Having Katie around reminded me of living in China where I worked a maximum of 17 hours on a full time schedule....I took Friday off.... and I spent the day with her and Sammie!
First we woke up at the crack of dawn and headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge for sunrise, we ran (well they ran, I jogged for a few seconds, shuffled for most of the time and walked the remaining distance. The view was gorgeous!
We took the train back to my place and were sadly reminded of the bystander effect (the more people around, the less likely you will be helped). We walked on the train and there was an older man on the floor, his cane beside him and he was sleeping. Everyone stepped over him and found a seat, including us. We were quickly convicted and we agreed that I would ensure that help was on the way or at least that it was a known situation. I told the train conductor and he advised that he called for help a few times. A few stops later, a cop finally meets us in the station. Abiding by the slogan of CPR - courtesy, professionalism and respect, he put on his glove, started grabbing the man by the shoulder and yelled "Cmon buddy, you gotta get off the train, let's go" (yes, I was being sarcastic). Not knowing the condition of the man or the state of his knees, he just pulled him up and didn't even bother to utter the simple words "are you ok?" Regardless of the reason for his condition (self-inflicted or not) I still think that a little compassion would have gone a long way. We felt a little better knowing that he was going to be checked out by medical professionals. We went home and showered to prepare for the rest of our day.
Amazing Brunch at Alice's Tea CupThis surreal
brunch location has an Alice in Wonderland theme. There are three locations for Alice's Tea Cup - we visited Chapter 3 on 81st St. Enjoy the pumpkin pancakes, scones and chicken potato hash with your choice of tea (the tea list is over 10 pages!)
We met Iris for brunch. Katie, Sammie and Iris have not seen each other since elementary school in the 5th grade in Oklahoma. They quickly siezed the opportunity to meet up on the Upper East Side in NYC!
After brunch, we bid Iris farewell and walked over to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
After we left the MET, we wandered through the city, Katie and Sammie posed in front of the 59th St Bridge while humming lyrics to the
Simon and Garfunkel tune.
We walked from 81st St to 42nd St back and forth from east to the west side! We stopped in Midtown to check out the LOVE sculpture.
After Times Square, we took the train to Canal St- China town and left each store with a feeling of success because we bargained to the price we were comfortable paying (which was usually significantly less than the starting asking price!)
Celine Dion said it best “I hate you then I love you then I love you then I hate you, then I love you even more” I have a love-hate relationship with New York but I am definitely in love now! I cannot agree with Rihanna’s sentiments that “I hate that I love you” because I love that I love you!
Here is the other thumb lol
I refuse to be the person who consistently complains about a situation and never does anything about it. So I vow to appreciate New York – the pros and the cons (and honestly the pros outweigh the cons) for as long as I live here. I love this concrete jungle! I'm in a NY State of Mind
