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Me tangling with Shaq. Jump ball ref, jump ball!!!

Me tangling with Shaq. Jump ball ref, jump ball!!!

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One of the most interesting things I saw at the Jackson Pollack House was his bookshelf and record collection. Apparently the record player on the left still works. I asked the tour guide what the apparatus on the left was, and she told me that it’s an amplifier. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?

One of the most interesting things I saw at the Jackson Pollack House was his bookshelf and record collection. Apparently the record player on the left still works. I asked the tour guide what the apparatus on the left was, and she told me that it’s an amplifier. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?

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Home Sweet Home

I can’t tell you how great it is to be home. New York was great, but nothing beats sleeping in my own bed and cruisin’ around with the windows down and the cool Bay breeze blowing through the car. Looking back though, here are my thoughts on NYC:

Things I’ll Miss About NY

The view from our host’s condo - You can’t really beat this. 30 floors up, with a bird’s-eye view of the MoMA, 5th Ave. and Central Park. Looking out the window and standing face-to-face with the skyscrapers. A block and half from the NBA Store. Restaurants and a subway stop close by. And at night, the lights from the skyscrapers light up the skyline.

The restaurants - Granted, I don’t make it a point to explore the culinary scene here in the Bay, as I do when I’m on vacation in NY…but the restaurant scene in NY is really unparalled in the US. Not only the quality of the restaurants, but the convenience and variety as well. We tried some great Japanese (Yakitori Totto, Hagi, Hatsuhana), steak (Peter Luger), brunch (Norma’s) and ethnic (Cafe Habana) places.

The vastness - I can’t really describe the feeling of walking around the city, whether it was 5th Ave., Times Square, Soho, Nolita, or any other neighborhood, and being engulfed by the pure vastness of the city. Looking up at the buildings, old and new, I could almost get a sense for how the city has grown and transformed over the decades, and how how much history the city has.

Things I Won’t Miss

The weirdos and assholes - Emily and I kept a long list of people who really deserved to be thrown for being so rude. And New York has A LOT of them: the movie ticket agent who wouldn’t accept my student ID cuz it had a bus sticker on it that said “2006”; the taxi driver that gave us attitude when we wanted to pay by credit card; the weirdo in Times Square who tugged on the front of my shirt as I walked by and said repeatedly “can I have that?” (NO YOU CANNOT. ARE YOU CRAZY?); the rude Dunkin’ Donuts worker who retorted “it’s already in there” when Em asked for milk for her coffee…what if she didn’t want milk?

The summer heat - Most days we were in NY were humid and hot (upper 80s), with a horrible heat wave that hit the last weekend we were there. I’ll take the weather in the 60s and 70s with a nice summer breeze that we get in the Bay, thanks!


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People nowadays have enough sense to buckle their seatbelts when they’re in the backseat of someone’s car, no matter how short the ride is. Most people I know, when driving, will also remind their passengers to buckle up (especially important when you have guests visiting from countries like Taiwan, which has yet to enforce a backseat seatbelt law). So why is it that when we get into a taxi, we lose our wits and refuse to buckle up? New York taxi drivers are crazy! I’ve seriously ridden with some crazy cab drivers here. They’ll accelerate madly for 200 ft before slamming on their breaks to avoid the car in front of them, that was STOPPED the whole time, honking and complaining the whole way. They poke their nose out into the neighboring lane and cut off other cabs. Yes, it’s annoying and slightly gross to have to dig out the seatbelt in a cab. But don’t mess around with your life like that. You’re not invincible just cuz there’s a middle partition and you’re paying someone to drive you.

People nowadays have enough sense to buckle their seatbelts when they’re in the backseat of someone’s car, no matter how short the ride is. Most people I know, when driving, will also remind their passengers to buckle up (especially important when you have guests visiting from countries like Taiwan, which has yet to enforce a backseat seatbelt law). So why is it that when we get into a taxi, we lose our wits and refuse to buckle up?

New York taxi drivers are crazy! I’ve seriously ridden with some crazy cab drivers here. They’ll accelerate madly for 200 ft before slamming on their breaks to avoid the car in front of them, that was STOPPED the whole time, honking and complaining the whole way. They poke their nose out into the neighboring lane and cut off other cabs.

Yes, it’s annoying and slightly gross to have to dig out the seatbelt in a cab. But don’t mess around with your life like that. You’re not invincible just cuz there’s a middle partition and you’re paying someone to drive you.

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Where have all the basketball players gone?I’ve been walking around New York for 2 weeks now and every time I pass by a park, the basketball courts are completely empty, but there are hordes of people playing handball! If you haven’t seen people play handball, it’s basically a bunch of people slapping a small ball against a wall. Like racquetball without any racquets. But the people who I’ve seen play it are muscular and intense!How can we be expected to regain international basketball glory if the youth of today are not fine-tuning their jumpshots or practicing their handles, but slapping a ball against a wall? Where will the next generation of And 1 Mixtape Tour stars be culled from? What will become of Rucker Park? Something must be done about this…

Where have all the basketball players gone?

I’ve been walking around New York for 2 weeks now and every time I pass by a park, the basketball courts are completely empty, but there are hordes of people playing handball! If you haven’t seen people play handball, it’s basically a bunch of people slapping a small ball against a wall. Like racquetball without any racquets. But the people who I’ve seen play it are muscular and intense!

How can we be expected to regain international basketball glory if the youth of today are not fine-tuning their jumpshots or practicing their handles, but slapping a ball against a wall? Where will the next generation of And 1 Mixtape Tour stars be culled from? What will become of Rucker Park? Something must be done about this…

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Here’s the menu for tonight’s Clam Bake, at Indian Wells Ocean Beach in the Hamptons. Looking forward to it! Looks to be quite the Hamptons experience (and a potential diet-buster). Appetizers Scallops w/ bacon and thai dipping sauce Little neck clams casino Dinner 1 1/4 lb. steamed lobster w/ melted butter Grilled free-range chicken w/ citrus barbeque glaze Garlic basil smashed red potatoes Mesclun salad w/ balsamic vinaigrette Corn on the cob Dessert Homemade strawberry shortcake

Here’s the menu for tonight’s Clam Bake, at Indian Wells Ocean Beach in the Hamptons. Looking forward to it! Looks to be quite the Hamptons experience (and a potential diet-buster).

Appetizers

Scallops w/ bacon and thai dipping sauce

Little neck clams casino

Dinner

1 1/4 lb. steamed lobster w/ melted butter

Grilled free-range chicken w/ citrus barbeque glaze

Garlic basil smashed red potatoes

Mesclun salad w/ balsamic vinaigrette

Corn on the cob

Dessert

Homemade strawberry shortcake

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I dawned on me today that I despise Chinatowns. No matter where you go, it’s the same. It’s dirty, loud, crowded, and there’s really never anything of interest. It’s made worse by the fact that lame tourists are running around taking pictures and videos, convinced that they are “seeing a new world with their naked eyes.” Ugh.

I dawned on me today that I despise Chinatowns. No matter where you go, it’s the same. It’s dirty, loud, crowded, and there’s really never anything of interest. It’s made worse by the fact that lame tourists are running around taking pictures and videos, convinced that they are “seeing a new world with their naked eyes.” Ugh.

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Me and Em in front of the Brooklyn Bridge!

Me and Em in front of the Brooklyn Bridge!

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