The 'hood

Our cool neighborhood from the New York Times

Getting Fit & Other Stuff

As many of you know, my new place of abode has a gym in the building and so I have been trying to go every day (well, every weekday). I have been a good boy and have been increasing my time on the elliptical machine to (a) initially increase my metabolism and (b) hopefully lose a few pounds. I am now up to 30 minutes on the machine and was hoping to feel my clothes a little looser.
So I have  good news and bad news in that department. On Friday I noticed that some things were getting a little looser - I was very pleased - that was the good news. The bad news is that it was my shoes. So my body has rewarded my hard work and blood, sweat and tears (mainly sweat) by losing my first few millimeters of girth from my FEET. Oh well, every journey starts with a single step and we know that feet are responsible for stepping. I am checking my ears as I have a feeling they might be next.

Onto other things happening around the world, I have been watching HM the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration with surprising interest. I watched Katie Couric's inane interviews and yesterday (Sunday) I was riveted by the River Pageant. For one of the few times in the last 30 years I wished I was still living in the UK. I could imagine being down the local pub or at a street party or even standing in the pouring rain for a couple of hours watching the BBC interview the ladies of the WI from underneath an umbrella.

Even though it was pouring with rain it seemed like everyone was having a really good time. The British do that sort of event better than anyone else in the world. There was a little pomp and a little eccentricity all wrapped up in an occasion that brought a tear to my eye. Perhaps it takes a Brit, even one that has lived elsewhere for almost 30 years, to fully appreciate this type of event. I realize that to some it may seem a bit cheesy, but I love it.

Settling In

Things are going well, still a few boxes to unpack and a few things to find. Neighbors Donovan and Yolanda (with French bulldog Penelope) next door and Beth and Cait across the way. They seem nice.

The building still seems pleasantly quiet.

We still don't have any cold water out of the taps. Strange huh. Apparently the hot water is overflowing into the cold water. The lack of cold water makes showers interesting as it is very hot, you have to keep moving around to keep out of the really hot water. Fortunately the shower stall is big enough to do this.

First day of the rest of your life....

Today was the first day at the gym. I thought I would start out sloooowly so I set my sights on a warmup on the treadmill and then 10 minutes on the elliptical. Set your goals low!! So anyway I did 15 minutes and could have done more, but didn't want to have a heart attack first day out so I stopped. The machine told me that I had consumed 85 calories, perhaps it meant 850 :-).

The gym is in the building, part of the monthly cost and is possibly 30 yards from my front door. Hard to think of an excuse not to go.

Oh well, I am going to try to do that every day and increase the time and in a while I will be less cuddly and spending an hour on that machine. I think they had better have the TV's installed by then.

Raining in Williamsburg today - good for the grass in Le Jardin (name of the building) http://jardincondos.com/ if you want to take a look.

Zip Code Bombshell

Well, turmoil in the Bryant household. We moved around the corner, as you all know less than 1/3 mile, and we expected to keep our beloved palindromic 11211, but nay. Quietly, the USPS has changed our zip to 11249. Pfft - threw a pall over the whole day yesterday. Oh well, I'm sure we will recover
Denial - yup, Anger - did that, Bargaining - USPS wouldn't listen, Depression - a whole bar of chocolate covered that one. Acceptance - it's only a matter of time.

Moving Apartments

The title means that we have moved of course, not that the apartments are moving, that would be silly. So we are now the oldest people in a slightly different part of Williamsburg. We have moved 2 1/2 blocks away ( Link to Map) ( A is the old place B the new) to a brand new building on N 6th St. It has an elevator for people and one for cars and a beautiful garden in it and wonderful views of Manhattan from its 6th floor roof as well as a gym - no more excuses. We overlook the garden and so don't see much of the neighborhood unless we go out (that's a good thing). I will let you all know how it goes now that we have internet connectivity (got that yesterday). If any of you would like to come round and help me unpack these boxes let me know.

This moving and unpacking is exhausting. The other night, before the TV was hooked up, we were in bed and asleep by 9:00. Claire said we were on Frontier time.

Stay tuned for details and pictures - I am aiming for a blog entry every 2 days for a while - honest.

Thanksgiving Week - a long one

Hey remember me - I used to blog here!!

So it was quite a week last week. Did two things that involved getting dressed up in grownup clothes (this is anything without an elastic waist as far as I am concerned these days) and leaving the domicile.

One of course was the annual thanksgiving meal with the family. It is always a very nice occasion and this year was no exception.We traveled to Westchester, PA to my sister-in-law's sister's house, about 2 1/2 hours from here (except on Thanksgiving when it is closer to 3 hours). We have it there as it can easily hold the 25+ people and has the biggest TV you ever did see (for the football, obviously). The family is as quirky as ever (I wouldn't have it any other way) and as welcoming as ever. Although I don't really understand why I am the only person who has remained as youthful as ever over the past almost 30 years. Everyone was well behaved and we didn't have one argument about religion or politics (usually my bad) although we were teetering on the edge when the Freemasons came up. The appetizers and main course were delicious but the desserts were a mixed bag with some of them tasting very commercial - others including the pumpkin pie were homemade with love and tasted as such!!

The drive there was hard with a few bottlenecks on the NJ turnpike but the journey home was easy!!

I think that all countries should have a holiday equivalent to Thanksgiving, where no-one expects a gift, no one person is more important than any other (although it is always near Bob Longstreet Sr's birthday and no-one begrudges him a chorus of Happy Birthday to You), and the food is delicious. It really is a nice family occasion.

The other big day out was our trip to the World Trade Center memorial site. We got our tickets on about September 11 (free but you need to get tickets) and the day finally arrived - Tuesday November 22nd at 4:30. The problem was that it was POURING with rain. the good news is that the rain was coming straight down and it wasn't too crowded so umbrellas worked very well (my feet did get a bit wet but otherwise not too bad). I wasn't too sure how the site would strike me - I knew several people who had very close calls that day and it is hard to live in NYC without being very aware of the heartbreak that the day brought to many in the city. I also know that I also burst into tears when I am within striking distance of the Vietnam Memorial in DC.

Anyway, I don't know whether it was the weather or the waiting in lines but it was a completely unemotional experience for me. The site itself is a beautiful thing, the pools are spectacular the names are all wonderfully presented, the visit is nicely organized and the site very respectful to all but currently without emotion - at least for me.