekly box based search and rescue event. It is getting there, slowly but surely. Dinner was at the Italian restaurant around the corner La Nonna.
And then we were ready for a new week.
The week went by without much of interest happening, except Peg had to find a place to have her hair done (I do too but men have a different relationship with their hairdresser) She decided to go to the place that Claire goes, the Beehive. She went there with some trepidation – unsure whether it catered to our demographic, and I went with her for moral support (well my moral support only went so far as it was St Patricks day and there was a bar open and calling my name right next door. Imagine my delight when I entered and discovered that it had beers from around the world – should I have a Boddingtons or a London Pride?? Pride won !!.) Anyway I was halfway though my nectar when she appeared happy with her selection – the Beehive has passed its interview and the appointment was set for next Tuesday at 4:30pm. Pretty darn exciting, huh.
Friday arrived and we decided to visit Claire at her office – her boss was away and so it seemed like a good time. We caught the subway and within 15 minutes were in the middle of the Union Square farmers market. Delicious!! Apples, cows, turkeys, bread, vegetables, pretzels, bacon - it was all there (although we only bought some cheese).
We then had a tour of Claire’s place of work, The Rockwell Group, we put many faces to names and were welcomed as parents of a popular colleague should be.
Out of there and into Whole Foods, where I was reunited with my store roasted turkey breast. The local establishments in Williamsburg all seem to sell Boars Head which is just not as good.
The weekend arrived and we decided to change it up and try the Super Stop and Shop in Long Island City (about 5 miles in the other direction from Redhook). The bad news is that I didn’t get to see the Statue of Liberty – the good news was that the rooftop parking garage had a great view of Mid town Manhattan and the Empire State Building.
The Home Depot store (DIY) was right next door and we were able to pick up some stuff there too. We went looking for self storage units and I think we have found somewhere to store our excess stuff.
Coffee on Saturday was at the very disappointing Blackbird Parlour . True to the reviews, the service left a little be desired, my croissant was burned and it just was not as good as the Verb Café, still the winner in the coffee stakes.
This brings us to the annoying infestation of TOURISTS. They were everywhere with their cameras and tour groups. Many Brits and other Europeans. My theory is that they thought they were going to Williamsburg, VA and just went to the wrong place ;-).
For my entry in the best quote of the year contest Peg said “I am too old to be a tourist attraction” – I think I may have t-shirts printed.
Sunday rolled around again and Claire came round and helped with unpacking – I don’t know what I would have done without her. I think another week and a couple of trips to the storage unit and we will be good to go.
Dinner was at the surf bar. The chowder ( I had Corn and Crab and Claire had Clam) was exceptional – we then had fish and chips, fish tacos and a lobster roll. The girls were enthusiastic, my fish and chips were average. Dessert was a deconstructed Tiramisu (only in NY) which amounted to a cup of Mascarpone, a cup of espresso and some sponge fingers. Very tasty but a little pretentiously named if you ask me.
Anyway that is the story for the last 10 days, sorry if it was a little long and I PROMISE to keep it updated more frequently. Sorry readers.
So where was I when was so rudely interrupted….
Friday night, March 13th. Claire came with us to dinner at Fiori’s which was very good indeed. We arrived and the restaurant was fairly empty and we were seated in the back corner of the room. We ordered and the food came although my order was wrong (that will teach me to order off the menu – but I don’t much care for pasta that isn’t long and thin). By the middle of the main course the restaurant was packed, and we were worried that we might need a crane to get us out of there without disturbing the other diners.
When we had finished we had to squeeze out of our seats we had to squeeze past the family next to us and I apologized before the maneuver as I was worried that it might end badly. The father who was as chubby as I, laughed and told me that it was alright and said I didn’t need to worry because chubby people needed to watch out for each other.
I like it here!!
Saturday dawned and it was time for our weekly visit to the Statue of Liberty, well, to the grocery store that looks out over Lady Liberty, but I was the victim of the shopping Bait and Switch. Little did I know that IKEA was about a block away from the store and we just had to go look for some stuff. An hour later I remembered why IKEA is not my cup of tea. Although if you have to go, getting there 5 minutes after it opens in the morning reduces the pain somewhat.
So onto the grocery store and it must have been Firefighter’s Day there as there were about 20 firefighters, all dressed in firefighting gear, wandering around the store. Gone are the days when all they cooked and ate was Chilli, these guys obviously wile away the hours by creating gourmet culinary delights.
Back to the apartment and Williamsburg was very proud to host this year’s NYC Beard and Moustache competition. We strolled up to the main street and sat in the Verb Café looking for contestants but it was not to be, not a one. A great disappointment!!
Sunday Claire came over for the weekly box based search and rescue event. It is getting there, slowly but surely. Dinner was at the Italian restaurant around the corner La Nonna.
And then we were ready for a new week.
The week went by without much of interest happening, except Peg had to find a place to have her hair done (I do too but men have a different relationship with their hairdresser) She decided to go to the place that Claire goes, the Beehive. She went there with some trepidation – unsure whether it catered to our demographic, and I went with her for moral support (well my moral support only went so far as it was St Patricks day and there was a bar open and calling my name right next door. Imagine my delight when I entered and discovered that it had beers from around the world – should I have a Boddingtons or a London Pride?? Pride won !!.) Anyway I was halfway though my nectar when she appeared happy with her selection – the Beehive has passed its interview and the appointment was set for next Tuesday at 4:30pm. Pretty darn exciting, huh.
Friday arrived and we decided to visit Claire at her office – her boss was away and so it seemed like a good time. We caught the subway and within 15 minutes were in the middle of the Union Square farmers market. Delicious!! Apples, cows, turkeys, bread, vegetables, pretzels, bacon - it was all there (although we only bought some cheese).
We then had a tour of Claire’s place of work, The Rockwell Group, we put many faces to names and were welcomed as parents of a popular colleague should be.
Out of there and into Whole Foods, where I was reunited with my store roasted turkey breast. The local establishments in Williamsburg all seem to sell Boars Head which is just not as good.
The weekend arrived and we decided to change it up and try the Super Stop and Shop in Long Island City (about 5 miles in the other direction from Redhook). The bad news is that I didn’t get to see the Statue of Liberty – the good news was that the rooftop parking garage had a great view of Mid town Manhattan and the Empire State Building.
The Home Depot store (DIY) was right next door and we were able to pick up some stuff there too. We went looking for self storage units and I think we have found somewhere to store our excess stuff.
Coffee on Saturday was at the very disappointing Blackbird Parlour . True to the reviews, the service left a little be desired, my croissant was burned and it just was not as good as the Verb Café, still the winner in the coffee stakes.
This brings us to the annoying infestation of TOURISTS. They were everywhere with their cameras and tour groups. Many Brits and other Europeans. My theory is that they thought they were going to Williamsburg, VA and just went to the wrong place ;-).
For my entry in the best quote of the year contest Peg said “I am too old to be a tourist attraction” – I think I may have t-shirts printed.
Sunday rolled around again and Claire came round and helped with unpacking – I don’t know what I would have done without her. I think another week and a couple of trips to the storage unit and we will be good to go.
Dinner was at the surf bar. The chowder ( I had Corn and Crab and Claire had Clam) was exceptional – we then had fish and chips, fish tacos and a lobster roll. The girls were enthusiastic, my fish and chips were average. Dessert was a deconstructed Tiramisu (only in NY) which amounted to a cup of Mascarpone, a cup of espresso and some sponge fingers. Very tasty but a little pretentiously named if you ask me.
Anyway that is the story for the last 10 days, sorry if it was a little long and I PROMISE to keep it updated more frequently. Sorry readers.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Week 2 - The fun continues
Here we go on week 2 of indoor camping. We are much more in tune with the schedule of the work day now.
Wake up at 7:45, go downstairs to get the paper, 8:15 Rico and his helper arrive and start work. 9:00 Peg and I get started with phone calls and general stuff, 10:30 Dave’s nap #1, 12:30 lunch, 2:30 Dave’s nap #2, 4:00 walk to somewhere to either get some supplies or just for exercise – yes I said exercise – 7:00 dinner, 11:00 sleep.
This week I did go to Joe’s Busy Corner to buy some lunch meat - 3 short blocks away – really good Italian deli stuff. We also walked to a market (Khim’s Millennium Market). While this was pretty unmemorable, we did walk by a public indoor swimming pool which has been a “Williamsburg Institution since 1922” This neighborhood is amazing there is something new around every corner, I hope the discoveries continue – I feel like a kid in awe of his surroundings.
On Wednesday evening we went out for dinner and decided on French cuisine. We went to Fada, again this is about 3 short blocks away on our street. It looks like a Parisian Bistro on the outside and serves food that certainly lives up to expectations on the inside. I had roasted fennel soup, boeuf tartare and biere brune (which turned out to be Brooklyn lager – my favorite and just think of all those beer miles I’m saving). It was a little more expensive than the usual fare, but definitely high on the list of places to go back to.
At this point I would like to announce that Verb Café has beaten out Oslo for the coffee shop of choice although we just noticed the Blackbird Parlour across the street. Well I knew it was there, just not that It was a coffee shop. Round 2 begins. March Madness has nothing on this !!
So on Friday the workmen (Rico & Amigo) said that they would be finished tomorrow – and this time I believed them. On Saturday they came in and finished off all the big stuff, cleaned up a lot and moved all of their stuff out.
So we are now down to the punch list which has just started.
Wake up at 7:45, go downstairs to get the paper, 8:15 Rico and his helper arrive and start work. 9:00 Peg and I get started with phone calls and general stuff, 10:30 Dave’s nap #1, 12:30 lunch, 2:30 Dave’s nap #2, 4:00 walk to somewhere to either get some supplies or just for exercise – yes I said exercise – 7:00 dinner, 11:00 sleep.
This week I did go to Joe’s Busy Corner to buy some lunch meat - 3 short blocks away – really good Italian deli stuff. We also walked to a market (Khim’s Millennium Market). While this was pretty unmemorable, we did walk by a public indoor swimming pool which has been a “Williamsburg Institution since 1922” This neighborhood is amazing there is something new around every corner, I hope the discoveries continue – I feel like a kid in awe of his surroundings.
On Wednesday evening we went out for dinner and decided on French cuisine. We went to Fada, again this is about 3 short blocks away on our street. It looks like a Parisian Bistro on the outside and serves food that certainly lives up to expectations on the inside. I had roasted fennel soup, boeuf tartare and biere brune (which turned out to be Brooklyn lager – my favorite and just think of all those beer miles I’m saving). It was a little more expensive than the usual fare, but definitely high on the list of places to go back to.
At this point I would like to announce that Verb Café has beaten out Oslo for the coffee shop of choice although we just noticed the Blackbird Parlour across the street. Well I knew it was there, just not that It was a coffee shop. Round 2 begins. March Madness has nothing on this !!
So on Friday the workmen (Rico & Amigo) said that they would be finished tomorrow – and this time I believed them. On Saturday they came in and finished off all the big stuff, cleaned up a lot and moved all of their stuff out.
So we are now down to the punch list which has just started.
Monday, March 9, 2009
March 7&8 - The First Weekend of Spring
Well not really Spring but it was the first warm weekend of the year (over 60⁰F) and you could tell. Bedford Ave went from being a busy street with places to eat and drink to a really, really busy street with lots of places to eat and drink. People discarded their heavy coats and flooded the streets, the outdoor seating appeared and flowers miraculously appeared everywhere (well I made that last part up but you get the idea).
In my never ending quest for reader satisfaction I have decided to try out hyperlinks. So with any luck and the blessing of the gods of the World Wide Web you can savor the delights of the individual establishments a little more closely. I have tried to use the actual website of the establishment in question but sometimes I have just linked some reviews if I thought it would be more interesting (after all it is my blog).
On Saturday Claire went to the Beehive to get her haircut (and whatever else happens at those salons) and suggested that her mother could go there but she shouldn’t be too scared by the tattoos.
We went to the store (you know one where you can see the Statue of Liberty from the parking lot) and bought a bunch of stuff. I am starting to see some differences between NY and Massachusetts. In Mass no alcohol is sold on Sundays (unless it is near Christmas or within 6 miles of the NH border), whereas the sign in NY said no alcohol is served on Sunday before 8:00am.
The worker guys were working on Saturday so we decided to walk up to one of our two local coffee houses, Oslo and Verb, we went to Oslo today. I think that Verb will win the battle of the coffee shops, but I will take you to both when you visit.
Evening brought dinner at Samurai, unsurprisingly a Japanese restaurant. Once again there is a choice of establishments here and so far I am favoring Mizu.
Sunday arrived quickly and it was the day that Claire decided to put the new washer and dryer through its paces. She had a lot of stuff so to fortify ourselves we went off to Egg, our favorite neighborhood brunch place so far.
We were going to start unpacking today but there is still a lot of work to do that will generate a lot of dust, mainly cutting sheetrock, so we have postponed the great unpack – probably to next weekend. So it was a relaxing day doing not much.
We can’t find the box with the pots and pans so home cooking is hard. Tonight’s gastronomic delight was takeout pizza from La Nonna
After that Claire walked home (just as well as I would have lost my parking spot) and we prepared for another week of fun and adventure.
In my never ending quest for reader satisfaction I have decided to try out hyperlinks. So with any luck and the blessing of the gods of the World Wide Web you can savor the delights of the individual establishments a little more closely. I have tried to use the actual website of the establishment in question but sometimes I have just linked some reviews if I thought it would be more interesting (after all it is my blog).
On Saturday Claire went to the Beehive to get her haircut (and whatever else happens at those salons) and suggested that her mother could go there but she shouldn’t be too scared by the tattoos.
We went to the store (you know one where you can see the Statue of Liberty from the parking lot) and bought a bunch of stuff. I am starting to see some differences between NY and Massachusetts. In Mass no alcohol is sold on Sundays (unless it is near Christmas or within 6 miles of the NH border), whereas the sign in NY said no alcohol is served on Sunday before 8:00am.
The worker guys were working on Saturday so we decided to walk up to one of our two local coffee houses, Oslo and Verb, we went to Oslo today. I think that Verb will win the battle of the coffee shops, but I will take you to both when you visit.
Evening brought dinner at Samurai, unsurprisingly a Japanese restaurant. Once again there is a choice of establishments here and so far I am favoring Mizu.
Sunday arrived quickly and it was the day that Claire decided to put the new washer and dryer through its paces. She had a lot of stuff so to fortify ourselves we went off to Egg, our favorite neighborhood brunch place so far.
We were going to start unpacking today but there is still a lot of work to do that will generate a lot of dust, mainly cutting sheetrock, so we have postponed the great unpack – probably to next weekend. So it was a relaxing day doing not much.
We can’t find the box with the pots and pans so home cooking is hard. Tonight’s gastronomic delight was takeout pizza from La Nonna
After that Claire walked home (just as well as I would have lost my parking spot) and we prepared for another week of fun and adventure.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Monday-Friday - what do you mean they are different days?
These days tended to blend into one blurry sleep punctuated whole. There were a few things worth noting.
The best way to describe the construction effort is that it is moving along at its own pace, with the foreman saying we'll have done today (I think he has said that everyday) and at the end of the day it is about 10% further on. Don't make the mistake of thinking that means it will take 10 days - nay, nay - it is 10% of what is left - so if you start with 100% the first day it is 10% of the whole, the second day it is 9%, the second day it is 10% of 81% (8.1%). So those of you who are thinking clearly will realize that this is one of those series that never actually gets to 100% and that is how it feels at the moment.
At the end of the week, Friday, there are several doors that need to be started, several that need to be finished and a few that are finished. The kitchen is close to being done but there are a couple of errors that may involved undoing it a bunch then redoing it. The bathroom is close to being done but they forgot to install the sensor for the heated floor in the floor so they will have to run a wire from the switch to the floor which means cutting into the drywall and then refinishing it. We are now down to the last 20% which as everyone knows takes a lot longer than 20% of the time. But we are soldiering on.
There were a couple of incidents that stood out in the week :
1) We ventured into the NYC culture of food delivery - with forays into the local Chinese and Mexican restaurants. I think both went well and seemed to go without any major protocol issues and the food was very good.
2) To be filed under the more colorful side of city life. There is one local character who seems to spend quite a bit of time walking down the street shouting to all who will listen about the ills of the country - such as the fiscal crisis, Guantanamo Bay, etc etc. The content is not that crazy but the delivery is. There is another down and out who spends a lot of time sitting on the seats outside the local stores. This second guy has an imaginary friend who he talks to quite a bit. We were walking down the street when the 2 guys passed close to each other. I found it extremely funny when i heard the guy telling his imaginary friend how crazy the shouty guy was !!!
3) Felled by the staff at Best Buy. I needed a router to make the home network work and I went to the local Best Buy (5 miles but it seemed a long way, how quickly our standards change) to get it. When I got there they didn't have what I wanted so I asked them if they could suggest anything and I then did something I promised myself I would never do and that was be persuaded by the Best Buy staff that I was wrong and they were right. They sold me a switch and of course when I sat down at home it was the wrong thing.
4) But that did lead to another adventure - my first trip into Manhattan on the Subway. How hard can it be - Claire and thousands of other people do it everyday. Well surprisingly the answer was extremely easy. I was in the Staples in Union Square less than 15 minutes after leaving my front door. I met Claire, went with her on an errand for her work, had a cup of coffee, took some money out of the ATM, bought my router (the right one this time) and caught the train back and I arrived home about 90 minutes after I left. I even had some time to admire the man playing the didgeridoo on the Union Square Station.
So as of Friday the home network (wired and wireless) is working, one of the 2 phone lines is working (just need to connect 2 wires for the other one). Both bathrooms are functional, the kitchen works, there are doors everywhere important.
I think one more week should do it.
The best way to describe the construction effort is that it is moving along at its own pace, with the foreman saying we'll have done today (I think he has said that everyday) and at the end of the day it is about 10% further on. Don't make the mistake of thinking that means it will take 10 days - nay, nay - it is 10% of what is left - so if you start with 100% the first day it is 10% of the whole, the second day it is 9%, the second day it is 10% of 81% (8.1%). So those of you who are thinking clearly will realize that this is one of those series that never actually gets to 100% and that is how it feels at the moment.
At the end of the week, Friday, there are several doors that need to be started, several that need to be finished and a few that are finished. The kitchen is close to being done but there are a couple of errors that may involved undoing it a bunch then redoing it. The bathroom is close to being done but they forgot to install the sensor for the heated floor in the floor so they will have to run a wire from the switch to the floor which means cutting into the drywall and then refinishing it. We are now down to the last 20% which as everyone knows takes a lot longer than 20% of the time. But we are soldiering on.
There were a couple of incidents that stood out in the week :
1) We ventured into the NYC culture of food delivery - with forays into the local Chinese and Mexican restaurants. I think both went well and seemed to go without any major protocol issues and the food was very good.
2) To be filed under the more colorful side of city life. There is one local character who seems to spend quite a bit of time walking down the street shouting to all who will listen about the ills of the country - such as the fiscal crisis, Guantanamo Bay, etc etc. The content is not that crazy but the delivery is. There is another down and out who spends a lot of time sitting on the seats outside the local stores. This second guy has an imaginary friend who he talks to quite a bit. We were walking down the street when the 2 guys passed close to each other. I found it extremely funny when i heard the guy telling his imaginary friend how crazy the shouty guy was !!!
3) Felled by the staff at Best Buy. I needed a router to make the home network work and I went to the local Best Buy (5 miles but it seemed a long way, how quickly our standards change) to get it. When I got there they didn't have what I wanted so I asked them if they could suggest anything and I then did something I promised myself I would never do and that was be persuaded by the Best Buy staff that I was wrong and they were right. They sold me a switch and of course when I sat down at home it was the wrong thing.
4) But that did lead to another adventure - my first trip into Manhattan on the Subway. How hard can it be - Claire and thousands of other people do it everyday. Well surprisingly the answer was extremely easy. I was in the Staples in Union Square less than 15 minutes after leaving my front door. I met Claire, went with her on an errand for her work, had a cup of coffee, took some money out of the ATM, bought my router (the right one this time) and caught the train back and I arrived home about 90 minutes after I left. I even had some time to admire the man playing the didgeridoo on the Union Square Station.
So as of Friday the home network (wired and wireless) is working, one of the 2 phone lines is working (just need to connect 2 wires for the other one). Both bathrooms are functional, the kitchen works, there are doors everywhere important.
I think one more week should do it.
Thursday - Dinner with the Realtor
This was worth a separate entry.
When we arrived in Brooklyn our realtor (Evan) was in Mexico on a bachelor party trip. He left us in the hands of an associate (Kate), who and I am being very charitable here, was fairly indifferent to our plight. I was going to mention this lack of interest to Evan but I forgot about it over the next few days.
Anyway Evan finally came round to see us on Wednesday, he was apparently stuck in Cancun because of the snow. He was interested in our plight as opposed to being involved (cf the chicken is interested in breakfast, the pig is involved). Anyway he invited us out to dinner the next night at Peter Luger's (this steakhouse is a New York institution) so we accepted gladly and looked forward to it, even though Evan can be a little hard work at times. It was set up for 6:45 and he would pick us up at 6:30.
So the next evening arrived and at 6:45 we were wondering where he was. The phone rang at 6:50 and Evan and his girl friend were outside. We went down to meet him and he said we have reservations at Lugers and at a Brazilian restaurant, called Riodizio, in Tribeca. Amazingly we had been there quite recently with my sister and her family. So it was off to Peter Lugers we went.
We got into his car and were introduced to his girlfriend, Kate (see first paragraph). I was extremely grateful that heated words had not been spoken to or about her. When she met me she said something like "oh hi, the last time we met you were a little tense". I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and smiled demurely and moved on with the evening.
Anyway, the evening was a very pleasant one and once Evan relaxed he was very good company and Kate could not have been nicer. So the menu was fairly selective - we shared a shrimp, tomato and bacon salad to start, then had a lamb chop appetizer and dived right into the steak, all the while being plied with ample red wine (even Peg had 2 glasses).
Desert was Pecan pie and a chocolate sundae which was shared. With coffee all round. I guess the final tally was about $600 for the 4 of us.
It was a good steak - but was it a truly great one befitting a New York Institution? I think not, but that could have just been me.
When we arrived in Brooklyn our realtor (Evan) was in Mexico on a bachelor party trip. He left us in the hands of an associate (Kate), who and I am being very charitable here, was fairly indifferent to our plight. I was going to mention this lack of interest to Evan but I forgot about it over the next few days.
Anyway Evan finally came round to see us on Wednesday, he was apparently stuck in Cancun because of the snow. He was interested in our plight as opposed to being involved (cf the chicken is interested in breakfast, the pig is involved). Anyway he invited us out to dinner the next night at Peter Luger's (this steakhouse is a New York institution) so we accepted gladly and looked forward to it, even though Evan can be a little hard work at times. It was set up for 6:45 and he would pick us up at 6:30.
So the next evening arrived and at 6:45 we were wondering where he was. The phone rang at 6:50 and Evan and his girl friend were outside. We went down to meet him and he said we have reservations at Lugers and at a Brazilian restaurant, called Riodizio, in Tribeca. Amazingly we had been there quite recently with my sister and her family. So it was off to Peter Lugers we went.
We got into his car and were introduced to his girlfriend, Kate (see first paragraph). I was extremely grateful that heated words had not been spoken to or about her. When she met me she said something like "oh hi, the last time we met you were a little tense". I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and smiled demurely and moved on with the evening.
Anyway, the evening was a very pleasant one and once Evan relaxed he was very good company and Kate could not have been nicer. So the menu was fairly selective - we shared a shrimp, tomato and bacon salad to start, then had a lamb chop appetizer and dived right into the steak, all the while being plied with ample red wine (even Peg had 2 glasses).
Desert was Pecan pie and a chocolate sundae which was shared. With coffee all round. I guess the final tally was about $600 for the 4 of us.
It was a good steak - but was it a truly great one befitting a New York Institution? I think not, but that could have just been me.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday - time to move in
No workmen today so it is a time for trying to piece together an indoor campsite that will stand us in good stead for a week or so.
There are 2 empty rooms - main bedroom and bedroom #2 - hereinafter referred to as temporary living room. We move some chairs in get a television, we have a few lying around, get a coffee table, a picnic table and a couple of folding chairs.
Claire calls and is coming over with bagels .
Put the bed together - can't work out out to assemble the frame so the box spring is on the floor.
So let's see what we have.
1) Relatively uncluttered sleeping area - check
2) Place to relax, eat, watch TV - check
3) Bathroom that works - check (well apart from that no door thing)
4) Place to plug in my kettle and a fridge for the milk - check
Need to go to buy some stuff - walk to a place called TOPS on the waterfront (it's not really that close to the water). Good stuff but the neat thing here is that they have a room that is a refrigerator. So rather than finding the milk etc. in cabinets around the edge of the room it is just in the room on shelves.
So - bedroom is OK, toilet is OK (we have a sink but no shower), heat is on, power is on. I think we are good to go.
Dinner - Cheese from the corner cheese shop (a gift from the family in Australia - thank you very much).
Exhausted again - time for bed.
There are 2 empty rooms - main bedroom and bedroom #2 - hereinafter referred to as temporary living room. We move some chairs in get a television, we have a few lying around, get a coffee table, a picnic table and a couple of folding chairs.
Claire calls and is coming over with bagels .
Put the bed together - can't work out out to assemble the frame so the box spring is on the floor.
So let's see what we have.
1) Relatively uncluttered sleeping area - check
2) Place to relax, eat, watch TV - check
3) Bathroom that works - check (well apart from that no door thing)
4) Place to plug in my kettle and a fridge for the milk - check
Need to go to buy some stuff - walk to a place called TOPS on the waterfront (it's not really that close to the water). Good stuff but the neat thing here is that they have a room that is a refrigerator. So rather than finding the milk etc. in cabinets around the edge of the room it is just in the room on shelves.
So - bedroom is OK, toilet is OK (we have a sink but no shower), heat is on, power is on. I think we are good to go.
Dinner - Cheese from the corner cheese shop (a gift from the family in Australia - thank you very much).
Exhausted again - time for bed.
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