The Sky is Falling . . .

At approximately 8:05 this morning, a construction crane at the corner of 91st St and 1st Ave collapsed and fell 32 stories to the ground, destroying surrounding buildings, killing one, and injuring a few. The incident was only three blocks from my apartment (89th St and 2nd Ave). Luckily, I was home sleeping off my late night action from last evening and wasn't affected at all. But, there is an army of news vans, emergency vehicles, reporters, and police officers that has invaded my street. And, I can hear the news choppers continuing to circle the skies outside my window . . . it's absolute pandemonium.

This is the second deadly crash in the last 90 days. March 15's accident killed three and was only two blocks from my friend Linda's house at 50th St and 2nd Ave . . . My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims.

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

I just couldn't contain myself any longer and decided to catch a midnight showing of Sex & The City tonight. And, to celebrate both the highly anticipated return of my fave gal pals to the big screen and the warm weather come lately, I donned my most fun opened-toed heels all day. Oh yeah, the red ones! My co-worker Dixie came by my desk today and told me how "glamorous" she thinks I am (not how glamorous I look, but how glamorous I AM). Soon, a few of the other girls in the office were chiming in and even compared me to some of old Hollywood's famous glam girls. Apparently, I have movie star quality and didn't even know it--she mentioned something about Elizabeth Taylor, Black Velvet, amazing eyebrows . . . I was so flattered and excitedly replied, "Dixie, I like you more every day!"

As for the movie, I was totally siked! But, I have to admit, the biggest scene in the entire film, the aftermath of Big jilting Carrie at the altar fell flat to me. Costumes--an unbelievably stunning wedding gown, complete with colorful headress, AMAZING. . . Scenery--42nd bet. 5th and 6th with Bryant Park in the background, AMAZING. . . Script--Big: Carrie, I don't know what to say?! (with a dumbfounded stare on his face), NOT so amazing. Overall, a good depiction of the characters remaining true to themselves with a few unexpected and pleasant surprises and plenty of over the top GLAM, but a little lengthy with a long lull in the middle. Still, a must see!

Partners in Crime

My new friend Karen just happened to land her next dream job this morning; we were already planning to have dinner together tonight after work, but when she told me the good news, I thought we should do it in high style. So, after a quick phone call, I managed to secure us dinner reservations at Serendipity. It was really fun since neither of us had been before and since the iconic NYC spot appears in so many romantic comedies, of course! (Let's be honest, seeing NYC in some of my favorite movies is really why I moved here. . .)

We sampled some delicious sandwiches and then made sure we ordered their famous "frozen" hot chocolate and a generously drenched hot fudge sundae for dessert. The weather was delightfully mild tonight, so we also decided to take a walking tour of Roosevelt Island afterward. We boarded the aerial tramway that follows along the Queensboro bridge and in 4.5 minutes we had found a quiet respite from the city. We walked along the boardwalk and occasionally stopped to share creepy guy stories, discuss politics, and of course talk about how we plan to make our marks on the streets of New York upon our recent arrivals. Karen is totally awesome and I can tell that we're definitely going to be partners in crime for many an upcoming heist (we are both Saggitariuses after all). Alert the authorities (the handsome officers of the NYPD would be preferable)!

Long Walk of the Navajo

OK, I've now been in my apartment for three weeks and have yet to unpack most living necessities in my apartment (in other words, the boxes are still stacked to the ceiling and I have a trail from the bathroom to my bed). So, I managed to get up early on this relaxing Memorial Day morning and unpack a few boxes today. I then headed downtown to meet Dave "The Navajo" Merrill and his nephew Brett at Penn Station for lunch. He was passing through NYC on his way to the airport after leading Brett on a whirlwind tour of the Eastern seaboard over the last few days (for those of you that know Dave, you know that is totally his style). We got to spend about an hour together over some pastrami, fish n' chips, and a slice of NY cheesecake. I miss Dave a lot and it was good to see his smiling face and infectious laughter again today! Plus, he told me he's going to be back in September; he promised to take me some place "special" for dinner. I told him I'd spend all summer fasting. . .

In the Navy . . .

To celebrate the gorgeous sunny Spring weather that we have been waiting for all month long, Carrie and I answered the call to tour the Naval ships that are docked this week at Pier 88 as part of Fleet Week. And, aren't we glad we did! The USS Kearsarge exceeded all our expectations as a technologically advanced city afloat. The girls were able to climb all over HMMVs, DUCKs, tanks, and other vehicles. The personnel also demonstrated various weaponry, giving Alex and Katie an up close look; but, you can see from the photos that they had a little trouble gaining the strength to cock them! The grand finale of the tour was the top deck, complete with several different helicopters, plenty of men in uniform, and the flying flags of all our allies framed by the gorgeous Manhattan skyline.

It Happened in Brooklyn

Tonight was a beautiful one as Carrie and I ventured across the East River to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. We packed a picnic dinner and enjoyed watching an outdoor screening of "Enchanted" at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Before entering the park, we walked through an art exhibit nearby that was displaying toy theaters created by local artists. It was fun seeing all the different materials used, including dollar bills, wood, cardboard, and even blown glass! The park was delightful as we watched the sun set behind the Manhattan skyline and watched the bridge illuminate in the night sky with the waves of the river gently crashing against the rocks just below our seats on the grassy field. Carrie, the dedicated nanny she is, was in charge of Katie and Alex this weekend while their parents vacationed in Ireland, so we brought them along. We were so glad when they told us they had such a fun evening. But, I think we were more glad we had brought them to help keep us both warm during the cool evening entertainment!

You Live, You Learn

I enjoyed seeing Alanis Morissette perform this morning on the Today Show from Rockefeller Center Plaza. She sang her new single "Underneath" along with the classic "Ironic" spiced up with a few new lyrics to salute the CA state ruling this week on gay marriage. She looks really good and she sounded great! And yes, I am in the crowd, but admittedly it is difficult to find me!

Heck Yes I Did . . .

Lucky thing I couldn't get my butt out of bed this morning to attend the 9am church meeting . . . I saw Jon Heder in the foyer at church during the afternoon ward meetings. He was "lobbying" his fussy daughter like a good doting father.

Keeping up with the Joneses . . .

Tonight I got the chance to meet up with Tyler and Holly Jones at Dos Caminos for dinner; they're in town to attend the National Stationery Show at Javits Convention Center. Holly and I were roommates for two years at Utah State. Believe it or not, I haven't seen her since their wedding day eight years ago. It was so much fun catching up!

Hollywood's Not America, But Neither is NYC . . .

While my job doesn't pay the most competitive salary, it does offer certain perks that most people in a position similar to mine would never see anytime in their career. Today was an exhibition of one of those perks. The N recently sponsored a tour of the new and upcoming artist Ferras. To thank us for helping to increase exposure of his freshman album, he came by our offices today to give us a personal performance exclusively for The N staff. So, I spent my lunch hour today getting comfy on the couch in the conference room on FL 11 and listening to Ferras belt out original songs from his album Aliens & Rainbows. I just love the first single "Hollywood's Not America". Ferras is definitely going to be huge and I can say that I knew him before he hit it big. And, get this, he gave me a hug and thanked me for putting him on my blog! He's totally sweet!

Are you a work of art?

My new friend Carrie invited me to the ballet last night with a few of her friends, Jordan and Bryan--Bryan, by the way, is the son of a couple at my mom's church in Colorado Springs. Ironically, Mom has been telling me about him and was so hoping that we would eventually meet here in the Big City. I just kept telling her that the odds of us meeting were so slim considering we both live in a metropolitan area of more than 8MM people and he lives in Queens, where I have yet to venture. Who knew that only a week after meeting Carrie that she would introduce us to each other. Crazy?!

Jordan, the struggling producer/director, has been a blast to meet, too. In his continuing efforts to make rent money, he's constantly taking on odd jobs he finds on Craigslist. Today, he entertained us at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by participating in a "living art" project called The Walking Man. The photographer (artist) asked several volunteers to dress in black/white with hoods covering their faces. He then lined them up in several different formations around the museum, creating quite the stir among museum goers. Only in NYC, right?

I'll have a chicken salad sandwich w/a side of Purging . . .

Well, it's been nearly two full weeks since my last post and I am sure many of you were wondering if I had fallen off the face of the earth or died in a tragic accident. . . well, nearly. At no other time in my life have I been more sick than during the last four days, thanks to a little something called salmonella poisoning. No one could have forecast the week's activities when I sat down to eat an innocent-enough looking chicken salad sandwich on Sunday afternoon.

The tragedy of it all is that I had just gotten the keys to my apartment the day before and didn't have any groceries, medication, or even bottled water in the house! Thankfully Carrie, my new friend, was able to bring me popsicles, saltines, and some TLC Monday night. But, I wasn't able to get out of bed until Wednesday morning finally. I'm still eating mush and sipping water, but I promise to write more when I feel better this weekend!

P.S. Another Project Runway sighting! Jillian Lewis was having drinks with her gal pals Sunday night at Rosa Mexicana near Union Square.