Yankee Stadium Old and New

DW and I had to go up to Lehman College this morning for a staff meeting. We were en route via the B train, when I realized that the 4 would get us closer. The clincher to make a mid-route line switch? The chance to see what's visible from 161st Street: Yankee Stadium.


It's coming along, but the whole trip up was sad for us. The trip from 161st to Lehman passes by the school where we met (which is closing), DW's old address from when we first courted, and Yankee Stadium preparing for it's last season with the team. Even the team that brought back Clemens will get no extra seasons with the house that Babe built.

(click for a higher-res version)

The silver lining on this cloud is a gift DW gave me for Christmas: A gift certificate, redeemable at the Yankee Stadium box office for at least one last game in the old stadium, and DD's first game. And DW made sure we'd have the most important bases covered:
Pics by me from the 4 train, 161st station, and DD's room. :)

Alternatives to painting?

Lately I've been really wanting to paint DD's (darling daughter, of course!) bedroom area, but am also aware that our days in this place may be numbered -- less than 9 months, actually. Subtract two days for painting and "unpainting". I've toyed around with the idea of adding color through non-painting means -- stencils, those runners that come on a roll like wall-paper, or something more non-traditional. I wonder if you have some ideas to share.

Right now, DD's room is looking kind of like this. Forgive the quick sketch from memory, but the basic elements are in: dresser, crib, shelves, and the two things on the right are DW and my closets (mirrored doors that hinge out).

The floor is an un-naturally red wood, and the dresser and combo are various shades of brown. Other than that, it's a very white room, and not very girlie at the moment -- which, may not be every man's greatest worry in the world.

Anyway, if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear it. Before I go out and start lining the walls with hello-kitty wrapping paper.

How would leaving the city change you?

Lately I've thought a lot about what living in the city means to me, and how much of my life would change if I had to leave. We recently had a discussion with someone who keeps kosher, and he gleamed, telling us about all of his favorite places to eat. I was telling DW later that night that his way of life would drastically change if he were to leave the city. I don't recall a great number of kosher restaurants where I grew up on Long Island, and I'm sure that my town was not an anomaly. Aside from just Judaism, New York surely caters to all walks of life.

For DW, I think a big change would be the change in availability to alternatives for cow's milk products (soy / sheep / goat / etc). I mentioned once before how I'd taken for granted the ease of getting a bagel with tofu cream cheese.

For my former co-worker, it meant not having the intellectual stimulation that he had grown accustomed to in NYC.

For me... I think maybe brunch. I met up with my BFF that I grew up with on LI and we searched high and low for brunch. We wound up settling on a diner in Sayville, but that was quite a far cry from brunch as I know it. DW later told me that I might have a touch of citiot in me, trying to have my city things while traveling. Youch... like a good whiff of bleach, that truth stung me on the inside.

Friends of ours who we posed this to last night said that they'd be giving up the 12-square-block community in which they've raised their family for the past 10 years. In other words, they felt they'd be giving up everything.
I'm also so excited to raise a child in this amazing center of variety and opportunity. Above all, I may fear being content in a house with a sprawling backyard so much that I never need to come back home.

What would moving to or from the city cause you to sacrifice? What would you really miss?

Picture Snapshot by me during the 2007 Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Don't pitch that pine! (Part II)

DW has brought it to my attention that the City of New York has much better things to do that jam our curbed trees into the local landfill. How could I be so naive? So curb those trees, New York! Here's a note from the mulchfest site:

How to Recycle Your Tree if You Miss Mulchfest
The Department of Sanitation will collect for composting clean holiday trees left at the curb from Thursday, January 3 through Wednesday, January 16, 2008. Make sure all lights, ornaments and stands are removed before setting trees at the curb.

I stand corrected. And the best part is, I don't have to schlep my pine to the park today.

Don't pitch that pine!

How would you like to help New York City grow? How about reducing space in your local landfill? What's that? You do? Well, you're in luck, for all you need this weekend is one pine tree, much like the one in your living room.

Bring your Christmas tree (sans ornaments and lights, pine needles optional) to a mulchfest site this coming weekend.

• Locations in all boroughs
• Jan 5th and 6th
• 10am - 2pm.

For more info and to find locations near you, check out NYC's mulchfest site.


Picture taken by me, 2007