Picture A Day

A beautiful night, we walked up a few blocks to Lincoln Center, where some guy was conducting the fountain (yea, the fountain) while security handled the crowds in Avery Fisher Hall.

Conducting (in front of) the Met

The Water Symphony

All Safe

So this woman who Julie had brought in from California for her conference in Las Vegas was in town. A media person, she was negotiating a syndication deal with CBS and some PR firm was throwing a little party at this high end "lounge" in the Time Warner Center overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park. "Would you guys come?" she asked? Well, just to be polite...

Mingling with the Unknown

So we get there, it's a pretty big room, we look around and do not see her. "We're here for the party," we tell the hostess. "Which one?" she asks. She goes down the list, nothing sounds familiar, we put our heads together and figure out where we're supposed to be. She leads us across the room to an area set off with trays of food, very attractive wait staff attending to our every whim. But our friend is not there, we do not know anybody and are not really sure what this party is actually about. So we are just standing there and this guy walks up and says to me "you look really familiar, where do I know you from?" I have no idea who he is, this is some high end something going on here, and the only thing I can think of is he comes into the bar and has seen me there but that does not add up to being here. So before I offer that, I ask the NY question "What do you do?" Well, he runs a small high-end tech company so I say, "Did you go to NYU?" "Yes, I did." Turns out we were in graduate school together. Who knew?

As High as Christopher Columbus

So his company (which he started) is involved with architects and at this gathering they are celebrating something to do with the contract to the observation deck at the upcoming One World Trade Center. One of the things his company does is the technology for observation decks atop tall buildings around the world, touch screens, etc. So before I can catch him up with my post graduate bartending stories, he and Julie are talking technology, he and I are talking NYU, we are eating and drinking well. Still, our friend has not arrived; finally there she is and she sits down in another part of the room. I point this out to Julie who goes over, they embrace, etc, Julie sits down and they talk. After a few minutes I excuse myself from what has become something of a group and go over to say hi to our friend. Guess what? We're at the wrong party!

Central Park South

I go back, excuse myself, explain the situation to my old/new friend, and go back to party #2. Living the high life! And then we finally leave out to a beautiful May evening on Columbus Circle. The end.

Evening Columbus Circle

Campus

Obama was in the neighborhood yesterday, up at Columbia/Barnard to give the Barnard Commencement address. Coincidentally, he stayed in town to do a little fundraising. I went to work last evening and all the streets in that neighborhood had barricades because he was soon to arrive down there. I wonder how much money you have to give to hop a ride to work? Nevermind.

 Knock, Knock!

Knock, Knock!

 Who's there?

Who's There?

Astoria

A beautiful weekend. In town, we found ourselves under the trees out at the Bavarian Beer Garden. Very tasty.

Under the Trees

Last couple of nights at "the theater." First at a friend's show, 60 seat house, 45 unoccupied. Pretty damn good play.

Last night on Broadway, almost full house, Pulitzer prize winner. Yea, pretty damn good play.

But, like Yankee Stadium, economics dictates that if we want to see a Broadway show, we sit pretty high up. At Yankee Stadium, you see the game, the stadium, the environs. A Broadway show, just dark, walls, no environs. Still worth the price of admission (and you can't buy beer, so you still come out ahead.)

From Above

At Our Level