Let the Packing Commence

If there is one thing I hate, it's having to do things. If there are two things I hate it's having to do things now. And if there are three things I hate, I would have to say that organizing my crap and all derivations therein with packing being the most evil of all the organization derivations. Yes then having to pack and pack now tops my list of things I hate to do. Funny that this new place will be my 7th apartment in 8 years in NYC. 7 Places, 8 years. That's nearly one move per year. You'd think I enjoy this moving thing for the amount of time I've done it.

You'd think, but you'd be wrong.

Stay tuned for moving updates.

Jen, Miki, Dan

Had some friends over for an impromptu Moving Out gathering. Here's Jen, Miki, and Dan. Soon this apartment will be just a distant memory. Between now and then I have to 1) find someone to take my place on the lease, 2) coordinate with old and new landlords, 3) pack up all of my CRAP (loads and loads of it), 4) pack for trip to Asia, 5) move to the east side, and 6) finally the day after the move leave for 10 days.

Go Stillers!

Thanks Mom & Dad for my Steeler's Super Bowl Champions beer cozy.

Grand Central Godiva - St. Val's Day

SUCKERS!
This is the queue snaking outside of the Godiva store in Grand Central after work. My Valentine's Day shopping for LM was done at this point. No need to wait with the rest of the procrastinators.

Feb Blizzard

The big snow of 2006 hit today. It was gorgeous. I was out playing in the snow all day long, taking pictures and enjoying the beauty of it all. Central Park was a madhouse. It was as packed as the first sunny Saturday of the summer with people everywhere in the snowsuits trying to get a good sled run down a paltry 10 foot hill. This shot above is in Hell's Kitchen.

OK, one more Tucson pic

Of course we were there during the busiest time of the year, when 30 some odd hotels around the whole Tucson area are booked solid with vendors and buyers, the expo halls are filled with booths, the rooms are filled with people, and even at some motels the ground floor rooms were rented out by the vendors and set up shop right there on the beds. This was the game plan at most of the smaller venues... just walking from motel room to motel room shopping for gems, stones, and whatever else.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show -- The Hotel

This was the hotel, the JW Marriott in Tucson, AZ. It was a beautiful hotel and the weather was gorgeous each day. The back patio was huge with these great little fire pits out there for the guests.

I felt like I was in a foreign country. The flora and fauna were completely different than where I spent the significant bulk of my life (PA & NY). The flat arid land with scrub grass and cacti that jutted straight out of the ground into mini-mountains gives AZ the look of another country. But the most significant difference was that everyone there was so NICE. So incredibly, unmistakably nice.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

I was in Tucson for the weekend with Lai Ming. She had to go to the Gem & Mineral show for work so I tagged along with her. This was the view from outside of our hotel.