Trip to New York City

After much planning and some management of expectations, my wife and I joined two other couples for a long-weekend trip to New York City.  Leaving from two cities, the plan was to meet in NYC on the Thursday afternoon and run through a few pre-planned suppers and shows with ample free time to do some shopping and generally just take in the city.  With all our children staying behind under the supervision of their grandparents, three sets of moms and dads blissfully recalled/relived life prior to becoming parents.

Fog and Delays:  The two other couples were lucky enough to leave and arrive prior to the fog getting really bad.  A spike in the temperature basically fogged in the airports at Newark, La Guardia and JFK, delaying a lot of flights and cancelling many others.  After three abortive attempts to reschedule into later flight (along with everyone else), we finally opted to catch the first flight the next day.  We got the last room in the hotel at the terminal.  After showering and relaxing a bit, we ended up getting drinks at the hotel bar and supper at the restaurant.  Needless to say copious amounts of alcohol finally settled the nerves; we really needed those drinks, at one point both my wife and I nearly pushing one of the American security officials a little too far with our attitude.  Travel Tip:  Call the cancellation service for your airline before you reserve at any hotel.  They can save you a fortune on the room rate, something they can’t or won’t do after you’ve checked into a room.  In our case, we could have saved over $200 on the room.

9/11 Memorial Tour:  We finally made it and hooked up with one couple at Macy’s, which was blissfully empty on Friday.  Collecting at the 9/11 Memorial site for noon, we took the tour.  Being a member of the CF, I can say this was a humbling experience, akin to visiting the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, the memorial at Thiepval or the MeninGate Memorial (Note 1).  The site security is just like entering an airport, something my wife and I were terribly familiar with at this point (bag in tray, empty pockets, remove shoes-belt-watch, display dog tags for scanning).  Once on the sight, memories of that tragedy take on a whole new meaning, particularly when you look up-up-up at the Freedom Tower and imagine two of those crumbling down around you.  Travel Tip:  Definitely pre-register for the walking tour, as you bypass the hundreds of people just looking to get in; prepare for some dagger-like stares as you walk down the express lane.  You also get the survivors’ experience and insight on the events that took place after the impacts.  In our case, we had a woman reduce the majority of our group to tears.  Bring tissue for the Memorial Exhibition – you’re gonna’ need ‘em.

Note 1:  During a Canadian Forces sponsored battlefield tour, I had the honour and the privilege to not only witness but participate in this daily ceremony.

FAO Schwarz:  Honestly and truly, I got nothing.  This place is so over the top of a toy store, yet in a good way.  Take the largest Walmart you can think of, divide in two and place one half on the other to make two storeys, replace **EVERYTHING** with toys and candy, and that may give you an indication of how overwhelming that experience could be.  So close to Christmas, it seemed obvious we should get our children and niece something.  The gargantuan problem was what to get and still have room in our bags for anything more than a toothbrush.

Club 21 / Nutcracker / Campbell’s Apartment:  Only the second time to NYC, we recommended Club 21 to our friends and the experience could not have turned out better.  The ambiance is amazing, the staff incredibly accommodating and easy-going.  Our sommelier was an absolute hit, recommending a few wines off the list we were looking at.  After asking what everyone ordered, he paired us with a white and red that sang with our food.  Travel Tip:  If you are visiting NYC and can meet the dress code, which isn’t anything extraneous, make yourself the time to eat here.

After a great meal and lots of liquor, my wife and I went our own way to see the Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet.  Our taxi driver got us to the Lincoln Center exactly three minutes prior to the show.  Once seated, we realized maybe enjoyed a smidge too much liquor; that said, the show was phenomenal!  The production, outfits, the dancing, all of it was top-notch.  Definitely something we will be taking our two girls to go see once they get a bit older.  Travel Tip:  Friday night traffic means long wait times to get a cab, and long drives.  We were lucky not to have to wait for the first scene to end and the lights to dim before we could go in.  By the way, don’t try to take pictures in the Lincoln Center; they politely but firmly remind you of their policy.

After our ballet, we met our friends at Campbell’s Apartment for a final couple of cocktails.  It was later at night on a Friday, so I was not too surprised to see it was well occupied.  We lucked out and got a table up in the balcony overlooking the bar proper, which meant we were both secluded from the throngs and somewhat muffled from the massive decibel output from below.  I tried a couple of single-malts I was looking at, quickly striking one from my 'Buy and Try' list; just not worth buying the bottle.

Last Day:  Our final day was largely relaxed, dropping by Macy’s (Travel Tip:  Macy’s on a Saturday near Christmas is simply foolish, with scenes resembling Black Friday) and then going through the Bryant Park Christmas Market.  We did a walking tour of 5^th avenue and the Christmas decorations, the tree at Rockefeller, followed by a nice supper before retiring to the hotel bar for a bit.  Only thing left was packing for out return trip and ensuring the two alarms and wake-up call were set.

New Year, Five Resolutions

So we’ve made it into 2013 and proven the Mayans are right up there with Nostredamus and a series of recent quacks coming out of the woodwork predicting the end is nigh.  The sky isn’t on fire, oceans aren’t boiling or bloody red, cats aren’t sleeping with dogs and the only grogs I’ve seen lately was a recent visit to the Montreal Biodome. So I guess we’re good.

Having spent New Year’s in Montreal, we spent a lot of time with my brother-in-law and his family; we don’t get to see them that often, so this was a treat for my wife and our kids.  One of the things my brother-in-law’s wife mentioned was a tradition from Peru, something they do in her family each New Year – resolutions.  My first reaction was to groan inwardly.  Then she explained how members of the family did five resolutions, wrote them down and gave them to their significant other or posted it.  Five instead of one?  Sounded like a greater chance of failure to me.  The other family members would police the resolutions in an effort to support the others, effectively making the list a semi-contract, with any number of people to watch out and keep you honest.

My wife and I hooked on to this idea and exchanged our lists.  Needless to say, one of them was my lack of commitment in my writing.  This is easily supported by a fairly close-supervising and high standard expecting boss, which has led to more than a few 60+ hour work weeks.  Well, this is no longer an excuse and my wife, Caroline, will be doing her darndest to keep me typing.

So, with a view to getting things started, here is the pertinent resolution:

I’ve committed to a blog a week, in addition to completing the last edit of my fantasy manuscript and no less than two short stories, with a view to submitting all before the close of 2013.

May the New Year be prosperous and peaceful.

Summer Vacation – So This is What Living Feels Like…

What apparently was supposed to be about 4-6 weeks of a nutty workload (think 60+ work hours per week) ended up being closer to four months.  Finally ended are the two annual evaluation campaigns (military and civilian), the strategic intake plan for civilian hiring, the annual learning budgetary allocations, several HR-related studies, work force adjustment (euphemism for the job cuts to the federal public service), and finally, a change of command.  So now that this is all over, I literally have less than a week before summer vacation. 

Until then, I find myself still dealing with the increased stress levels, in some cases, wondering what the heck to do.  Procrastination and mindless activities are relatively novel concepts at the moment!  No doubt my wife and eldest daughter will have some thoughts on this; my youngest isn’t yet old enough to try and determine my daily routine and is content enough that you pay attention to her every once in a while as she plays in the same room.  No doubt, diving back into writing is certainly high on my priority list! 

I have the re-write of Days of Reckoning to accomplish, a project I intend to tackle during the two weeks at the in-laws’ family cabin.  Hopefully copious amounts of alcohol won’t set me too wonky.

I'll be back in 17 days or so.