Puzzles are In

Fabiola, a student I have been working with for the last four years and pictured in the background of this blog, has given me a gift each holiday season.  Last March she and her Model UN teammates discovered my coffee addiciton when we visited San Francisco for the UC Berkeley MUN conference.  I needed my coffee before I could function each day. The students quickly learned to love to tease me about this. Accordingly, Fabiola gave me a coffee mug this winter.

It wasn't just a mug, though.  It was a mug and jigsaw puzzle set.  The picture on the mug was a guide to the puzzle that was to be created.  I had never been into jigsaw puzzles, but given the weather, I decided to start working on the puzzle one afternoon between Christmas and New Years.  Within a  a day or two, the snowman that appeared on my coffee mug became the center piece of my dining room table.

Fast forward one month: I'm hooked on jigsaw puzzles.  Since then, with the help of friends, I have completed a Charles Fazzino "pop art" puzzle of New York City, and am now working on a M.C. Escher Print.  Maybe this makes me lame.  In fact, when my brother observed the puzzling taking place, he gently reminded me that I once had a "cool and exciting" life.  I blame the weather, though.  I have thought a lot about jigsaw puzzles in the last month, and I've decided that they are an excellent form of entertainment on days that the weather is terrible.  In fact, I would argue that they are even better than board games:

This is the puzzle that me, Erik, Amy, Drew, Becky and Megan completed around the holidays

Six Reasons Jigsaw Puzzles are better than Board Games 

1) Jigsaw puzzles are great to do with friends. Unlike board games, they are not competitive.  This keeps ego battles out of the way.  Nothing ruins a party more than a sore loser or a cocky winner.

2) Anyone can join or leave in at any time when puzzling.  During boardgames, there is always a clear start and finish, so it makes it hard for people to join easily. 

3)  There is no "number of players" requirement for jigsaw puzzles.  One person can work on it, or 10 people can work on it.

4) For multi-taskers, puzzling can be done simultaneously with other activities. I spent the last three mornings puzzling while watching the Al Jazeera English coverage on my computer.

5) When you've finished a jigsaw puzzle, you can hang it.  Or , if you're like me, you can use them to decorate tables. As an added bonus,-puzzles are less expensive than most art prints.

6) Your ability to hang puzzles and display them makes them a very tangible reward upon their completion.  You can't display your latest Monopoly or Scrabble win.  The physical manifestation of your accomplishment will remind you of the fun you had with friends while you were doing it.

This is the puzzle Erik and I are currently working on.

Puzzle Paraphernalia

There are several "puzzle paraphernalia" items you can use to do this. The first tool you can use is puzzle glue.  Make sure to use a lot of newspaper under the puzzle.  This glue reportedly works very well, and makes pieces stick together firmly.  I bought this glue a couple of days ago at Borders ($7) and am looking forward to using it on the puzzles I've completed.

The second thing you might want to use if you start puzzling is a roll up puzzle mat.  As I mentioned, puzzles are the type of thing you can leave and come back to.  If you live in a small apartment, it might be useful to be able to put your puzzle away once you're done working on it for the day.  These role up puzzle mats allow you to role up your progress (even with loose pieces!) and unroll it again when you're ready to start working again.

Now--go buy a puzzle! You won't regret it.

It's Really Snowy

Me, in Zuccotti Park.

I'm a planner.   I schedule meetings, I use workflowy.com, and I have lists hanging up all around my desk.  I have been writing myself schedules since I was in elementary school, and every year my favorite item to purchase at the beginning of the school year was my new planner.  It's just the way I function.

That's why this January in New York City is starting to drive me a up a wall.  I can deal with a few days of snow.  However, the horrendous weather over the last four weeks has seriously delayed several projects at work and in my personal life (including my triathlon training and helping my dad move into an apartment).   Last night's storm broke a new record: we are now living in the snowiest month in New York City's recorded history.

The weather is a reminder that despite our very best efforts to plan for the present and the future, sometimes Mother Nature, fate, Karma, God, etc. has something else in store for us.  So I've given up-- Winter, you win.

And as they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, so I'm going to do my best to enjoy the snow.  For your viewing benefit I've taken a few shots of wintery Downtown NYC.

View from across the Westside Highway into Battery Park City

Battery Park City walkway

Battery Park City

Battery Park City

Promenade and view of Statue of Liberty

Promenade

Battery Park City

Snowman next to the Westside Highway

Trinity Church and Church Street

Trinity Chruch

Alexander Hamilton's Grave

Trinity Church

Wall Street Subway Stop

Trinity Church

View of Southwest of the island

Ground Zero in the Snow

Fish out of water got back in, finally

Me and Bob, my coach from age 6-18 on WWRX :) 

For the readers out there that don't already know this, swimming is my specialty when it comes to athletics.  That's part of the reason I'm excited to do this triathlon--I know that I will do well in at least a third of the race.

There is one slight problem though: until last night, I haven't swam a lap in a pool for over a year and a half. In the last five or six years, I've swam an average of once per year.

The good news is that swimming is a sport that is all about technique. My  coach throughout my childhood, Bob, drilled technique into me.  I saw Bob more than I saw my father during the years I swam.  Swimming technique is second nature to me. It is second nature to anyone who was coached by Bob. Forgetting it would be like forgetting how to ride a bike.  Even if I were to go another ten years without swimming, I know that I could hop into a pool during adult lap swim in Anywhere, USA and probably be the  fastest  person there, and not because I am in particularly good shape.

The bad news is that this is far from being the case when I practice with a competitive team.  It's impossible to go from "not swimming at all" to "fast" without putting some work in.  This became clear to me when I went to a Master's Team (Agua at Asphalt Green on the UES) practice a couple of years ago.  While I was able to complete the workout with everyone, I was immovably exhausted by the end.  I didn't go back again.

So, for this triathlon, I'm confident in my ability to become fast again and finish in the top portion of swimmers.    But I won't be very competitive unless I start practicing.

To remedy this, I headed to Stuyvesant High School around 7:00 PM yesterday.  The high school is about 15 minutes from my apartment.  I was excited to see the pool-- Stuyvesant has a reputation for being one of the best public schools in the country.  Frank McCourt taught there. Four of its graduates have won Nobel Prizes. I thought the pool would be as impressive as the its reputation.

But it wasn't. The pool was a standard high school pool, and it looked like any other high school pool I had swam in before (except for maybe the one at Greenwich High).  The locker room was a rusty and dirty, the pool was a poorly lit, and the water was a little too warm.  For me--this is a good thing. The pool made me feel right at home.  It felt like a place that people came to work hard. For me, fancy pools are places I went to compete at the ends of seasons and get best times.  These pools (like Stuyvesant's) are training pools.

My workout started with a warm-up of a 400 yd swim, a 200 yd kick, and another 200 yd. swim.  The main workout was: 900 yd swim, 1 min rest, 600 yd pull (no legs), 1 min rest, 400 yd swim, 200 yd kick, 3x100 IMs, and 6x50yd backstroke.  It ended with a 200 yd cool down.  Total yards = 3900. The workout took me about an hour and 15 mins.

My times were abysmally slow.  I'm really sore and exhausted today.  I know that I'll be able to do a 1500 meter swim, but unless I start swimming on a regular basis, I won't be at the top of the pack in June.  So, I am going to join Stuyvesant's Community Center and start swimming there on a regular basis, hopefully two to four times a week.

Triathlon Newbie

Over the weekend, I received an email from my friend Liz asking me if I would be interested in doing a triathlon with her this May or June.

I almost always say yes to any type of athletic challenge, so I almost immediately said yes and started getting excited about the process. Liz signed up for two triathlons--one in Memphis, TN in May and one in Washington, DC in June.  I signed up for the one in DC, and am still considering doing the one in Memphis as well.

 First, a little bit about Liz:  I know Liz from doing Teach for America in Philadelphia.  Like me, she is a former college athlete. She is originally from Alabama and went to the University of Georgia for undergrad.  She is currently getting her PhD in Education and Economics from the Teacher's College at Columbia University (smarty pants).

I give you all of this information for a reason: It is no coincidence that people who thrive in difficult circumstances often make the best athletes.  Both Teach for America and being a PhD student qualify as "difficult circumstances" in my book, so I'm pretty confident in her ability to train seriously and to be a great partner in the process.

This will be the first time that I do a triathlon on my own.  It will require me to do a 1500 meter swim, a 40 kilometer bike ride, and a 10 kilometer run.  I will have to train for all three sports and I have to buy the equipment for all three sports. This will be both  time intensive and expensive.

For me, the biking portion will be in the wild card in the mix.  I swam competitively for fifteen years and I have run a number of road races in my life.  I don't know a lot about what kind of gear to wear in open water swims, or how to transition between the three different events, but I know I'll be able to handle it.

Biking is a totally different story.  I don't own a bike.  I know how to ride a bike, and I've even been on long bike trips before. However, I know nothing about racing on a bike.  In fact, recent history has made me a little terrified of bikes.

Last May, a distracted-by-his-iPod biker ran me down from behind while I ran down the Westside Highway.  The accident resulted in a trip to the emergency room, whiplash, some head trauma, and black and blue all over my face and body.

When I visited Bicycle Habitat in SoHo on Monday afternoon to test out a few bikes, riding off the sidewalk made me uncomfortable.  I was so terrified of the traffic, someone hitting me, or worse--me hitting someone else.  It is scary to get on a piece of equipment that you don't know how to control very well.

There is some hope for me though.  I rode a bike when I was home in Manchester this October.  Although I think I hid my tension from Aunt Ruth and Erik, my white knuckles gripped too tightly the entire restless ride, and felt a little emotionally exhausted by the end of it.  This happened in a town where traffic isn't terribly bad, though, and where I'm confident in my ability to navigate the roads.  New York City is a totally different ballgame.  Still, my October bike ride gives me some hope.

This triathlon is one way to help me get over my cyclophobia.  I hope to get a bike by early next week. I'm going to need an extra dose of courage to start training on it, especially when I have to ride on the Westside Highway.  I am hoping that I can get over this fairly quickly, otherwise I might have a pretty difficult time with preparing for this triathlon.

You look like you need a slice of Crack Pie

(This is the fourth post about places I visited in NYC over the Holiday Break).

It's about time that I give a shout out to my brother in this series of posts.  My brother, Tristan, visited me in New York City for a few days between Christmas and New Years.  On his last night in New York City, we decided to hit up the East Village.

Our first objective was to visit Burp Castle.  Burp Castle is a Belgian beer bar that is decorated with pictures of Trappist Monks getting drunk, and with bartenders that shush patrons when they are getting too loud.  Unfortunately for us, the train we were on went from running local to express mid-ride and we had to get off at Union Square instead of Astor Place.  I told him we could still walk to Burp Castle, but it was a cold night and Tristan's blood has thinned from living in Los Angeles.  After ten minutes of walking, his opinion on the situation was to find somewhere warm as quickly as possible.

While strolling down Second Avenue, I saw Momofuku Milk Bar and made a quick decision to go there instead. The dessert haven is attached to another incredible restaurant, Momofuku Saam Bar.  The Milk Bar offers a variety of desserts, including crack pie (toasted oat crust with something gooey in the middle)  and compost cookies (made with pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, and chocolate chips).  On top of that, they offer Stumptown coffee (for all of you coffee fans out there) and to-die-for pork belly buns from the Saam bar's menu.

Neither Tristan nor I were able to finish either of the decadent pie slices we purchased.  I got the Grasshopper pie (a mint-cheesecake and brownie affair) and Tristan got the peanutbuttery Candy Bar pie.  There's nothing like some great dessert to go along with brother-sister heart to hearts.  It was nice to finally get some one-on-one time with him without cameras or the rest of our family around. 

(Crack Pie)

 
After that, we headed to Dempsey's to wash it all down, then headed back to my apartment.  Unfortunately, Tristan and I both failed to set our alarms properly and Tristan nearly missed his flight the next morning.  Thank goodness for my mom, she called around 7:15 to make sure Tristan had arrived at the airport safely (his flight was at 8:30 AM).  In a scramble, Tristan left and headed West.  With any lucky, he'll be back soon for more of NYC's many treats.

mmmm Cheeeeese

(This is the third post in a series about places I went in NYC over the Holiday Break).

I have always been a big fan of cheese.  I blame my father for this.  He took me on a wine-tour-bicycling trip of Burgundy region of the France when I was twelve years old, and I was sold.  I was the only child on the trip (my dad was overly confident in my athletic abilities even then), and at that point in my life I still thought wine was gross.  So, upon arriving at vineyards and wine shops, I would wander to the village cheese cart and get myself something. The cheese in France is phenomenal. There are no laws in France requiring milk products to be pasteurized.  This allows the cheese to retain its flavor because its bacteria is not killed off like it is in the United States.  In general, when food is processed to have a longer shelf life, flavor is lost. But I digress...

Since then, I've always liked cheese a lot and I shy away from processed slices, and am always excited to find something new to try.  Other than Whole Foods, I hadn't been anywhere in New York City that sold great cheese. This all changed when I went to my co-worker and friend Yana's birthday party a few months ago.  She ordered a few platters from Murray's Cheese Shop on Bleecker Street (very smart move on her part), which threw me into a fit of ecstasy for the evening.  The platter had  great prosciutto as well.  I think I ate enough of it to make my stuffed pig feel threatened.

Of course, from this point forward I felt strongly compelled to visit this cheese shop. I mentioned the cheese to Jon after the party, and he told me that the shop not only sold great cheese, but he often visited Murray's for their cheese sandwiches as well.  So, I coaxed Amy and Erik (ok, so maybe "coax" is not the right word here. They were totally into the idea too...) into visiting the shop on Sunday afternoon for sandwiches. 

Erik got a "Murray's Cheese" sandwich, Amy had the same with an egg on top, and I had the same as Amy with prosciutto on top of the egg.  It was pretty messy, but heavenly.  Each ingredient in the sandwich was top-notch, and the combination made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  I cannot wait to go back and try another sandwich.  The shop itself is neat--in the front of the shop there is a place to order sandwiches to-go, and in the back there is an immense selection of cheese and meats.  They have a 'taste anything' policy, so customers can test out what they're getting before they purchase.  The staff is friendly, and the prices are not ridiculous.  They also offer cheese tasting classes (if anyone wants to get me a gift, this would be a good one.)

Suggestions: If you are walking around the West Village and want a sandwich, or if you're hosting a party and want to make it classy (and want your guests to REALLY enjoy themselves), go to Murray's. 

Visit http://www.murrayscheese.com to see their stellar selection.

Sweet Revenge

(This is the second  post in a series about places I've visited in NYC in the past week).

On Sunday afternoon, after leaving Becky and Drew off near Penn Station for the Megabus and then picking Amy up from a different Megabus, hunger started to set in.  Me, Erik and Amy headed towards the West Village in search of espresso beans (at Porto Rico) and then sandwiches (at Murray's Cheese shop).  While at Murray's Cheese shop, my friend Jon joined us, and then the four of us headed to his apartment to eat.  Jon was moving out of Manhattan that day for greener pastures (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and waiting for his friend Frank to arrive to help him with the move.  After discussing New Years Eve at length, and realizing that Frank was going to be late, we all decided to head down the street for another treat.

Sweet Revenge is one of those New York City places that make you think "I can't believe I haven't found this place yet." In fact, Jon commented on the irony of visiting Sweet Revenge only an hour before moving out of the West Village.  Each time I visit, I think to myself "why didn't I come up with this idea for a business?" and then start to think of all the other cities that would stand to benefit from a restaurant like this one.

The idea for this cupcake shop is ingenious.  In a city inundated with cupcakes to the point that many people claim that cupcakes are going out of fashion (TREND ALERT: the next small treat trend is pies and tarts, apparently) Sweet Revenge remains as a trend-setter. It stand out for one small reason:  It pairs its cupcakes with alcoholic beverages.

 I first visited Sweet Revenge in May for my friend Melissa's birthday, and have gone back several times since then. It is the perfect place for out-of-towners, birthday parties or other celebrations, or for single-readers: it's a great date spot.  Neither Amy nor Jon had ever been, so the decision of what to do next was very clear on Sunday afternoon.

There are only six flavors of cupcakes served on a daily basis (four Signature cupcakes served everyday, and two Artisan cupcakes that rotate daily).  Each cupcake is individually paired with a wine and a beer. 

 

(Amy Enjoying her Crimson and Creme with Raspberry Bellini)

 The four of us squeezed into the tiny restaurant and enjoyed. Jon had the densely peanut butter flavored Sweet Revenge paired with a Malbec,  Erik had a Cafe Mocha Cupcake with a Guinness, and Amy had the Red Velvet Crimson and Creme paired with a Raspberry Bellini.   Needless to say, I regretted my decision to not get a cupcake after about 10 minutes of watching their ecstatic expressions.  Unfortunately, I was still full from my sandwich at Murray's...

Hark! Good Coffee in the Financial District/Tribeca Area

Living in New York City has many advantages.  One is that people always want to visit.  I'm lucky enough to live in an apartment that is conducive to hosting people (we have an extra bedroom), so during long weekends and holidays I typically have a steady stream of visitors.  

This year's holiday season was no exception: My brother Tristan was home from Los Angeles, my cousin Becky and Katie were in town, and Erik's friends Drew, Amy, and Vaughn were around as well.  When this many people are in town, exploring the city and patronizing its fine establishments is a main form of entertainment.  Apartments are too small to sit around in for too long or host too many people, and there is ALWAYS something new to discover.

Over the next few days I'll write about a few places I visited over the last week or so.  If you're an out of towner visiting soon (or a New Yorker looking for something new to visit) these places might be worth checking out.

Kaffe 1668: (on Greenwich at Warren). After a late Saturday night of jigsaw-puzzling and New Year's Eve recuperation, Drew, Becky, Erik and I woke up on Sunday morning with coffee on our brains.  We attempted to go to the Blue Spoon Coffee shop on Chambers Street only to discover that, like many things in the Financial District, it is closed on weekends.  We Smartphoned and Yelped our way to Kaffe 1668 after this (a few blocks West and South), and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. 

The facade of Kaffe 1668 is deceiving. From the outside, it looks like a store front of a suburban strip mall. It doesn't scream for attention in the way many coffee shops do--you don't get that "oh this place looks so cute and cozy, I really want to go inside" feeling when you walk past it.  In fact, the outside is so unimpressive that even though I had walked by it at least one-hundred times on the way to and from the grocery store over the past few years, it had never once beckoned me inside.

The inside is warm and inviting with long tables, art on the walls, lots of sheep decor and hipster-ish baristas. This scene is a bit an unusual for somewhere so close to the business-oriented Financial District, but in a good way.  Its ambiance makes it feel like it belongs in the West Village or Lower East Side.

There was not enough room for us to sit inside, and my Cappuccino took a long time to make, but the quality of the drink made up for it.   This is definitely a place I'll be frequenting now that I've discovered it.  If you find yourself in the Financial District or Tribeca, enjoy coffee, and are sick of seeing the umpteenth Starbucks in a two-block radius, this place might be for you.  

(http://www.kaffe1668.com/)