Monday, 28 February 2011

Brooklyn and Peds

We had nice weather again on Sunday.


One of my colleagues who has previously worked in New York knew of a Pizza joint in Brooklyn called Grimaldi's. It's meant to be quite famous but I've never heard of it. It turned out to be quite nice actually. Me approving of something? I know right? 


Our travels there, however, was quite complicated. 


It began with a subway ride from Grand Central to Wall Street. Besides the usual fruitcakes that pepper the subway - buskers, hobos, mentals, it was a pretty routine ride. My colleagues have remarked that there's always going to be a fruitcake on the subway I'm travelling on ... ME. Word.


I walked over to the W Residences and met up with the rest of the team and we walked past Ground Zero on our way to the subway . Worried that some of our party would struggle to walk there and back, a decision was made to catch the subway over to Brooklyn, eat lunch and then walk back.


Not withstanding that there are about a dozen ways we could have gotten to Brooklyn (subway or not), we had to catch the A or the C train as it would get us as close as possible to the Pizza joint. 


Unfortunately, for us, the entrance to the A and C train platform was extremely elusive. It took us no less than 3 attempts before we found the right entrance to the A and C trains.


We only had one stop to travel and when we alighted the subway and walked up to the surface, we were a tad lost. Fortunately, an older gentleman observed our cluelessness and offered to provide us with some directions. Seems that the people over in Brooklyn are a lot nicer! All except this guy ... 






Seems that my colleague earned the admiration of a stalker in the brief time we were over in Brooklyn ...


Grimaldi's was not bad at all. It was different to what i'm used to. Normally, you can choose your own pizza or go with something that's on the menu. This place was different in that it only offered a personalised pizza - what you wanted to put on it. You choose a red or a white base and then you got to put on any number of different toppings. 


After our delightful lunch, we walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn bridge.

Token shot of the bridge....




And a sign to remind us where we were ....




Shoutout to our token photo terrorist who takes pleasure in photo bombing as many photos as possible ;) i tip my hat to you.




It was a fairly easy walk back and i don't think we would have had any issue walking there and back.


My afternoon ended quite well. Being the douche that i am, i did notice a sign that made me snigger ...




The sign clearly indicates that cyclists to yield to pedestrians ... though in my mind, it just reminded me of mr herbert from family guy.




if you don't understand the reference, i saw yield to pedophiles ... i earnt myself a giggle this afternoon :)



Sunday, 27 February 2011

Cheer up!

Normal service will resume in the next post... 


Hot yoga... 

and

CUPCAKES


Saturday, 26 February 2011

Day off


Saturday was actually the first day i didn't have to go to work. it was decided ... a leisurely stroll around central park. started walking from my new home around 9:30am. by the time i had finished walking it was almost 5:30pm. ZOMG. my regs are tired. 

My stroll did bring me some joys and giggles. Having been confined to the office for most of the week, just about anything was going to be exciting. frozen sheet ice on the many lakes/ponds in central park... excitement! 


 and ... SQUIRRELS!

unfortunately, it came with a warning ...


Anyway ... they're exactly like Hammy from over the hedge. 


Which brings me to my next photo ... 


Unfortunately, the one i like is blocked by the stall's owner. it says "DRINK COFFEE. Do stupid things faster with MORE ENERGY". 

It's actually a pretty apt way of describing the work that so many of us must do...

The latest addition to my life if actually a new phone! An htc inspire 4g (essentially a nextg version of the htc desire hd). 2G iphone, you were a constant pain in the ass, you were slow and you were rubbish. good riddance and i hope never to deal with your shenanigans ever again

While i'm about 3 years behind, gps, google maps and a data plan are extremely helpful. i can pretty much find anything i need in this vast city ... even figure out what subways to catch.

The only downside is that battery life is remarkably shit. 

To close off, i need to mention that i have an itch ... and it definitely needs scratching. new york has had a rather major bedbug infestation, and this morning i noticed that there were 4 bites on my legs ... i'm a little bit concerned that my apartment may not have been sufficiently sanitised... i guess the next few days will tell.

Friday, 25 February 2011

My new pad!

On Friday it rained.

I had looked out the hotel window and saw the few odd people holding an umbrella and though, it's only 100 metres across two sets of lights to work.

After i had left the safety of the hotel lobby, and made it to the first light, it's started shitting down. Then i saw the people wearing knee high gumboots. I thought that was rather extreme, until i saw some kid practically get eaten alive by a 30cm deep puddle forming in pot holes on the road.

Good grief...

Anyway, Friday was the anxiously awaited day when i would move into my new apartment. I had debated whether or not i wanted to live in an apartment or in a starwood hotel ... (double points + 500 bonus points per night on Thursday -  Sunday... ffs), but in the end, i figured i'd keep it simple, and opted for the apartment which my manager had booked me into.

Earlier in the day, I had found out earlier that my manager was receiving a referral bonus for putting people up at the hotel (*cough* kickbacks) and was rather worried i would be booked into a closest.

My worst fears were realised when i go to the new place and attempted to check in. The staff was surprised at my arrival and when i asked to check in, he flatly stated that no one was meant to be checking in today.

Ahhh ... the major cockup had decided to rear its ugly head when i had repacked my life into a suitcase and after i been transported to my new "home".

Anyway, the short of it was that head office forgot to send the paperwork through. 30 minutes later, i was sorted and i was escorted up to my apartment. My colleagues staying downtown were put up in to the new W residences and had very little space... my expectations were somewhat low and i feared the worst. when i opened the door i was confronted what appeared to be a dining/living room with a fold out table and a fold out bed.

Lovely ...

Further inspection revealed that there was a bathroom and a bedroom ... much to my relief. fold out bed turned out to be an actual sofa ... not a bad result.

Apartment appears to be fairly spacious... there's plenty of storage space so my message to my amex is rule number #18 of zombieland : limber up ... you're about to get a real workout.

Anyway ... time to unpack

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

Rats and American Food

This morning I saw a GIANT rat outside of my hotel.

Now the place i am staying at, is no classy establishment ... but this RAT was huge.


As i said ... HUGE.

I don't know what a giant inflatable rat is doing outside the hotel ... but it is what it is.

I finally started doing some work today - still a battle to get an ID pass as well as logins for all the servers ... but slowly, we are getting there.

Dinner was interesting. I have spent the last few days recovering from Jet Lag and tonight was the first night that I managed to go out and grab a bite to eat. I met some of my colleagues down on Wall Street at an establishment called Nobu.

There were two items on the menu that I took note of.

This first item is called the Wall Street Sushi.


Notice the gold leaf on top. How decadent...

The second item was actually my idea of what American food was going to be like. It was a dessert item.


I think it's pretty easy to tell that it is deep fried. It's actually a tempura battered cheesecake as recommended by our waitress. 

We ordered one between five of us ... and it was more than enough. She thought that maybe we would need a few more.

So ... first dining experience in New York of this trip ... pricey ... oily ... and a little bit excessive. totally NOT what i was expecting ...


Tuesday, 22 February 2011

New York New York


So, the project FINALLY landed. 

Off to the land of the free. Which is great - i LOVE free stuff.

While there are a number of shenanigans, before I departed Sydney, these are no longer of concern. I will start this short narrative from the International Airport.

Check-in was quite standard. Nothing really stood out, but nothing really ground my gears either. Cue family guy reference

Passed through immigration without a hitch, passed through security without passing a stool. Normally, I'm ALWAYS selected for additional screening, drugs, explosives, pirate dvds, etc. 

This time, NOTHING. I was pretty impressed with myself. 

Sadly this did not last long. After weaving my way through the overpriced wares on show at Sydney Duty Free, I made my way up to the Qantas Business Lounge. Sadly, I was unable to savor the delights on offer at the First Lounge as I lost my Platinum FF status last year.

I understood that the business lounge had undergone some pretty significant renovations of late. While I wasn't expecting no First Lounge, I was also not expecting what was awaiting me on the other side of the automatic doors.

Let me explain. Once upon a time, travel was fairly inaccessible. It was a luxury item and in fact, most people did not even have a passport. What this meant was that bogans were largely confined to the limits of Australian land and waters. 

With the age of discounted travel and the coming of Jetstar, bogans have been given the opportunity to see the world and expand their horizons. Such destinations as Phuket, Bali and Niseko are prime examples of locations which have been boganised. I was able to further add another destination to this list - the Qantas Business Lounge. In fact, when I walked in, I wasn't quite sure whether I was still at the international airport, or whether i had been teleported to Rooty Hill RSL. 

It was a testing hour and a bit in the lounge, and I left the lounge to try and go board a little earlier.

You might ask, what else might disprease renard? Renard is rather easiry unimpressed, dispreased etc. Qantas on time performance is another thing that vexes me. The boarding started late and the the process it self was extremely slow. For a gate which purportedly had at least THREE aerobridges, it took a DAMN LONG TIME to get everyone on board.

Anyway, late boarding leads to a late departure and a potential missed connection. At about 4pm i wish to call in a double airstrike. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Golf Golf Foxtrot. 

Surprisingly, my mood improved a lot more after we left the tarmac. The flight itself started off quite pleasantly. I observed a young child onboard sitting about 5 rows in front of me on the upper deck and I had begun to worry that it might be a sleepless flight.

However, I have nothing to report here but peace and quiet. Thanks to noise cancelling headphones and skillful parents (feeding the child alcohol) his presence remained largely unfelt... until the landing anyway.

The meals on board were typical of business class and were quite satisfactory. 

I believe the only individual who did not approve of the meals was the aforementioned child who decided that it would please him to vomit over his parents when it was time to land.

Which brings us to US Customs and Border Protection. Because of our late departure, we ended up arriving at the same time as 4 other international flights. Essentially, it took about 1.5 hours to clear CBP. 

Typical luck, I drew the dude that was taking his sweet ass time to clear people. In the time it took for him to deal with my entry, the guy next to him processed 9 people. Fortunately, these delays had minimal impact on my connection flight from LAX to JFK. That tends to happen when your connecting flight is also delayed...

GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This gave me the opportunity to pay a visit to the American Airlines Admiral's Lounge. Cue *scoff*. A lounge with only Wifi for American Airlines FF pax? WTF

While the absence of rednecks was duly noted, no WiFi was a deal breaker. Admiral's Lounge... more like convict's meal room. Every where i turned, i saw someone eating a nondescript meal with their face. 

So, in summary so far, 2 rubbish lounges, 2 late departures, 1 baby vomiting. 

I must say, the latter in some ways redeems the other two, but only a teaspoon. 

All of these shenanigans was made up in part by two things... 

The attentive flight attendant on the American Airlines flight who fussed over me like I was a 10 year old who needed constant supervision, crayons and inflight entertainment. AND ... wait for it...

IN FLIGHT WIFI. ZOMG! It is awesome that you are allowed to use wifi on ze prane! Yes, this may be a little bit geeky, but I posted on facebook and had conversations on messenger from 35,000ft. 

Although I'm 99.99% confident that I cannot lay claim to the fact that i was the first facebook user at 35,000ft, there are a large potential number of firsts that could be achieved. For instance, remarking on the quality of the meals as you eat it at 35,000ft. Or something less sanitary ... like posting a status update of "LOLOLOL ... taking a dump at 35,000ft". 

Anyway, I get off the plane wait for my luggage and then go to my hotel.

On my way, I'm accosted by "wtf" glares from randoms. To put it in context, I was wearing Jeans and t-shirt. I had been told that it was only about 5-10C, perfectly fine t-shirt weather. 

Anyway, it was actually -1C or 28F. Hobos, would have been warmer in their coats. Definitely better "prepared" and dressed for the occasion anyway.

Some douche actually walked up and said, you know it's not 50F out here, it's like 28F and i'm like, why don't you go F yourself? I KNOW it's not 50F because you don't get freaking snoticles forming at 50F.

By this time, I'm actually feeling pretty damn tired. I'm also feeling a little hungry, but then i remember, i made an awesome purchase back in LAX. I decide to go back up to my room with my company for a taste - a pair of sweet ass dark chocolate mounds.  You may think that where I am going with this is not worksafe/childsafe ... too late... already past that point.

To convey what I mean graphically, please click here

I could not have asked for a better first meal.... Actually I did, they just weren't serving downstairs anymore.

Now that I'm sure that I can't possibly choose any worse words ... i'm going to sign off.

Renard out.