What's I'm watching

Now that I don't have cable, it's time for me to find some new shows (and also for mental health, I think any more Real Housewives of XYZ or Bravo reality televesion would have sent me into the Psych ward). Enter How to Make it in America, starring Bryan Greenberg (OTH phenom!) and Victor Rasuk in this mildly entertaining retention of young-people-not-knowing-what they're-doing-with-their-lives-in-NYC and pissing-away-their-money-in-the-LES HBO drama-comedy.

Apparently, it was announced several months back that it would be cancelled. Worth it to get invested now?

Climb on!

Okay this post is long overdue. I apologize profusely to my (few and loyal) readers. Blogger seems to have gone a recent upgrade and as such, my super-restrictive work broswer has become unsupportive of Blogger. But against all odds, I blog on.

 

My latest adventures come in the flavor of outdoor activities, namely, outdoor rock climbing. I was first introduced to indoor rock climbing (there are a few good places in NYC such as Brooklyn Boulders and Chelsea Piers) with a Living Social coupon for a discounted Belay class and 2 climbing sessions. Similarly, outdoor rock climbing sessions with Barry Rusnock at Riverview Outdoor Adventures have been featured on discount sites such as Google Offers, Zozi, etc. This is where my adventures starts.




The Intro to Rock Climbing class takes you to Allamuchy State Park in Central NJ. Getting out of the city, yay! 



You learn the basics of rope-typing. rock climbing and belay technique.



 The formidable rocks were introduced as: "If God made a place for rock climbing, this place would be it".



There is certainly technical footwork that is advantageous for specific situations.



A chalk bag and sturdy climbing shoes go a long way to keep you from slipping.

As it turns out, rock climbing is predominantly about mental strategy and less about physical prowess or stamina. You start at the ground by mentally preparing yourself and surveying the climb's topography. If you stare long enough, the nooks and crannies of the rock begin to pop out and become inviting footholds and grips.  Learn how to trust your belay partner.

There were a few phrases that stuck with me.

• When you're panicking on the climb, what is one thing you can do right now to change your position?
• If you can step on it, you can stand on it.
• You're either climbing or you're resting.

 

The day ended with a nice attempt at repelling down and a final climb back up. Hurray for Amazing Race building skills!

Ballet Shoes

What girl doesn't love shoes? Especially ballet shoes. No, not the current fashion fad but the real deal! An inside look into the NYC Ballet dancers and their beautiful hand-crafted pointe shoes. Reminds me of the days when I used to do ballet.... got my first pair of pointe shoes and promptly stopped from all the pain. Ah, mediocrity.

Huffington Post

Caine's arcade

Wanted to share some feel-good feelings with everyone today. A short video about a little boy, some cardboard boxes and a big dream.

Weekend movies

Had a bit of a bipolar weekend when it came to movie choices. Watched both "FAST FIVE" a heart-pounding, action-adventure cheese-fest featuring two actors vying for the "shiniest scalp" award as well as "BULLY", a very touching, honest look at the consequences of school bullying on several American teenagers and their families. Of the two, I'd say BULLY gets the two thumbs up!

 

Smorgasburg...

I had the resolve to make it out to Williamsburg (BKLYN) this past Saturday for the season opening of Smorgasburg (A Brooklyn Flea Food Market). It is basically a nosher's paradise with many local vendors selling bite-sized snacks for under $10 a pop. The best part of the event for Manhatannites is the event's proximity to the East River Ferry stop at N. 6th St. / N. Williamsburg. The bf and I took the Ferry from 34th Street and made a pleasant trip along the East River admiring the NYC skyline with the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building in the backdrop. Of course, there are other ways to get to W-burg by train and bus but the ferry was a much better reason to be outside!

The East River Ferry: $4 from Manhattan to Brooklyn! Get off at N. 6th St. / N. Williamsburg to get to Smorgasburg.

Many many food options including.... pickles, ice cream sandwiches, doughnuts, ASIADOGS, milkshakes, sliders, hot dogs, nom nom nom. Had to make a few laps around the place to finally make a decision.

Finally decided on these little buns of joy from the Brooklyn Cured vendors. Hot pastrami on a petite rye bun with a whole-grain beer mustard.

Instagram in its many forms

Love Instagram as much as I do? Here are some ways to print your Instagram photos...There seems to be hundreds of companies popping up offering services to make your iPhoneography photos come alive! These include: STAMPS, canvases, posters, iPhone cases, stickers, magnets, shadowboxes. How great, all my childhood art-making dreams coming to life!

[printstagram]

True Love in Nintendo Classics

I just had to share this geeky marriage proposal. Too cute.

Tiny Horizons

Instagram had this weekend hashtag project a few weeks ago called #tiny horizons. I didn't participate at the time... but found some inspiration this weekend leaving the city. Manhattan skyline looks pretty good coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel here. Hello Big Apple... this is where I've been for the past 3.5 years!

Never Let me Go

So my weekend movie of choice was "Never Let Me Go", a film based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was very much in fitting with the dystopian mood I've been in recently (as I make my way through reading The Hunger Games series). #Spoiler alert, the science fiction film is about three friends who are grow up in a boarding school where they are bred for their organs. They are told at a very young age that their life will be shortened by their contributions to society and everybody seems to be half struggling/half accepting with this destiny. The one *curious thing I found about the film was the euphemism they had for passing away. It was called "completing". The last line of the movie was a nice and obvious closing to the reality of it: “We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.” 

Like a kid in the Candy Store

Hello readers, long time since my last post! I've been doing a bit of traveling these past few weeks and welcoming the beautiful spring weather (its certainly taking its time!)


NYC has these special places called Tasti-Delite with so much candy bins that your teeth hurt just going into the store. You throw however much candy you want into a brown paper bag and pay by the pound. I accompanied my co-worker to purvey the delectable selection of candies and couldn't help snapping a few pictures. The sheer amount of fluorescent colors almost made me want to reach my hands into the bins....



Loved the "fruit chips" with the vintage, wax paper wrappers; the multi-colored jelly beans, strawberry Twizzler wheels and the Lego-shaped hard candy!