Monday Monday

So anyone who has ever lived with me is well aware that I am not a morning person (guess this is a formal apology to the 50+ roommates I have had since leaving home - love you girls, thanks for putting up with me!) Anyway - I have realized that I am also NOT a Monday person! Monday is always painful. I mean, think about it - if no one was working over the weekend - where do all these problems come from? What is it about being gone for two days that makes everyone lose communication abilities? Definitely not my favorite at all.

Now Sunday...I love Sunday.

Something Good

One thing I really love about the people in this city is that so many perform random acts of kindness. It always makes me smile whenever I see someone help out a stranger. And of course I realize how much we need one another - even if we have never seen each other before, nor is there any likelihood we will see the person again - when someone takes a moment out of their day to assist me.

Just the other day as I making my way to work, I had such an experience. As I passed through the turn-style I heard the subway train pull into the station.
I was trying to hurry down the stairs to the platform, but the crowd of Wall Street commuters were pushing up the stairs and I realized that the doors of the 3 Train would close before I could possibly make it down. Sure enough - I was two steps from the bottom (open car doors directly to the right of the stairs) when I heard those all-too-familiar words: "Stand clear of the closing doors, please." As my foot touched the bottom stairs (two steps from being inside the subway car), I saw the doors start to close - just at that moment, two men inside the subway stepped in front of the doors - effectively preventing them from closing. I slipped through and the doors closed behind me. My thanks went unnoticed as both men had already gone back to reading their newspapers.

Granted, the hundreds of people on the 3 Train may have been slightly annoyed that the doors took a moment longer than necessary to close, but it totally made my day that two strangers would help me.

The good kind

Now this is my kind of bar!

Very delicious milk-shakes, don't know what it is about milk, but it pretty much always tastes great.

Crazy 8

Inspired by my good friend Denisse - - -
8 Things I'm passionate about
1. Family
2. Learning
3. Service
4. The gospel
5. Freedom
6. Being bossy
7. Food
8. Life

8 Things I want to do before I die
1. Grow another garden
2. Have a family
3. Serve
4. Learn to be patient
5. Visit Europe
6. Sew something truly phenomenal
7. Be a hermit
8. Publish a cookbook

8 Things I say often
1. I have a question . . .
2. Ummmm
3. For serious
4. Like, for real
5. I don't know
6. Pardon me, I'm sorry (hastening through crowds)
7. Remember how I'm your favorite?!
8. I'm always good

8 Things that attract me to my best friends
1. They like to talk
2. They understand me
3. They are compassionate
4. They are good examples
5. They have similar goals and values
6. They are amusing
7. They are strong
8. They make me happy

8 Things I've learned this year
1. The world is a big place
2. I need to draw closer to Heavenly Father
3. How to make chocolate mousse
4. There is always room to improve our characters
5. Give more than you take
6. I need to be more kind
7. I can survive NYC
8. Most things are harder than they look

Light

There were over 7,000 people participating in Light the Night - it was an amazing experience for me. Each participant carried an illuminated balloon as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. The balloons were color-coded, red for supporters, white for survivors, and gold for in memory of. It was a very solemn yet inspiring experience.

A group of us from work were walking the bridge together. About a third of the way across, we paused for a group photo. After we took our picture a woman asked if we would take a picture of her. As my friend prepared to take the picture, the woman mentioned that she wished she had a group to walk with, that she had been participating in LTN for 10 years, always by herself and suggested that maybe we could be her group for one photo. I think we must have all felt at that moment a similar desire to help this woman as we each stepped forward and surrounded her for the snapshot. She thanked us, took her camera and turned away, continuing her walk of the bridge. My gaze was drawn to her as she walked away and I realized that she carried two balloons, a red one, signifying support, and also, on a shortened string and tied to the back of her belt (not visible from the front) a gold balloon, showing that she had lost someone to a blood cancer. It was a humbling moment for me as I witnessed her loss.

Had an Early Morning

I dragged Kim out very early this morning to go to 59th and 5th Avenue for the CBS Early Morning show. This evening I will be participating in the Light The Night Walk organized by the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society to raise money for blood cancer research. We will be walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Late yesterday afternoon, I received an email stating that they were seeking volunteers to hold balloons for the CBS Early Morning show. After trying to convince all my friends at work to go (without success), I guilted Kim into it and we planned to head out early to make it on time.

A slight detour was made to drop off my laptop at my office (building is a bit emptier at that time of the morning), and we arrived outside the Apple store where we joined others who will be participating in tonight's walk. I helped out by making a sign . . .
and then we stood around for a while and waited. It was quite interesting seeing what goes on in a "live" production. I especially enjoyed watching the makeup and hair artists hard at work trying to keep the anchors in top form despite the humidity.
Here is a side shot of the crowd, you can see Kim in the left corner.

That would be my balloon rising into the sky, oops! (the tiny red dot about half way up the building)

As my eyes were wandering over the organized chaos, they were attracted to a set across the way, where a mock kitchen was arranged. I was wondering what food was being prepared when the crowd parted and I saw that the chef was Bobby Flay! (My first star sighting!) I happen to enjoy watching the Food Network and he is one of the best.
We were caught on camera a couple times, standing in the background. I called my mom and she saw me on TV so that was fun! My favorite was definitely watching Bobby Flay cook.

As we had to hustle to work, I had another NYC first, I changed my shirt as we rushed down the street to the subway. Don't worry - I had on a Shade t-shirt beneath the LTN shirt and I was able to swap the LTN shirt out for my sweater to qualify for business casual by the time I walked into my office just in time for work!

Warning: May cause intense pain . . .

and damage to the fingers, resulting in a desire to scream.

I use this thing dozens of times daily, as I have since starting this job over a year ago. Today it decided to hate me (or possibly I momentarily lost my staple-removing skills) and pinched my finger - ouch! Hadn't realized how dangerous this job is. Someone should tell those staple-remover manufactures to include a warning label to prevent suffering by unsuspecting users - had I been made aware of the potential dangers, I am certain I would have been much more careful. It really was quite painful.