35 vs. 34: Better in some ways, not in others...

what's better is obvious.
as it what isn't (to me, anyhow)...

New York Day 3: Happy Birthday to Me! (35)

Today was my 35th birthday and it was positively gorgeous here in NYC! We slept in until 11 a.m. when the birthday calls started to come (thank you all, by the way - 10 calls + a few texts makes for a very-loved-feeling-Jenn)...

We headed out and had some Mexican food for lunch at a ny equivalent Taco Del Mar before heading to SoHo for shopping fun! We hit a lot of the big ones, in particular those that are not found in Seattle: Movado, H&M, Zara, Ben Sherman...and then others like Puma, Adidas, Coach, Betsey Johnson, etc. We had a ton of fun actually, Ron found two pair of new sneakers (he's been looking for 2 years, so this was a big thing). I got a little batch of cool t-shirts (the best being from a cool designer selling on the street!) and three bags actually - two low-end cool but utilitarian ones, and one that was a little nicer, but still reasonably priced. My favorite item though is a little casual top from Ben Sherman which I thought would look like crap, but looked awesome!

For dinner, we headed to a restaurant my friend Carol recommended called Sevilla, located in the West Village. We had a drink at a lesbo bar after, and then had dessert. To be honest, we were both pooped from the sunshine and shopping so opted not to go dancing (since I go all the time in Seattle, it wasn't a top priority).

I head home tomorrow evening, but have the bulk of the day tomorrow to do some things here - though I'm not sure what yet. To be honest, I think it's kinda funny I haven't done a single touristy thing really; moreover, this visit has been more about hanging out with Ron and meshing into his daily life here while doing a few things that sounded fun to us both (like shopping). Though I feel like I should do some things like a museum or sightsee, I'm quite content with how I've spent my time thus far, so who knows if I will!

New York Day 2: Brooklyn Pride, Celebrities & a Play

Saturday I headed out to grab a coffee while Ron got himself ready. It was fun to just be out and about like a local - I walked a couple blocks and got a mocha, and grabbed a few yogurts and some cheese at a standard-issue nyc-style hole-in-the-wall grocery. After, we headed to Brooklyn on the subway for their Gay Pride festival, and to see Ron's brother, Bob, who lives there with his Corgie, Guiche (pronounced "geesh"...and refers to an unsavory body piercing - click at your own risk). Apparently, people who live in Manhattan don't go ever to Brooklyn. His brother has lived there for 5+ years, and Ron has been to his place 3 times...and typically they see each other 2-3 times/week - here in Manhattan.

Bob is also a publicist but works on Broadway shows, whereas Ron works on smaller venue shows (both argue his is the better job). He's also quite gay, and has fun kitschy stuff around his house as well (for example, both have vintage TV guide covers framed, such as Fantasy Island, Dallas, etc.). His place is palatial in comparison to Ron's, but like in Seattle, it's location location location...

We grabbed some Meditteranean food and headed to the Brooklyn Gay Pride festival, which was really more-or-less a street fair with a gay bent. There was also a stage, so we watched some performances. However, by FAR the highlight was seeing Cynthia Nixon of Sex & the City fame - in fact, look closely at the photo to the left. Yep, there she is, in the red skirt and hat to my right. It was fabulous! Bob had just interacted with her like two nights ago for a photo op, but we decided not to say hello. We had more fun taking whacky covert photos. I was hoping for a celebrity sighting while in nyc!

After a little siesta, we headed out for Indian food at the kitschiest Indian place in the East Village. We were then off to see a play Ron is promoting, Her Majesty the King - it had some terrific actors and was well-written with some very impressive lines. We both enjoyed it, save for some incredibly uncomfortable seats...but we survived! Walking home through SoHo, we saw Kirsten Dunst as she walked right past us. Celebrity sighting #2, of course, I'd totally miss these people if Ron wasn't along to point them out...

Photos from today!

New York Day 1: Happy Kitty Bunny Pony

I'm in NYC to celebrate (and I use the term 'celebrate' loosely) my 35th birthday! I'm visiting my good friend Ron from Kent. He and his friend Chip run a company called Spin Cycle promoting shows and producing club parties. For example, they run "Joan Rivers Live" each week - apparently I missed her show (and birthday) by just a day. Alas. Getting here was fast and easy, especially after that Manila fiasco!

I arrived at Ron's East Village apartment at 1st & 1st around 6 p.m., we chatted for an hour or so, walked to a small theatre where he had to hand out press passes and then headed to his friend Chip's roof deck, after grabbing a lovely organic iced coffee from the new "green" cookie shop - everything is organic, blah blah... We sat outside with the Empire State Building in the background, chatting and catching up before grabbing a bus around 9:30 p.m. to ChinaTown for dinner at the place-to-go, Wo Hop. We had good fun and good food! And, I got me a Wo Hop t-shirt for a mere 6 bucks.

We walked home via the Lighting District, past the Manhatten bridge. Ron was telling me how he and Chip are trying to think of a new club or party to host and shared his list of potential names for it. Apparently, long difficult names are the new trend (funny, I just read in Seattle Magazine how monosyllable names, such as Crow, Crush, Veil, are all the rage in Seattle and it's getting tired - nyc is just always 5 steps ahead). One of his ideas for a name is "Happy Kitty Bunny Pony" after a popular book...the rest of the list was funny too!

Around midnight Ron got a call to deliver some promotional flyers to a nearby club where Chip was d.j.'ing his weekly gig. I went to this party 8 years ago, the last time I was in NY. We hung around in the dj booth; Chip delighted in showing me his collection of about 50+ Madonna CD's (every legal/illegal Madonna CD known to man - on Halloween, he does a 6-hour Madonna set with no repeats...yikes!). It was 1 or so at this point, so we headed home, visited another hour or two and hit the sack.

What I had forgotten about nyc is that I really love it here! I find it just so dynamic and as if everything is interesting, every person is beautiful and there is nothing boring about being here. I'm sure if I lived here it would be different, but it's like a little visual banquet! See?

Photos: Getting here; Ron's place &, in particular, his celebrity fragrance collection; Manila food here..ug!!; theatre, cookies, roof deck, giant cockroach crosses our path; Chinese food; lighting district; Chip & his dj booth.