Monthly Archives: February 2011

February 9, 2011

And…we’re off!

By simply three cents

And we’re off! Heading to Buenos Aires (locals call it BsAs for short)! We left cold, snowy and icy New York for summertime in Argentina! This trip was my first time to cross the equator (except I was asleep both ways).

And speaking of sleep, I did get some. Our plane was two – aisle – five – aisle – two. We were in the three and four seats in the five. Two friends were on the aisles, and one moved over so the middle was empty. One of the girls and I took turns sprawling across that extra empty seat.

Not sure if this arrangement makes sense as I write this but long story short — even if I didn’t get a wink of sleep during the whole flight, the minute I stepped off that flight, I was AWAKE!!

BsAs is a city full of life and we had much to see, do, eat, drink and buy!

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in in and around NYC, travel, travelogues

February 8, 2011

24 hours to go!

By simply three cents

We’re getting really close! Flight leaves about this time tomorrow night! I’m probably running around the apartment packing last minute things into my bag.

Once I am back, I plan to upload one photo from each day I was gone. I’ll then blog about something memorable from that day thus attempting my first official foray into travel writing.

2 Comments   |  tags: | posted in in and around the world, travel

February 7, 2011

Sexy Boot

By simply three cents

I had to exchange a pair of jeans at the Gap the other day. I bought them a few weeks ago yet I realized they didn’t fit right when I went to put them on a few days later. Yeah, that’s the kind of terrible shopper I am and even worse, I procrastinate when I have to go back to the store to return and/or exchange anything.

I had thought the problem was an easy fix…clearly it’s the stitching and that’s why there was weird bunching in the leg. When I tried another pair of the exact style and size, I realized what was wrong with them, was actually me.

I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible because I don’t love shopping unless I am with someone who can find the diamond in the rough (my sister rocks at that). I simply wanted to find a pair that fit. Anyone who has ever tried to find that perfect pair of jeans knows that this was going to be a pain in the ass.

Because I am a terrible shopper, I immediately friended the salesgirl in the fitting room. I think she felt bad for me because now in this second pair of the curvy jean style, even I could see they did not fit right. In fact, anyone could see that they weren’t laying right in the leg. I would like to say it was a result of shoddy labor, but again, two pairs from two different stores, in two different states, had the same problem. I admitted defeat by realizing the curvy fit was probably not the right pair for me. And the perfect fit, not so perfect for me either.

The salesgirl was SO helpful and went back and forth from the dressing room to the store to bring me different styles, sizes and washes. This was NYC around lunchtime, on a Friday. The personalized service was totally not expected. It almost felt like I was  shopping with my sister – who is the best personal shopper ever – but again, almost. It wasn’t as fun as when I am with my sister.

What fits me is, get this, the sexy boot.

This makes me laugh, because it is purely a marketing ploy.

I once worked for a man who headed up marketing at the Gap, and I remember a conversation we once had. I remember telling him how I loved my long and lean Gap jeans. They fit me perfectly, and still do! He told me they came up with that name because the target body shape was short girls who wanted to feel long and lean. I don’t know that I want to feel long and lean. I just wanted a damn pair of jeans that looked, and felt, good.

Because I have some knowledge about how they name different fits for different body types, buying those sexy boot jeans today made me laugh. What was the Gap marketing team thinking about the body type of women who fit into the sexy boot? I wasn’t buying them to look sexy, I was buying them in ankle length, to wear with my Converse, so it’s not exactly fitting the mold – or looking back at the target for the long and lean, is it?

Ladies, it’s something to ponder when buying your next pair of jeans, and the search to find the style that works best for your body type. Ignore the name, just find that perfect fit – even if it has a silly name. When you find the fit and the size that works for you, embrace it. I did, and now I am the proud owner of a pair of sexy boot jeans that fit me, even with my Converse, perfectly.

2 Comments | posted in in and around NYC, just silly, observations, shopping, things that make me smile

February 6, 2011

Game Day

By simply three cents

Take a look at this article – there are recipes inspired by both Green Bay and Pittsburgh. It looks like the real battle is for how many citizens of each city have clogged arteries. Geez.

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/02/01/lifestyle/super-bowl-feast-with-recipes-inspired-by-green-bay-pittsburgh/

I do have a personal penchant for both beer and cheese, so in this foodie battle, my heart’s with you for the day, Green Bay.

Leave a comment | posted in food, in and around the USA, observations, winter

February 5, 2011

Ancestry

By simply three cents

No one seems to know much about where I came from. I have bits and pieces to work from. Has anyone out there been successful in tracking their ancestry? If you are related to me, even better. If you are related to me and live in a foreign land, seriously awesome.

Am heading to the birthplace of my great grandma later this week, and all I have is a copy of her original birth certificate (though I realize this is an awesome start). There’s an immigration museum in Buenos Aires but it would have been her parents that immigrated there. But lacking lots of info like possible years they came, from where (conflicting reports within my family) and how (I assume steerage on a ship unless there’s some kind of royalty lineage – doubtful).

Know I also have family that came from Eastern Europe and Russia but they had such common surnames that it’s going to be a difficult search. Trips to those lands will not happen in the dead of winter. Need to not be wearing an ushanka (google ‘big Russian hat’ – that’s what I just did) when I go to unearth the mysteries of my family history. Am thinking more like flip flops and a sun dress. Like I will be later in the week in BsAs 🙂

Let the sleuthing begin.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in in and around the world, wanderlust

February 4, 2011

Observations – Evening Commute

By simply three cents

Who knew I would strike blog gold (well, maybe bronze) twice in one week? I guess it’s when you start looking for it, and start to write it down, it’s right in front of you. Literally, right in front of you, like while waiting for the bus to go home one night earlier this week.

The bus line runs past the entrance for both the men’s and women’s restrooms. The line breaks just before the doorway and starts again just after the doorway to allow people to cut through the line and walk into the bathroom. Personally, I think getting stuck in line on either side of the doorway for the bathroom – men’s or women’s – are the worst places to be stuck in line. Though, the positioning allows for interesting observations, especially since it’s the Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York City’s glorious armpit.

As I am waiting for my bus line to move, I find myself situated at the doorway for the men’s room. Many men walk in but the one who I choose to write about, walked in while talking on the phone. A few minutes later, since I haven’t moved an inch, I see him walk out of the men’s room, still chatting away on the phone.

Several scenarios could have taken place in those few minutes he disappeared from my view, yet only one question remains.  Was the call (or calls, as could have been the case) THAT important?

1 Comment | posted in in and around NYC, observations, why

February 3, 2011

Observations – Morning Commute

By simply three cents
There were no seats left on the bus so I was standing. Of course, there was no where to hold because the handles are on top of the seats and where I was standing the girl sitting had long hair which covered the handle. Instead I surfed*, because I am pretty good at it.
Because I felt like crap and already was achy, it didn’t help that my purse felt like I was carrying a ton of bricks even though it was pretty empty.
The first time the bus stopped it just so happens that one of the seats next to where I was standing opens up. The seat is next to a middle aged woman who’s been talking on her cell loudly and incessantly even before the bus pulled out. I knew this commute was only going to get better because now that I was sitting, I could actually take notes on her conversation.

Here are my observations, which turned into amusement, during my morning commute (you don’t get this in the burbs!):

  • I gather that she travels a lot. ‘January has flown by, I’ve been in LA, Florida and Chicago.’
  • She has had ‘ENOUGH of hotels’ and ‘can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.’
  • I also gather that she works in fashion or has a shoe fetish. She spoke about espadrilles, pumps and flats.
  • More evidence leaning towards working in fashion – she later spoke about different factories and different cities in China
  • She’s ‘not accustomed to public transportation because we had to give up the car once the lease ran out.’ Clearly you are not accustomed to public transport and its golden rules because you are the only one talking on the phone while everyone fidgets with their BlackBerries. Some of us, are even taking notes on your conversation.
  • Words heard multiple times throughout her conversation making me laugh – cuckoo, insanity, crazy, ridiculous and my personal favorite, three ring circus.
  • Every item she is wearing has a designer label from the Prada sunglasses (Really? We’re on a dark bus) to the designer pocketbook (there’s a logo but I don’t know whose it is) and I’d be willing to bet that the overpowering perfume she has on is even a fancy label.

Once it is time for her to get off, she tells me she feels like a bag lady. Only then do I see she has three designer purses (not gym bags – purses) on her lap.

I said we all have those days. She said, its every day for me. I wanted to ask, but didn’t, what could you possibly be carrying in those bags every. single. day?

As she walked to the front of the bus I saw that the fur coat she was wearing was actually floor length. So, she’s right. She really must not use public transport that much, or ever, because the bottom half of that coat would be a mess in the snowy, slushy mess of a city otherwise. I suppose if you have a car, or a driver, you don’t need to climb through mounds of snow to cross the street, or plod through large rivers of slush at street corners like the rest of us.

2 Comments | posted in in and around NYC, just silly, observations, winter

February 2, 2011

Eggs and Bread

By simply three cents

I did it. In anticipation of not having much in the fridge, and knowing there may be an ice storm, I went to the supermarket last night. And I bought <gasp> eggs and bread. Yes, I did. [If you are confused about this quandary I put myself in, refer to an earlier post about my question of impulse buying milk, eggs and bread before a storm.]

I also bought relish, mushrooms, ice pops and a box of Better Cheddars. Please don’t judge my basket.

Quandary 1: Eggs

Justification: I was thinking that if I got stuck at home I might want to make matzoh ball soup, and for that I need eggs. Additionally, I might want to make omelettes or hard boiled eggs. I was also thinking a few days ahead because I will be making brownies for a Super Bowl party I am going to so in fact I would eventually need to buy eggs this week.

Quandary 2: Bread

Justification: I was also thinking that if I was too lazy to make the soup, a tuna fish sandwich might be easier. And if I am going to think about making a tuna fish sandwich, I may as well buy relish to mix into the sandwich. And, even though we have bread, I was craving potato bread for said sandwich that I may have.

And…the Better Cheddars found their way into my basket because I know there’s no bad snacks at home, except for 6 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Side note: Those are being rationed. I intend to still have a box (or at least a sleeve) well into April.

To offset the Better Cheddars, I bought mushrooms. An easy, healthy snack. Or a nice addition into my possible omelette. Who knows really. The lime ice pops were in the freezer at the checkout line so that was just an impulse buy.

And if you’re reading these posts in order, and wondering, yes, my appetite has indeed returned. It all happened sometime around 6.10p last night when I walked into the supermarket.

2 Comments | posted in food, why, winter

February 1, 2011

Under the Weather

By simply three cents

With eight more sleeps til my flight I am working hard to get better. But as for my appetite, it’s missing. This is the only plus to being sick right now. Because later this week I need to figure out how to fit into summer clothes in the dead of winter…especially since my ‘go to the gym’ resolution hasn’t had it’s jump start just yet.

While I’m not eating, I have made Nyquil a daily part of my nighttime routine. Nyquil = weird dreams. Like when you eat sushi. Since I have no appetite, I’m certainly not eating sushi, but it sure as hell tastes better than Nyquil.

Leave a comment | posted in food, winter