People and their dogs...

Maybe this attitude is limited to the Upper East Side or all of Manhattan, not sure BUT these people are unhinged.  I have had more dog owners stand there with their dogs like they are inviting Maverick to come over to meet their dog and I approach slowly, looking at the owners in the eye so I don't catch them off guard and then all of a sudden, the fluffy 9 lb. Maltese turns into Kujo, nearly biting Maverick multiple times.  The owner just stands there letting it happen.  The owner doesn't even remotely try to control their dog.  Are they so rich that they don't care about being sued? How about about a freaking warning? I happen to love my dog and wouldn't like for him to be hurt by your fluff ball with an inferiority complex.  If Maverick ever even tried to act like that, I would have the decency to be mortified and we would both be running away with our tails between our legs. Jeez. I find it very hard to believe that any of these multiple instances are the first signs of aggression with these dogs.  You should stop spending money on clothes for the dog and think about obedience training.
Also, I think it is ridiculously rude, not to mention illegal, when certain people consistently (okay every time) let their dogs outside without a leash.  Especially the ones who don't mind their owners and just wonder aimlessly, usually up to me and my dog without so much as glancing in their owner's direction.  Okay, maybe I am a little jealous that I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of controlling Maverick without a leash but then again why is your off-leash dachshund following me down the street away from you.  Now I love my dog and most of God's creatures BUT I am only responsible for my own dog.  Believe me, I have considered getting another dog so that Maverick can have a friend but that is just much more than I can handle.  So when your dog is following me down the street, it is frustrating because I don't want to be responsible for your dog (imagine the whiny voice), and I shouldn't have to be.  So then I have to stop walking with my dog and wait for you to figure out your dog has wandered away from you  (so, sorry you had to interrupt your conversation but come and get your dog)!

Also, I would like to know why people have bought and use strollers for their dogs. Do they have a medical condition that prevents them from walking? Did they inherit the laziness from their owners? What is the deal?

On a more practical note, the other day I had to buy Maverick some more dog food and they stopped making the kind that he had been eating. So I bought some random kind but the only bags they had were either a 10 lb. bag or a 35 lb. bag.  10 lb. is too little and I would be constantly buying dog food but there is no way I can carry a 35 lb. bag home by myself. Plus their delivery fee is half the amount of the dog food. So I whined and the lady at PetSmart said I could take a shopping cart with the bigger bag of dog food. That was fun with all the dirty and weird looks and what is even funnier is when people are completely indifferent. Then on the way to take the cart back, I put Maverick in the cart. He didn't like riding in the cart. I forgot to get a picture of him in the cart (which was the cutest) but I did get proof that I did, in fact, walk down the street with a shopping cart and a large bag of dog food. Just another day in ole NYC. No big deal.

-S
P.S. So now I have a 35 lb. of dog food that Maverick does not like. FML.

He seriously does not appreciate all of my effort.

Runaway cabs and a fitting end to a crazy night... (Part 3)

This is the third part to the crazy evening in the last two posts.  In NYC there are no shortage of crazy cab stories. I have plenty. I will have plenty more as long as I continue to live in this city.  This is just one...
So it was taking Jamie, Jamie's friend & I a really long time to catch a cab.  Even after all the helpful banter from the random bipolar/psychopath. Her friend finally came through and secured a cab.  Catching a cab at 3 am in Manhattan, especially somewhere popular on a Friday or Saturday night is like trying to catch a fish without bait or a pole and in the dark. (Crap my Midwestern roots just poked through.)
When we got into the cab, we informed the driver that there would be 2 stops (totally a common thing in NYC) and the cab driver informed us that he couldn't do that.  We were like well there are still 2 stops. The cab driver started going on and on about how he had to finish his shift by a specific time or he would be fined.  I have no idea if this is true or not.  We tell him that the first stop is on the way to the second stop and it won't take any extra time.  He argues something about not being able to turn left on 1st ave.  So we tell him he doesn't haven't to turn left because he can just drop Jamie and her friend off at 1st and keep going straight to FDR to go uptown.  Hell if it will save you from being fined, Mr. Cab Driver, we don't even need to stop. Let's just open the door and push them out. Save even more time. Since you are being SOOOOOO nice.
So problem solved, right?
Ha! This entire exchange was happening while the cab was careening between lanes, doing wheelies on turns, etc.  It was some very reckless driving, near accidents, and all while he is arguing with us and telling us how he is going to be fined.  He relentlessly let us know how he was going to get in trouble.  Then when he dropped Jamie and her friend off (or like I said they didn't get the door shut before he peeled off again), he was barreling down the Upper East Side along the FDR bitching the whole way.
Then he says something to me to the affect of asking me if I could be dropped off at 96th St, which is a good 8 blocks from where I asked to be dropped off at.  I was texting Jamie the whole time and told her what he was asking.  She told me to tell him that it was illegal to drop someone off other than where they were asking and if he didn't comply that we had his medallion number and would report him.  So I  repeated this to him and he just shook his head and grumbled some more.  I am wearing heels and not comfortable ones either!
Now here is a moment of weakness for me.  This entire hellish car ride in my head I was indignantly saying, "This guy is definitely not getting a tip from me!" I was adamant in my determination BUT then I started to feel bad about the possibility that we could have been getting him in trouble and at least he was nice enough to pick us up?!?!

I know, I know. Still a naive Midwesterner at times and sometimes I am a complete sucker... I now realize: NO, it was his job to pick us up.  When he picked us up, he was agreeing to take us where we wanted to go.  PERIOD. We were paying him for a service and he was ungrateful, argumentative, condescending and reckless.

Alas, I did tip him only $1 but I promise to stand my ground next time.

You live and learn, kids.
-S

Promoters, Wankers and Men with Serious Psychological Issues...

So here is the 2nd part of the evening of the last post...

So the night just keeps getting better and better. So Jamie, her friend and I are trying to catch a cab home from the Meatpacking District at 3 am, which is just about impossible, a guy approaches me and asks, "Can I ask you a question?"

Of course my initial thought was to say get the hell away from me and stop trying to steal my cabs because I just want to catch a cab and go home BUT being the nice Midwestern girl I am (that refuses to be beaten by NYC), I said, "Sure..." (Very hesitantly.)

He says, "What would you say if I told you that I loved you?"

Now I just gave him this look, waiting for the punchline or the excuse that he is on ecstasy.  So given that it was 3 am was about the only thing that kept me from laughing in his face and I was just too tired given the events of the evening so I said to him, "Well, I would find that very off putting."

He says, "You seem like a girl who finds a lot of things off putting." (which is very true)  It is a good thing I have learned to no longer be insulted by random people's observations about me.  So I said, "Yes, that is probably true." So he says, "Come to a party with me." I will preface this with the entire time this exchange is happening, I have my hand raised trying to catch a cab. I am barely looking at him and he is (thankfully) standing about 3-5 feet from me. So I am not showing him any interest. I don't even know if I smiled at him.  The delusions that some men have... I will also remind you that he is a total and complete stranger so of course I said, "I don't think so, I just want to go home."

Then he says, "I hate you." Well there you go... So now this just annoying me and distracting me from the task at hand. So I said to him, "Has anyone ever told you that you might be bipolar?"

He says, "No, I just say a lot of things I don't mean.  All guys do." WOW. Well this IS true but still...

So I replied, "So either you are a liar or a psychopath.  You shouldn't disparage all men."

Then he says this gem, "Every guy is lying when they say I love you.  Every guy who has ever said this to you was lying."  Like I have said, I didn't ask for his opinion. I wasn't crying to my girlfriend about my love life (or lack thereof), I was minding my business just trying to go home. I will admit that when I was younger I would have actually given this asshole's verbal diarrhea some credence.  I would have been like, "Is that true?" I have no idea what his goal was or what he thought he was accomplishing by saying all of this complete crap to me.  Maybe he assumed that because I was going home by myself, I have low self esteem and can be easily berated into believing that I only deserve someone who treats me like crap. Whatever.

At least I am mature now (mostly) and I know that all of the crap coming out of his mouth is exactly that.  I just told him that I was choosing not to believe that and I immediately found where Jamie was and started talking to her.  When I stopped talking to him, he said, "I am bored. This is lame," and walked off. Yes, I agree. It must be lame when you come up and try in every way to insult and rile up a complete stranger only for them to not fall all over themselves at your feet. I wish you luck but keep walking...

That same night there was an insane, rude cab driver (which there are absolutely no shortage of those stories in this crazy city).  Will have to save that for part 3...
Be safe out there, it is a zoo.
-S

One Crazy Saturday Night

So as promised here is one more story of hopefully many more to come...

Last Saturday night, my friend and I met up with one of her friends.  Let's call my friend Jamie and let's call her friend Julie. Julie knows some promoters who got us into Marquee and she also brought several of her friends as well. Marquee is a club/lounge. We stayed at Marquee for awhile taking advantage of free bottle service and places to sit (because of our too tall heels) courtesy of the promoter connection.

Now how I understand this whole promoter thing is this... it is this person's job essentially to party. They encourage their friends, acquaintances, their friend's acquaintances, and just totally random people to go to these clubs.  I have no idea how or who makes money off of this but I will continue to take advantage of this completely frivolous lifestyle.  Maybe it is to encourage guys to come? I don't know. Clearly someone much smarter than I decided that there was a need for a position such as this and BOOM you have a promoter.

Anyway, after dancing and watching the scantily-clad go go dancers, we left to go to Manon, which is a restaurant turned nightclub/lounge in the later hours of the evening.  On our way there, Jamie and I were walking and I noticed a man sitting in a chair surrounded by garbage on the sidewalk where we were walking.  I should have thought it was weird that the man was sitting in a lawn chair in the middle of Manhattan after midnight.  Where can you even get a lawn chair in Manhattan? No seriously, where? But then on a closer look, I noticed that the man was not wearing pants or shorts or anything covering his lower half.  Immediately, I tried to avert my eyes knowing that this can't be good. So I start to walk faster, dragging Jamie with me.  Unfortunately, I still saw the man masturbating with his VERY large penis.  He also told us that he wanted to come all over us.  I definitely started running and immediately motioned for the girls behind us to hurry up.  Of course only in NYC would you tell a bouncer that this is happening a mere feet from the door of their establishment and then just look at you like, "And?"  One of the girls called the police. I have no idea what became of this very horny man but he was gone by the time we left. THANK GOD.

There was also this girl (strangely the same that called the police) who kept spilling every drink she had.  She didn't seem drunk or to be stumbling, but yet she constantly was spilling EVERY drink.  Like she would be walking completely fine with a half full drink and still somehow manage to spill it.  If it wasn't so annoying, it would have been an interesting case study in miracles.

There is more to this evening but alas I think I will make it a 2 or maybe a 3 part-er.  :) A girl should always leave a little mystery.

Be good,
-S
Tip: A little advice from a dog owner, please ask whether it is ok to pet someone's dog.  DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT just start whistling or making various sounds at my dog or send your kid up to my dog.  This is not just because it annoys me greatly, which it does, but it is also for your safety. I know my dog looks like a fluffy sweetheart, which he is, but he could be a rabid, vicious, mean dog, who at my command is ready to bite your face off.  Not to mention that is just rude to start talking to my dog without recognizing that I am a human being and not a dog walking robot. (Whoa, that is a great idea.)

Here goes again...

So I find myself apologizing yet again to the vast empty space of my blog that reaches a few kind people. I have been lazy again. Again, it is not with lack of stories to tell that I haven't been writing but I promise that I have been aptly living my life and enjoying all the fun and crazy times that NYC has to offer. I will have been here for two years next month. That is craziness. I have had everyone in my family visit at least once and most more than once. I have managed to make (and lose) some wonderful friends. Something that has made all the difference in my happiness in NYC has been finding great friends that live near me. I have managed to find a great group of girls (and a few guys) that really seem to embody the types of friendships that I have always hoped for. People who genuinely love doing the same things that I do. No they don't think it is a crazy idea to have a Christmas/Hanukkah (Chrismakkah) caroling party/bar crawl (and we did!).

 So some highlights since we last spoke:
 I went snowboarding/ski trip in Vermont (and various places in NJ and NY).
 Have been to multiple GALA's to volunteer for the McCarton Foundation.
 Have joined two online dating sites/mobile apps.
 Got lost in the Bronx.
 Switched jobs.
 Attended a Friendsgiving.
 Weathered another hurricane.
 Turned 30.

Those are what I can think of right now. Maybe I will elaborate on some of those at different times.

 Under the very sweet and nice encouragement of a friend, I have decided to try to continue this blog once again. I am going to try to be practical about it. I have almost two years of stories to tell and not to mention what will continue to happen to your very own crazy magnet (that's me).
 Until then...
-S
Tip: Before you travel to the big apple from another country, please learn the phrase "Insufficient Fare." It is what shows up on the subway turnstile when you don't have enough for a single ride. Continuing to swipe will not change this fact. It will save us all a lot of time and frustration. If you are a native English speaker and do not know this phrase, well... I doubt anything I say can help you now.

Random things I notice...

In the Midwest, it is common for people to hold the door for you. It is especially rare when a man does not hold the door for a woman. Well New York is different. I can't count how many times the door has slammed in my face. Subway doors, elevator doors, doors to work, Starbucks, etc. Every once in awhile you encounter someone who does hold the door open for you and it is nice. So being the nice Midwestern girl that I am, I say, "Thank You." It is just what you do. There is a type of individual in NY that I have noticed that does not seem to exist in the Midwest. The older, nicely dressed gentleman. He will hold the door open for you but when you thank him, and I am not kidding, he looks at you like, "This is a complete waste of my time. You thanking me is actually taking more time than I planned and I totally regret holding the door for a few extra seconds." It is the oddest thing. What is even funnier is that the other day as I was leaving the gym, I heard this awful squawk. I looked behind me and there was this old lady. I am assuming she was mad because I didn't hold the door for her but I honestly didn't see her. She is a fast moving blue hair. But seriously!

That reminds me. Old people in NYC are a whole other thing. I can't decide if it is all of New York or just the Upper East Side. The other night I was at the grocery store and there was an older man in front of me with a couple of things. I started to grab the partition thing so I could start putting my groceries on the conveyor belt but he grabbed it out of my hands and put it back! I just stood there stunned, unsure of what to do. Which what I wanted to do was grab it again and beat him with it. What the hell? You don't grab things out of stranger's hands. So I was like, well I am just going to start putting my stuff on the belt and if he gets charged for some of my stuff that will teach his social security ass to grab things out of people's hands.
They finally took the scaffolding off of the front of my building which is nice. I almost don't recognize the front of my building! But unfortunately, the two holes from the construction workers are still here. There is one on the wall in my bedroom which is the front of the building. The front of the building is patched up so air isn't leaking out or in but there is still a huge hole and I am afraid they will charge me when I move out. There is also a hole near the ceiling in my bathroom. Any time someone shuts a door anywhere in the building, pieces of wall and debris fall. There is a constant mess that I have completely given up cleaning except for maybe once a month.

Still dealing with Maverick's anxiety that has significantly gotten worse from moving here. He has really good days and then he has days that he just shakes and there isn't anything I can do. It doesn't make any sense. There isn't a lot of noise on my street. I bought the Thundershirt. Hopefully that helps. The vet prescribed anti-depressants but they don't work once he is already in an anxious state and I don't want to keep him constantly medicated. Will let you know if the Thundershirt works. I am hopeful.
Dad and I leave for Italy in 18 days. I am taking him on his first overseas trip to Italy for his belated 60th birthday. It is where our family is from and I can't wait to show him Italy. He has no idea. We are going to Venice, Rome and Sicily. I haven't been to Sicily before so I am pretty excited about that.

For some reason, my mind really wants to be running but my body has been so tired lately that I just can't make myself do it. It sucks. Can't wait for the weather to get nice again and so I can run in Central Park.

I finally signed up for German class. I speak German conversationally and it has always been a goal of mine to become fluent. Here is the first step. It feels really good to make the first step. Classes don't start until April. I have a busy couple of months anyway.
-S
P.S. I love cake.

Sorry I have been absent. Please forgive me.

I promise I have definitely been out and enjoying my life and not being boring. :) Let's see. I still have nights where I go out and it just starts out watching a Mizzou basketball game on a Saturday afternoon, drinking a couple of beers BUT crazy Sarah rears her ugly head and gets me into trouble. She always does. So I was out with Trisha and her roommate who is from St. Louis. We were watching the Mizzou game last Saturday at Blackstone's, the Mizzou bar. Started out just a couple of pitchers of (yuck) Bud Light but of course we can't go home after the game. We decide to move the fun further south. We try to go to McSorley's which seems like a good place but waaaaay to crowded. We go to the St. Mark's Hotel bar which was LAME! Then we find this place called Phebe's (Bowery at E. 4th St. ). The inside of this place seems pretty cool. We sit and have a couple of drinks even talk to some cute guys. Now here is where the night gets a little dicey. We decide to leave, this I know but I have no idea why or how it was decided that we went to the next place which I am pretty sure was the 13th Step. We head to the back of the bar where there is a second bar. We found a beer pong table! We kept having people either say 'Go Blue!' or Ohio fans were mad at us. (Because they don't realize that we are wearing Mizzou shirts.)
Then I had a total douche say to me, "Mizzou didn't play today."
I was like, "Uh, yes we did. I watched the game."
He was like, "Football?"
I was like, "No, Basketball."
And he was like, "But you are wearing a shirt with a football helmet on it."
What a total douche.
It wasn't like I was wearing a Yankees hat to a Giants game. Some people. Then we decide to play the next game of beer pong. Trisha and her roommate played while I came up with the plan to distract the guys we were playing by dancing seductively while they were throwing the balls. It worked pretty well.
I also found a large group of Indian people. I decided to text my friend (who happens to be Indian) and let her know. Which obviously is of the utmost importance and riveting information that she probably had no idea that other Indian people lived on the island of Manhattan and being the good friend that I am, I had to alert her to this fact. By this time, clearly I am very drunk. I decide to walk up to these people and tell them that my friend is Indian. Not my finest moment, I admit. Again it was decided to leave. I have no idea whose idea it was. It could have been mine. I made it home to my dog who most likely was thinking, "Oh here is my drunk and disorderly owner, AGAIN! I am so proud." I am pretty sure I took him outside but I don't remember.
Unfortunately, I am getting older. Evenings like this result in taking about 1.5 days of recovery.
Another time I will have to share the night my coworkers and I went to a little hole-in-the-wall called Subway. We are all still laughing about it and it happened back in December. We are hopefully going out tomorrow night weather permitting. Also thought it would be fun (for anthropological reasons) to do speed dating. Will report. Over and out.
-S