Random Thoughts of Mine...

I've tried multiple times to do this post, but MyOpera kept crashing on me.

Anyways, about 2 weeks ago I was in New York City with Kerstin. I picked her up from JFK Airport on Sunday, the 18th. It was windy, about 50F (10C) and drizzling that day. She wanted to go into Manhattan, so we hopped on the subway. We took the train to the World Trade Center. This was my 1st time being there since 9/11. We then walked along the Hudson River down Battery Park City to Battery Park. We were cold by that time, so we took the subway up to Times Square. Times Square is a bustling area. I remember growing up how different the area had been, especially 42nd St. between 7th and 8th Ave. The area was more rundown, but now it has been revitalized. The Times Square Information Center was not around when I was growing up. We went there and Kerstin did this quick post from there. We ended up in Times Square and Starbucks everyday Kerstin was there.

The next day we took the subway to Grand Central on our way to the United Nations. It had been years since I had been to the UN. They were doing construction so the Security Council building was off limits to the tours, which lasted about 45 minutes. We took the subway down to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is near City Hall. The weather was warmer that day & sunny. We walked halfway across the bridge taking pictures. Then we went to Chinatown, Little Italy and Greenwich Village. We ended up at the Apple Store on 14th St. that one of my cousins had mentioned. This one was 3 stories, thus being the largest Apple store I've ever been in. It's larger than the one outside of FAO Schwartz that we went to later in the vacation. It's no secret that Kerstin is an Apple fan, so we went to the store almost everyday too.

Later, we went to the 86th Floor Observation Deck of the Empire State Building. There are actually 2 observatories: the outdoor 86th floor one, and the enclosed 102nd floor. I've never been in the 102nd floor observatory, but it does seem quite small from the 86th floor. That day was sunny but, it was a bit smoggy out so you couldn't see as far as you would on a very clear day. You could still see pretty far though as you can see in one of her pictures. Kerstin & I got some good pictures from up there. We went to Central Park, FAO Schwartz, the Apple Store, Louis Vitton, and Rockefeller Center. The Ripley's Believe It or Not exhibit used to be in the basement of the Empire State Building, but is now expanded on 42nd St. That was a pretty interesting place to see.

The day we went to both Ellis & Liberty Islands, the weather was 70F (21C), sunny with a slight breeze blowing. I was very happy with it. Too bad the next day, it dropped 20 degrees. Anyways, I'm glad that they opened up the Statue of Liberty again. It had been closed for a number of years after 9/11. Now you have to get there early if you want some of the limited tickets to get access into the Statue. We had missed it by the time we got there, but getting to walk around both islands was well worth the trip. When we went to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Harlem, we happened to arrive when the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra was practicing there. Neither of us had any idea that would happen, so we got treated to a free, relaxing concert that day. We then hopped back on the subway to walk through Central Park and see the Great Lawn near the Metropolitan Museum.

It was another cold, wet and windy day when I took Kerstin back to the airport. I can honestly say that I had a great time with her in my city. I'm very glad that we met here on MyOpera and became friends. It was great to have been able to finally meet her in person. Maybe next time, I'll have to visit her in Sweden, which sounds great since I love to travel. Also, here is my NYC photo album of the trip.



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No Pants Subway Ride 2009

A little over 2 weeks ago I was back home in New York City. On Saturday, 10 Jan, a group of pranksters called, Improv Everywhere staged their No Pants Subway Ride 2009. If you don't know about this yearly event, then you can read about this years' event on their No Pants 2k9 blog post.

This is being mentioned now because I remember seeing some of the people involved in that event in the subway on that particular Saturday. I didn't know that the No Pants Subway Ride was that day. Mom & I were on the 3 train from Brooklyn into Manhattan when we saw some of the participants in our subway car they got on in Manhattan). If you look at the 1:10 mark on the video, you will see a lady with a pink top and no pants on. Then look at the 1:14 mark on the tape and you will see a couple. I remember seeing them because they were all sitting nearby mom & me! The lady in pink was on my while the couple were on my sitting across the car diaganolly from us. At the time, the 3 train was running on the local track (where the 1 train runs) instead of the express track because of some maintenance work that was being done at the time. I did think that it was a bit funny, but I kept it to myself since I was with my mom. Don't think that I would ever volunteer to do something like this because I'm way too shy. This did bring some fun to my trip, so thanks to Improv Everywhere for making that Saturday a little more enjoyable. Even with the cold wind blowing while the snow was falling that day.


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Hi everyone, I just got back from vacation not too long ago. I went back home to New York to see my family while getting some time to relax. Going home was what felt the right thing to do before the end of the year. I got to see one of my aunts that I had not seen in years which was nice. Also, I did a little bit of shopping while there too.

The weather was cold with the temperatures ranging from the 20s to the middle 40s (-6-7C) with the wind blowing mostly at dusk. Some days, the wind blew throughout the whole day which was not fun at all. There were very light snow flurries Thursday afternoon, but nothing stuck on the ground at all.

It felt good to go back home to see family and relax for a while. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures this time, so a new photo album of home will have to wait until warmer weather.



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Last Saturday I went on my first vacation since last September. I went to San Diego, California to visit an old friend of mine, Carla (not her real name) and the kids. I had met her years ago in Anchorage, Alaska. She had been asking me to come visit, especially since it had been 5 years since I last saw them. They were in Virginia at that time. I had never been to California, so this would be a good trip to see an old friend and visit someplace new. I took a week off, just got back in yesterday (Saturday).

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I had taken last week off and headed back home to New York City to see my family. It felt good to spend time with them again. The weather was sunny and in the 80's just about everyday. The weatherman said it was supposed to rain on Thursday afternoon, but it just got cloudy. On Friday afternoon there were a few sprinkles, and that was it. The United Nations was in general assembly so some streets were blocked off and others had lanes reduced so the motorcades could pass through easily. Cops were at many intersections directing traffic because of this too. I took a bunch of pictures of Manhattan & Brooklyn. You can see them in my New York photo album. I've been tired lately and thought I should do a post and show the pictures, especially to people who have never been to NYC before.


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