gnomi: (Default)
This weekend, [personal profile] mabfan and I and Muffin and Squeaker joined [profile] lcmlc and Abba on a Grand Adventure to answer the following question: can four adults take two two-year-olds to a bar mitzvah in Maryland without losing their minds.

Or, to put it another way, [personal profile] mabfan and I and [profile] lcmlc and Abba and Muffin and Squeaker went to Silver Spring, MD, for [profile] beckyfeld and [personal profile] osewalrus' son's bar mitzvah.

The weekend was lovely, the train trip was not as harrowing as I had feared (even with a two-hour delay outside Baltimore on our way back due to flooding on the tracks), we saw many people -- both family and friends -- that we hadn't seen in forever, many of whom had never met Muffin and Squeaker. M&S were beautifully behaved during all of the "you need to be quiet and pay attention" parts (helped partly on Sunday by the centerpieces at the brunch -- the girls had more balls to play with than they knew what to do with).

Mazal tov again to the parents of the bar mitzvah and the bar mitzvah himself. Yasher koach!
gnomi: (transportation_local)
So, we're traveling to Maryland in the very near future for a bar mitzvah. [personal profile] mabfan, Muffin, Squeaker, [profile] lcmlc, Abba, and I are taking a train down to Maryland that leaves Boston at a relatively early hour. Transporting all of us and our luggage is the challenge I am now facing. The current plan is that I will take Muffin and Squeaker in their stroller on the T to South Station while [personal profile] mabfan takes the luggage in a cab. But I'm very worried about the T having issues and us therefore missing the train (this would be a Very Very Bad Thing).

So I have a question: does anyone in the Boston area know of a cab company/car service that can provide car seats for a short trip? Taking Muffin and Squeaker's car seats to Maryland is a non-starter, since they cannot use them on the train and we are not planning many car trips while in Maryland (and for those that we are planning, I am told that car seats will be provided by MD locals). The T-and-cab plan is still the plan of record, but I am exploring options.
gnomi: (Default)
-- Is it rude for someone to blatantly read the back of your newspaper while you're trying to read the front? I felt it was at 7:20 or so this morning, but maybe I was too sensitive. Though her *leaning in* to check out the graphic is the bit that tipped me over to say something.

-- Morning fire alarms are no fun when one works on the 13th floor of a 14-floor building. The people doing construction upstairs should be more careful.

-- I think I mananged to get through a weekend on Martha's Vineyard without getting a sunburn. This is a big deal because I was actually outside a couple of times while it was sunny, I didn't have sunscreen with me, and I can burn while waiting for the bus in the summer.

-- After this weekend, I have a couple of over-ripe bananas. There is banana bread in my future.

-- Signs warning of the possible presence of deer ticks should be at eye level, not knee level. The deer ticks aren't the ones who need to read the sign. I'm just saying.

-- The weather should make up its mind and commit to warm or cool so that buildings can figure out how to set their HVAC systems. I'm tired of being too cold on cold days and too warm on warm days while inside.
gnomi: (Default)
This weekend, I was out on Martha's Vineyard with [personal profile] mabfan and a bunch of friends. We had a wonderful time, but I didn't any computer access after around 5 PM on Friday. I will not be able to catch up. Please let me know if there's anything important that I missed.
gnomi: (Default)
Or, subways, Subway, the president, and Shabbat

-- Slept a bit late, given how late we'd gotten in after the show. Eventually, got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and headed out for the day.

-- Headed downtown to Wall St. for [personal profile] mabfan's radio interview and for me to meet up with [profile] running_girl4.

-- Discovered that Wall St. was swarming not only with news crews but also many, many cops and others in full riot gear (more on this below)

-- While [personal profile] mabfan was at WBAI taping his upcoming Hour of the Wolf appearance, [profile] running_girl4 and I wandered all over the South Street Seaport.

-- While we were up on the third-floor outlook, checking out the New York City Waterfalls, we noticed some activity over at the heliport nearby. Within a couple of minutes, a large, official-looking helicopter took off, followed by a couple of "friends." It turned out to be Marine One, followed by security, thus explaining the heavy police presence witnessed just a bit earlier.

Helicopters over the East River )

-- Once [personal profile] mabfan finished his interview, it was close to 2:30 and we hadn't yet had lunch. But we'd done a bit of research to find out where we could find kosher food in the Wall St. area, and we discovered that there was a Glatt kosher Subway just a couple of blocks away. So [profile] running_girl4 walked us over there (her office is right around the corner from there) and left us to our lunch. Of course, since it was Friday afternoon and after 2:30 when we got there, we were concerned that they would close before we could get our lunch. Luck was with us, however -- they closed at 3 PM, so we could get our lunch and take it to a park down the block to eat.

-- After we ate, we ran a brief jewelry-related errand to replace the broken chain of a necklace that I've worn since [personal profile] mabfan got it for me for my 21st birthday, and while we were there he got me a pair of matching earrings.

-- From there, we started our way back to Queens, arriving not long after our hosts got home from work. We helped out with the Shabbat preparations, and then we had a lovely Shabbat dinner with them and talked long into the night, until we all decided that if we kept talking we'd fall asleep where we were sitting, so we all retired for the night.


I'll try to post about Shabbat and Sunday before the holidays start Monday night, but no promises...
gnomi: (Default)
ETA: In which we get to New York, see friends, see a show, meet not-really-family, and accidentally meet Martha Kent and Perry White.

-- Up at 5:15 AM (stupid someone's-pants calling our home phone), to South Station by 6:30, on 7:15 train.

-- Got to Penn Station around 11:00 (train was delayed 15 minutes due to track work)

-- Went to [personal profile] chaos_wrangler's work to get keys, as we stayed with her and G. for the weekend. From there, went and dropped off luggage at their place, then went back to Manhattan.

-- Friend with whom we were going to have lunch had to cancel due to family obligation, so we went to first of many fleishig (meat) meals, this one in midtown.

-- After lunch, went to see our broker. During the time we were there (about an hour total), the market went up over 400 points. Broker requests we drop by more often. :-)
Our Broker, Ian Rowan )

-- From the broker's office, we wandered over to office of [profile] popfiend for a brief visit. Hugs were exchanged, conversation was lively, and visit was quite fun.
Popfiend Behind Here )

-- Went uptown to Lincoln Center to pick up our tickets for the show that evening (Lincoln Center is under large quantities of construction, and we didn't want to be delayed closer to show time getting our tickets). Afterwards, hung out briefly in a Starbucks and then headed in the general direction of dinner.

-- Had dinner uptown near Lincoln Center rather than schlepping back to midtown for food. Limited restaurant choices, but food was *excellent*. Did not eat Bambi. Second fleishig meal of the day (*very* rare for me to have meat twice in a day; we did it three times this weekend).

-- Went to show. Show was *wonderful*. Absolutely magnificent. Words cannot describe the experience. Had eighth-row orchestra seats. Only downside? Clove cigarettes used in production (which we were warned about by signs in the lobby) made [personal profile] mabfan's and my eyes water.

-- [personal profile] mabfan and I had been invited to come to the stage door to meet Danny Burstein (the actor, not the brother) after the show, so we headed that way. On the way, we encountered a bunch of the male choristers heading off to go bowling, and then when we got to the stage door, Danny was already out of costume and waiting to meet us. We had a wonderful conversation with him and (after a bit, since he wasn't going bowling due to having other plans) his lovely wife. They were sweet and gracious, and Danny signed everything we asked him to. As we were leaving, I got hugs and kisses from both of them.
Danny Burstein and Mabfan )

-- While we were talking to them, another couple walked up to compliment Danny on his performance. The husband of the couple introduced himself to Danny as Michael McKean, and Danny subsequently introduced [personal profile] mabfan as "my cousin Michael." The wife of the couple was not introduced, but I later identified her as Annette O'Toole.

-- Took cab back to home of [personal profile] chaos_wrangler and G., and then crashed out around 1 AM or so, having been up for close to 20 hours.
gnomi: (boston_skyline (shoegal-icons))
[personal profile] mabfan and I are back from our long weekend in New York.

Here are some *very* brief, context-free highlights, with more to follow:

-- Wonderful friends
-- Wonderful show
-- Cheek-smooches from not one but two Tony Award nominees
-- Meeting other celebrities becoming an also-ran event
-- Radon or elephant?
-- Touring companies
-- Nappity-nap, don't take yak!
-- New York is Book Country
-- Scientologist pirates?
-- More fleishigs than I've eaten in a month

I'm not going to be able to catch up with my friends list, so please let me know if there's anything I need to know.
gnomi: (Default)
...to whom it may concern. :-)

[personal profile] mabfan and I are leaving early-early tomorrow morning (OK, not *that* early-early; our cab comes at 6:15 AM) for NYC, and we're not taking our computers. I will be reachable on my cell phone (if you have the number) or via e-mail at gnomi [at] sff [dot] net (because I can get my e-mail on my phone, but it'll be sporadic) in case of wild penguin attack or other emergency.

I'll do birthdays when I get back; if your birthday is between 18 and 21 September, take this as an early "happy birthday," and the real greeting will be slightly belated.

Have a wonderful weekend all. Leave me a note here if there's anything you especially want me to see, as I will not be able to catch up after four days offline.

::hugs:: for everyone
gnomi: (Default)
For those of you following the arrival of the Nomi & Michael Show in New York City, here's the current schedule. Feel free to skip to the relevant part for yourself.

Thursday:
Thursday we seem to be pretty much booked up. [livejournal.com profile] popfiend, you're on our list to try to stop by and see in the late afternoon. [livejournal.com profile] dianora2, if you're around, we'd love to see you too.

Friday:
Michael will be taping his radio show interview in the early afternoon, while Nomi and [livejournal.com profile] running_girl4 wander the seaport. [personal profile] mabfan will meet up with them after his interview. Anyone else want to join us?

Saturday:
Shabbat. Booked.

Sunday:
We plan to drop our stuff at Penn Station and then wander around New York is Book Country in Central Park from about 10 am to 12:30 pm. Anyone is welcome to join us there.

Following that, we plan to have lunch at Mr Broadway, a kosher restaurant at Broadway and 38th Street, at 1 pm. So far, it seems as if [livejournal.com profile] jjbaker, [livejournal.com profile] mamadeb, [livejournal.com profile] ennienyc and [livejournal.com profile] nojojojo are interested in meeting us. Anyone else who wants to join us, reply here or e-mail so we know the number of people.

If you need our cell phone info, drop me e-mail.
gnomi: (Default)
[personal profile] mabfan and I are coming down to New York City for a couple days (18-21 September). Our time is a combination of already booked and totally unstructured, and you (yes, you!) can help us figure out what to do. Here's what we know already:

-- Thursday: Arriving mid-morning, dropping luggage, lunch with a friend in midtown, show in the evening.

-- Friday: [livejournal.com profile] mabfan has a 12:00 PM appointment to tape "Hour of the Wolf" for WBAI; I will be footloose and fancy free for two hours.

-- Shabbat: With friends [personal profile] chaos_wrangler and G., with bonus visiting with [personal profile] sdelmonte and [personal profile] batyatoon

-- Sunday: 4:00 PM-ish train back to Boston

What we don't know:

-- What to do Thursday afternoon between lunch and dinner (though there might be a trip to the New-York Historical Society)

-- What I should do with myself from noon until 2 on Friday while [personal profile] mabfan is doing his interview

-- What we're doing after [personal profile] mabfan's interview (and before Shabbat), and whether anyone wants to join us for whatever that may be

-- Where we might meet folks for lunch on Sunday (only parameters are kosher, somewhere not horribly far from Penn Station)

-- Which of you lovely folks are joining us for lunch on Sunday
gnomi: (penguin_chevruta (rjcardinal))
Friday
-- Got up early, got to train station around 7:30 for 8:20 train, found wireless access in South Station.More Friday )

Saturday )

Sunday )

So, that's the weekend in a nutshell. Much fun was had, many good friends seen, even more good friends missed.

For [personal profile] mabfan's take on the weekend, click here.
gnomi: (exhausted_monkey)
[personal profile] mabfan and I are back from NYC, having arrived home last night after 11:30 and getting up this morning at the regular go-to-work time.

Trip report to come once I've uploaded photos and cleared some of the fluff out of my brain.
gnomi: (Default)
Mm, mm.

[personal profile] mabfan and I are sitting in South Station waiting for our train to NYC to be called.

We're off for the weekend; I will most likely fall behind in my reading, so please let me know if there's anything I should see.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
gnomi: (alternate_kitty)
So, as [personal profile] mabfan said, he and I are traveling to New York this weekend. And, for me, travel comes with the requisite Packing Angst. What do I take? How much of what do I need? And, at this time of year, how many different possible weather patterns should I prepare for? We're trying to pack light, so that we don't have to schlep too much to the thing on Sunday (since we're leaving from there directly to the train).

My current thought is as follows:

-- Backpack containing books for reading over the weekend and manuscripts to work on during the actual travel

-- Laptop case containing, well, my laptop (and maybe a couple of DVDs for when I get too eye-fried to work on manuscripts anymore)

-- Duffle bag for clothing and travel needs (meds, hairbrush, toothbrush, etc.). Clothing is: two shul-worthy outfits, PJs, smalls, shul-worthy shoes (reminds self that not every shul is like our shul, where at least 1/2 the women wear sneakers to shul).

My thinking is this: One outfit for Friday night and Sunday's event, one outfit for Shabbat day, mufti for traveling on Friday and for motzai Shabbat (Saturday night).

Am I forgetting anything? I'll run the Perpetual Packing Protocol this evening so that I don't forget, for instance, to water the plants. I'll set my Out of Office before I leave this afternoon. And that, I think, is that. But I'm stressing, regardless.

::sigh::
gnomi: (penguin_chevruta (rjcardinal))
Friday:

-- Headed down to DC by Amtrak. Trip was excellent. No screwups by Amtrak, and bonus early arrival (we were running early the whole trip, and we waited about 10 minutes at New Haven so we wouldn't be leaving way before the posted departure time). I avoided being productive the whole way down (::facepalm::) with the exception of a bit of work I did on the ms currently in my queue in the lounge before I got on the train. Read a lot, listened to music.

-- Arrived Union Station and did not get lost finding the Metro. Go me. :-) Got there just in time to catch train in correct direction. Got to Silver Spring Metro no problem. Found local buses. Realized I didn't know which route I wanted. Guessed mightily. Guessed wrong, but only ended up 1.5 blocks from where I intended to be.

-- Got to B&H&A's house. Let myself in, shmoozed with A until H got home. Once H was home, went out to back yard to play with A and the garden hose. Made for very wet A, only vaguely wet [personal profile] gnomi. Good time was had by all. Upon arrival home of B, A and [personal profile] gnomi returned to the house. Was given gift of penguin by B. Surfed Internet briefly until time to prepare for Shabbat.

-- Lovely dinner was had at S&S'; S still extremely talented at poking at music part of [personal profile] gnomi brain. Confirmed he does it on purpose. Wonderful food, excellent conversation. Was very sleepy by end.

-- Back to B&H&A house, to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Saturday:

-- H&A went to shul. B and [personal profile] gnomi totally failed at said shul-going.

-- Got up early, thought better thereof, went back to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Eventually got up again, in plenty of time to dress and get ready for lunch at S&S'. At lunch, saw K&S&J. Much fun conversation, much excellent food.

-- After lunch, Shabbat nap. Nap good. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

-- Not long after rising from nap, visited by A&I&A. Was good to see them. I still very tall. A still very lovely. A still very cute.

-- After Shabbat, went to remind K how to knit. Had much fun. Flailed with pokey sticks for two hours, had wonderful conversation. At midnight, headed home (walked home by S), then checked Internet (confirmed it was still there), then sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Sunday:

-- Up around 8. Ablute, dress, pack, check Internet (yup, still there). Breakfast with B&A. Said goodbye to H, who was off on his own adventures. Flailed around to make sure didn't forget anything (contact lenses, check; train ticket, check; housekeys for Boston, check). Got into car with B&A, trip to Caribou for not!coffee. B&A dropped [personal profile] gnomi at Silver Spring Metro. Dashed through rain to station. Waited for Metro, arrive Union Station 45 minutes before train scheduled to leave (yay!). Waited for train to get loaded, made more progress on ms in lounge, got on train.

-- On train, confirmed that sitting in 2-person seat is OK since meeting [personal profile] mabfan in NYC. End up at 4-person table with just [personal profile] gnomi, since train car mostly empty. Get some more ms done, then read until NYC. At Penn, saw G through train window, gesticulated wildly. [personal profile] mabfan joined me on train. Heard about his weekend, told him highlights of mine. Watched shows on laptop with [personal profile] mabfan. Appreciated 15-minute train delay so could finish what we were watching just as we got into South Station.

-- Off train, to cab. Cab home. Yay, home. Went upstairs, unpacked, flailed about preparing for work on Monday. Sat and watched 'Gates to relax from travel flail. Couldn't keep eyes open after 'Gates, so went to bed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
gnomi: (bankrupt_kitty (lanning))
...jiggety jig.

I had a wonderful weekend with [profile] beckyfeld, [personal profile] osewalrus, and A. I saw [profile] estherchaya, [profile] sethcohen, and J, plus family and friends in the area who are without LJs. It was so wonderful to see everyone and to get time to be with them all.

I'm behind like whoa, so let me know here if there's anything I should know.
gnomi: (yeshiva_stewart)
...and am firmly ensconced at chez [personal profile] osewalrus and [profile] beckyfeld.

::waves to everyone::
gnomi: (Default)
I took a whole bunch of photos at the Nebulas, and [personal profile] mabfan has put them in their own gallery.

Some of the photos aren't the greatest, since the lighting in the ballroom was abysmal for photo-taking, and I didn't move from my seat at our table to get any of them (until after the event was over).
gnomi: (Default)
We're back from our trip to the Nebulas.

Haven't checked friends list since Friday about 2 PM. Unlikely to catch up. Please let me know here if there's anything I should know.

Photos to be posted in the near-ish future.

Fun was had.

Sleep is needed.
gnomi: (Default)
This afternoon, [personal profile] mabfan and I are headed off to attend the Nebula Awards weekend in New York City. We'll be back some time on Sunday.

For the first time in a while, we're traveling without our laptops, so we'll be out of e-mail and LJ contact from this afternoon until Sunday evening.

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

August 2015

S M T W T F S
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 31     

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 7th, 2025 08:35 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios