December 23, 2007

Good to be Home

I have been ill unfortunately. This morning I ventured out of bed to eat a bit, hoping to get some energy back. My little brother, all dressed up in his suit and tie for church (so dashing!), came up to the kitchen table where I sat. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he told me that he had my medicine - and immediately pulled out a bottle of bubbles, repeatedly blowing through the wand to produce a cascade of translucent orbs! We giggled about it for a few minutes before I straitened his tie, fastened his collar buttons and sent him to find his shoes. Laughter really is good medicine.


Little brothers are the best!

December 12, 2007

The Most Wonderful Time

I have visitors! Dad, Mom and my sister Denise have arrived. It is their first visit to NYC and we plan to pack in as much as we can. We celebrated their arrival by ordering in dinner (a novelty to Mom and Dad) and planning the next couple days. They met my roommates and a few friends dropped by and we were able to just talk.

As we were playing the 'get to know you game', Lyndee and I discovered that we go back further than we ever imagined! To make a long story short...Lyndee's great-grandfather was instrumental in introducing my grandfather to Vale. Through his suggestion, my grandparents visited the town to which they later moved and raised their family. This is also where my parents settled and raised their children - - - including me! Amazing the connections of which we were unaware.

It is so wonderful to have family!

December 9, 2007

Happy

I feel so at peace today and it is wonderful! That's all.

December 5, 2007

On the Street

You never know what you might come across on the streets of NYC. As I was coming to work this morning...I walked past three Arabian camels waiting to cross the street. Even here that seemed a bit strange.

December 2, 2007

First Snow of the Season

This is certainly not what I expected to see when I woke up this morning...
(in case you can't tell - it's snowing!)








I'll be honest, snow has never been my favorite thing - it is cold, and soggy, and associated with too many cold memories involving milking cows :)

But that first snow...it is always amazingly pure and beautiful. It makes me feel like a child...I want to go out and simply play.

Just this afternoon on our way home from church as we were crossing the street, I saw two little girls...they were having such fun with the bit of snow that we had. It was sweet and wonderful to witness the innocence of childhood.


I couldn't help but make a snowman. It is good to feel like a child for a moment. To see the joy.




December 1, 2007

What do YOU think?

I absolutely despise this response when I've asked a question. If I knew the answer why would I be asking?

For serious, who would verbally illustrate that they don't understand the information when they do? No one. 99% of the questions people ask cause them to look less intelligent. Very few questions have the opposite effect. So isn't it technically not in a persons favor to ask a question?

November 30, 2007

Best I can do today

I wanted to have something really super exciting to post about, but alas there is nothing...I have been working too much to have any great experiences. So instead I have dug into the archives of my pictures and thought I would try something new...

First off, I Y fireworks! I just do. The very first time that I experienced a firework display in this city we were in our apartment when we heard an excessively loud booming echo coming from outside. To be perfectly honest it scared the living daylights out of me! Concerned, we stepped out on the balcony - that is when we realized the source of the noise...fireworks over the East River! Sounded a bit like gun-shot reports repeating down the canyon (aka Wall Street). Nothing quite like I had ever experienced before, but it was very fascinating.

Here is a video of one firework display as seen from the corner of William and Wall, 16 stories up!

*** I think the best 'works and noise are in the middle to end of the video :)

November 25, 2007

Artistic Endeavor

Every once in a while, I have a desire to be creative...I find myself wandering around the house trying to think of something artistic to do. I have always loved working with scissors and paper so Kimberly and I decided to make snowflakes yesterday...lots of snowflakes! Mel convinced us to hang our creations on the wall - worked perfect with the blue.
Did I mention how much I love cutting up paper? But I am having trouble determining which snowflake I like best. These are the ones winning at the moment.



It was fun!

November 23, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

A group of us who stayed in the city had Thanksgiving dinner together. Many thanks to Whitney for doing most of the planning, food assignments, organizing and finding guests to help eat. Also thanks to everyone who contributed food - everything was homemade! As the weather was so beautiful, we ended up having dinner on our terrace. It turned out perfect.

We had such fun preparing the different dishes. I was lucky to get to make pies and rolls. On Wednesday evening, Mel helped out with making the fresh apple pie. She did a wonderful job stacking the apples carefully within the shell to make a very full pie.
It baked up beautifully and tastes delicious.
I also made two pumpkin pies and a raspberry pie. It didn't set up as well as I would have liked but the flavor was still good. Spent Thursday morning making rolls. I love making rolls. Maybe my favorite part of the day.
A collection of some of the goodies...we had so much food. I think about fifteen people came for dinner and we probably had enough food for thirty! Oh well, plenty of leftovers :)

It was such a blessing (another reason to be thankful I guess) that NYC was experiencing such mild weather for a fall day...it was somewhere in the 60's and the sun was shining. It worked out great to have dinner on the terrace - room for everyone!

I really hope that everyone who came had a good time, I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to build relationships and enjoy good food.

The rest of the day was spent in relaxing, enjoying good conversations, eating pie and watching movies. It was such a nice day.

I convinced Kimberly that she wanted to stay up late and watch movies with me. We couldn't resist a little snack...something about the day just makes it hard to stop eating!

November 22, 2007

Balloons!

It is an awesome time to be in the city and to be able to have so many unique and exciting experiences!

The annual inflation of the massive balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held near the Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side. Took advantage of the opportunity to go see the massive balloons before the parade. It was amazing! Here are a few of my favorites...

Frosty the Snowman
The Energizer Bunny
Macy stars
In honor of my brothers and cousins... Mr. Potato Head!
I was completely unprepared for the hordes of people who turned out for the event! I would love to know how many people were there because the streets were absolutely packed. Between the theatre's being closed and the nice weather, people must have had nothing else to do. There were so many children there - by far the most I have seen in NYC anywhere outside of Central Park!
It was a great NYC experience! I am still a bit awestruck from being so close to the floats that previously only existed in an abstract way for me...it was well worth pushing through the crowds to see!

November 21, 2007

Talk about "Fast Food"

Not only do you get the food fast, you better eat it fast too!

I don't remember these signs in the Wendy's where I come from...not a very welcoming atmosphere, but still one of my favorites!

November 19, 2007

Ice-skating at Bryant Park

A group of us celebrated Kimberly's birthday by going ice-skating at Bryant Park.
Me, Lyndee, Kristian, Kimberly, Melanie, Heidi, Alesha, Dave, (front) Brittany, Libby, and Pamela

Thanks to the instruction and help from Kristian, Kim and Dave, I actually managed to move away from the wall. And through the persuasion of Lyndee and Melanie - I skated around the rink twice all by my-lonesome, which I consider a major accomplishment. During the course of the evening, my seat only made contact with the ice once!

Me, happy to have made it through the evening without injury, and my good friend Heidi!
Contrary to my original expectation, it was very fun.

November 16, 2007

Lucky

Just stepped out to grab lunch. Not certain if it was me or them, but.....the guy at the sandwich counter handed me the sandwich I had ordered and, as I was turning away, asked if I would also like a pickle. How did he know that I had been standing there thinking how good a pickle would taste? As it was not on the menu board, I hadn't bothered ordering it but he gave me one anyway! Then, Jen wanted to stop at Starbucks...I succumbed to the temptation and ordered a couple Triple Chunk Brownie Cookies. As the girl handed the bag to me, she said that she had included an extra because it was broken. As if she knew that I had debated getting one more...

Things like this always make me smile - Y it!

November 14, 2007

Scaffolding

We walked through Rockefeller Center during lunch today. The Christmas tree has been set up and they are in the process of winding each branch with twinkle lights. The part that was a surprise to me is that they set up scaffolding around and throughout the whole tree! (Refer to photo) Maybe this doesn't seem strange to anyone else...I guess I just never considered how one would adorn a super tall tree with 30000 lights!

November 13, 2007

Good to Hear

"Nice work, Brenda."

Work has been a bit intense (to say the least), but having Kevin say this two minutes ago definitely helped. Oh yeah, I'm still at work.

November 11, 2007

This is Wall Street

In trying to gain an understanding of my current home, I pulled out my camera and took a walk down Wall Street, starting at the East River and moving west along my street until it runs into Broadway. (I do not claim to be a historian, details found within this post were substantiated by quick on-line research only.) Though less than a half mile in length there is quite a bit to see...

Here we are at the beginning of Wall Street, beneath FDR Drive. There is a bike/walk path that runs along the East River.






At the East River, leaning against the rail, I looked towards the Brooklyn Bridge and South Street Seaport on the north,
east to Brooklyn,
and gazing south you can see the Downtown Heli-port (look past the pier and you can see a helicopter resting there).


I wonder if this mallard and his lady are aware of all the unfortunate things that have been tossed into the East River over the last few centuries. I know that I haven't any desire to swim there.



Turning back towards the west, walk under Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive (runs along the East River from Battery to the Triborough Bridge)
and cross South Street where the actual street part begins.







Standing on South Street, looking west you can barely see Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street.










Couldn't help but notice a late blooming rose.

Citibank, one of the first of many banks along my street.



I just really liked the way this building number looked.
Again, my attention was caught by the building number.








A few of the streets in the Financial District aren't exactly square, some of the buildings are not really square either. I actually kind of like the triangle shape - 67 Wall is sometimes referred to as Wall Street's Flatiron building.


A close-up of the detail on the side of this building. Now I don't know all that much about architecture....but I am a fairly good judge of what is pretty or interesting to me. I have learned that here one should look up at the second story (or higher) of buildings as there is much detail to see. Noticing this workmanship, I was curious about what the "Munson Steamship Company" was. Through some very quick research (I Y Google) I found that the company primarily dealt in the sugar and molasses trade but went out of business in 1939. Now it is an apartment building.


Oftentimes I notice something a story or two up and wonder at the history of the building. As I was taking my self-conducted tour, I noticed these emblems on the building directly across from 67 Wall. I wonder if it also was part of the Munson Company.
This I was unable to ascertain, but I found the detail quite fascinating.







67 Wall also houses a BMW dealership. Yes, my street has its very own in-door car dealership. I do so enjoy window-shopping :)









Another not quite square building.












The Deutsche Bank building, 60 Wall, is a 47 story skyscraper.








A little history about 55 Wall...









Now it is home to Cipriani - a very classy place. It includes an upscale restaurant and luxury apartments. Bruce Willis is rumored to own one. I have yet to see him though.













48 Wall was originally the headquarters of the Bank of New York. This building was completed in 1929 on land originally occupied by the bank in 1797. I read that the building is now being renovated to become a banking museum.








The corner of William and Wall. Also the building I call home.











Another bank showing its face on Wall Street.











I have walked through this revolving door hundreds of times now. Not exactly what I had planned a few years ago but it will do for now.










At any hour of the day or night, one can walk down my street and see many men wearing blue coats with "security" spelled out in big block letters across the back. Also, one may notice that there are blockades preventing traffic from driving down Wall Street between Broadway and William.

Here is one such block. It makes a very convenient seat if one finds oneself waiting for a friend.










Across the street is 40 Wall, 72 stories, now owned by the Trump Organization. 1929 was a historic year for it, as the architects of 40 Wall and the Chrysler building were racing to see who could reach the grandest height.

It only took one year to build.





Briefly in 1930, 40 Wall held the record for the worlds tallest building, however the Chrysler building eclipsed it. It is still considered one of the tallest buildings so that must count for something.







In October, Tiffany & Co opened a branch at 37 Wall.
Referred to by their marketing department as "the Heart of Wall Street," it is stunning from the outside. I have yet to go in, but someday...









So this is one of those things that I wonder if I should be alarmed about. Those are tanks marked nitrogen (about as tall as me) and I really don't know the purpose of them. Should I be concerned? Hope not!







30 Wall. A few weeks ago I paused to watch as workers painted the gold areas on the iron-work. This once was the home of the Branch Bank of the United States and also the Assay Office. Now there is a New York Sports Club located there.


This is the statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall. It was at this location that he was sworn in as first President of the United States.
I have walked down this street countless times but this is the first time that I ever noticed this large plaque, which was presented to the city on February 22, 1907 (175th anniversary of his birth - 100 years ago), placed to the right of the stairs leading into Federal Hall. It is a depiction of George Washington at Valley Forge. I certainly hope others are more observant than I am.

I stood on the same corner to take these two pictures. I always thought this was one street (running north to south) however it appears that to the north of Wall Street it is named Nassau

and to the south it is named Broad Street. Interesting.

This is my absolute favorite site on my street. (I totally cheated and walked down Broad for this snapshot in order to get a clear view of the flags as construction work is being performed on the northeast corner of the building.) I just love the huge flag on the side of the New York Stock Exchange, which was completed in 1903. Directly above the flag is the pediment with a sculpture entitled "Integrity protecting the works of man" - depicting Integrity surrounded by Agriculture, Mining, Science, Industry, and Invention. The original marble statues had to be replaced with lead-coated replicas in 1936 as the building could not support the weight of the marble. I find it a most stunning site.
This is the New Street entrance (obviously under construction). When I first visited NYC in the Fall of 2005, I was privledged to join the group from BYU-I for a tour of the NYSE. At the conclusion of our tour, we exited out these doors. I remember being so relieved when we boarded the subway and headed back to midtown as I had felt so lost when walking through the Financial District. I find it quite ironic that it is now my home.

More interesting designs.












Another bank on Wall Street.



1 Wall Street. 50 stories. Currently owned by the Bank of New York, it sits on what is said to be one of the most expensive corners in the world.




The New Street side of One Wall Street. I think this building is gorgeous.










A bit further back in time, an actual wall was built in 1653 to protect the settlers from attack. This was the northern border of what was then known as New Amsterdam. The wall ran from the East River to the Hudson. I wonder how effective it was...it did last for nearly 50 years.

Remember to look up - I love stars.








Here we are at the corner of Broadway and Wall. Trinity Church sits on Broadway at the end of Wall Street. Construction of the current church was completed in 1846 (the original building was destroyed in the Great New York Fire of 1776, and the second building was weakened by severe snowstorms in 1838-39 and had to be rebuilt). Many prominent citizens, including Alexander Hamilton and John Jacob Astor, were buried in the graveyard adjacent to the church through the 1840's, if not later.

Trinity Church marks the west end of Wall Street.


There you have it, the street where I live.