Walking Dead

We caught up on The Walking Dead tonight (although we did not yet see tonight's episode, since I don't particularly like watching the show late at night).  What a great show.  I thought it was going to be a super-scary horror show and was a little worried about watching the pilot, but I thought the pilot was fantastic.  It was so sad and devastating.  I don't watch many shows that don't have some element of humor (not anymore, anyway, I need something to lighten my day!) but I added this dark show to my watch list.  Tonight, watching the second and third shows, I felt the same way as I did about the pilot.  Just such a good show.  I'm happy to see that it's been doing well in the ratings and will be returning for another season.

If you haven't watched The Walking Dead, here's why I watch:

1.  It's a devastating picture of a post-apocalyptic world.  Something bad has clearly happened in this world and turned everyone into zombies (walkers) except for a few survivors.  The immeasurable sense of loss and fear really make me think about what things would be like if we were faced with such a catastrophe.  In the pilot, the scenes where (spoiler) the husband contemplates shooting his wife because she is now a zombie and just can't do it were utterly heartbreaking.

2.  It's more about how people cope with survival than how to beat the zombies.  It's really a relationship drama at its heart but set in a bleak world where people are trying to survive.  It's like Independence Day, the movie I've seen about 100 times.  Once there is some larger enemy uniting us, we have to realize we're really all the same.  Yet we still have our differences and it's fascinating how people deal with them.  Granted, this is much deeper than that movie, but still the same type of thing.  (OK, it's a relationship drama that has a lot of gore.  Let's not forget that zombies eat anything alive.  There are many times that I watch through my fingers.)

3.  Glenn.  I love this character.  I felt so invested in him and knowing whether or not he survives that I went to go read the plot of the book.  

4.  The quality of the show is excellent.  If you feel like there's a lot of trash on TV, I would suggest checking this out for a show that's really well-made with good story, good pacing (my problem with Rubicon and why I stopped watching), good characters and just good filmmaking.

Can't wait to see tonight's.  But I definitely don't want it to be the last thing I see tonight.  Especially if they tear into another human or animal and there's blood and guts everywhere.

Rentals

I have serious real estate envy. I look at those giant (seriously, giant) condos off the West Side Highway every time we drive back into the city and wonder about the people who get to live there. River views, living rooms bigger than our one bedroom apartment, super sleek kitchens with lots of counter space. Who are all these people in Manhattan who make enough money to afford these palaces and where did they get it from? Some of the places are seriously beautiful. And huge. It's so hard to find affordable real estate here. With rentals upwards of $4000/month in some places and condos over $1 million (for ONE bedrooms!), sometimes it's kind of miserable figuring out what we can afford.

We want to move. We have lived at the same place for years and need a change (not to mention more space). But it's so difficult to figure out where to go! And so many other questions: do we want to rent or buy? Do we want to (and can we afford to) stay in Manhattan? Should we move to the outer boroughs? Should we get an apartment or a house? I never thought about really getting a house, but considering we want space and washer/dryer, maybe that makes sense? So many questions, so few answers!

But we're never going to figure it out if we don't start looking at places. So today we ventured over to a rental building in our neighborhood (not saying which one) to check it out. We were really excited about it because it looks great from the outside - really tall towers, very new, nice drive-in space to unload stuff - and based on the website, also has great amenities including in-unit washer/dryers (man, I miss our Chicago apartment).

One thing that frustrates me about looking for a place to live is that, if you're not immediately on the move, people don't give a crap about you. Well, I'm sorry if it's because you're not getting a commission off us today, but if we like the place and had a great experience with you and come back later when we ARE going to move, maybe we would call you directly. But not if you repeat to us over and over that availability will change (which we already acknowledged and SAID in the beginning) and make us feel uncomfortable for looking now when we're trying to do our research.

Anyway, back to the building. The amenities are fantastic. Great gym, spa rooms, a pool (I really want a pool but good luck with that in this city), and everything is shiny and new. But, for about 1.5 times the rent we pay now, the rooms are SMALLER. How is that possible? I don't know. There were some good things, like the bathroom had more storage space than ours does (we have almost none), there was a walk-in closet (again, I miss our Chicago apartment), the kitchens are much more open and don't feel like a closet, they have high floors with great views and good light, everything is new, and of course, the in-unit washer/dryers. But for the size? I don't think it'll be worth the extra rent per month. It's our first stop though, so we'll have to re-evaluate as we see new places.

Now ... where to go next?

For Dummies

Our office building is having a book sale in the lobby. They leave the books out overnight - I guess on the honor system - and I saw this display:


Seriously? This is what the "for Dummies" series has come to now? Divorce for Dummies? Mobile Internet for Dummies? Using the Internet Safely for Seniors for Dummies?

Sigh...

So this past weekend I returned to basketball. My initial plan was to just go out and shoot around for about an hour similar to what I did the last time. However, one of the teams playing only had 4 players, and they needed me to be their 5th. The doctor did say I was healthy enough to go back to basketball, but I was trying to heed his advice to work back in slowly. Alas, my friends were in need, and I couldn't say no.

It felt good to get out and run up and down the court. I was obviously rusty and definitely not in any sort of game shape. I constantly found myself 2-3 steps slow in regards to what I wanted to do. The brain is still sharp, but the body... not so much.

Now, I'd like to say that I went through this game with little more than some bumps and scrapes, but that just wouldn't be me would it? No, within the first 2-3 minutes of the game, I planted hard on my left foot and immediately felt a surge of pain coming from one of the bones on the top of the foot. It felt exactly like a stress fracture I had suffered about 4 years ago. Now, had the team had more players available, I would have sat out more. However, being their 5th player, I had to play much of the game before we actually got more subs, and I could sit out.

So in my first actual game action coming back from my knee surgery, I potentially broke a bone in my foot. God I suck...

Oops

I've been a tad delinquent in blogging on either of our blogs. It's really something I'm not used to, though. I enjoy writing, and I want to do it more since I have less of a creative outlet at work, but in the end, I usually just forget. Or if I don't forget, I can never think of anything good to write about.

I mean, so far the only thing I've actually written about is my constant struggle with maintaining healthy knees (or knee as the case is most of the time). I thought about writing that ankle injury post I mentioned, but I just couldn't put that into words right now. Not sure why, but maybe it's just not the right time for it. That or maybe if all I write about are injuries and how I basically don't take care of my body, people will get the wrong impression of me.

But who am I really? The only people that would know are the people that M and I have told about this blog (I think 0 people at present...). Other than that, a random Google search won't really give you any insight into who I am unless you've played sports with me and are familiar with at least some of my many ailments or if you're a family member that has now discovered that we do blog.

So, let's give a basic description of me without giving away too many personal details...

I like playing basketball and ultimate, but ultimate has fallen more by the wayside. I used to play tennis, and I was really good at it too. I probably should pick that back up. I love things dealing with fantasy/sci-fi themes, and I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons (I'm not ashamed to admit that). I am an avid cartoon watcher, and old-school action cartoons like Thundercats, GI Joe, Transformers, etc. always appeal to me. As for other cartoons, anime is definitely high on my list as well. I like computers and networks, but I'm not nearly as good as most people think I am with them. I love video games, but I have little time to play them these days.

Can't really think of much else that I can say without giving away too much information, but I'm sure I'm missing some minor, less important details. Anyway, I'm again writing a rather pointless post, but I promise to do better about blogging in the future whether it be food-related or not.

Zenyatta

We're watching the Breeders Cup coverage and I never realized that I could get so annoyed at commentating to horse racing. (As an aside, Zenyatta may not have won but the move up is really fun to watch - except for the fact that it looked like they were beating the crap out of her.)

They just keep going on and on about Zenyatta. Before the race, it was about the expectations on her and her perfect record, making her sound like an utter failure if she doesn't succeed. After the race, wondering how she feels about losing. She's a HORSE. I'm not sure she's crying inside at coming in second. Are you serious? Going on and on about how she feels not winning? Do horses even realize what they're involved in, about the racing and that they haven't won? Maybe they do, in which case I'm wrong, but stop imposing human feelings and expectations on the poor horse.

Enough ranting, back to work.

Weather Dumb

I love watching the Weather Channel.  I've never made any secret of that.  But lately, I seem to be a really poor judge of the weather outside the window, especially in terms of how it will feel and what to wear.

 

For example, right now, it's 50 degrees, feels like 46.  I wore sweatpants, a fleece sweatshirt and my down coat to work.  It felt really warm.  I mean, after all, it IS 50 degrees and 50's not REALLY cold, right?

 

But over the weekend there were temps very similar to the current temperatures (and the "feels like" temperature may have even been warmer) and I was freezing in my jeans, fleece sweatshirt and medium fleece jacket.  So cold that I went home to change into a down coat to make it through our outdoors day.

 

I just don't know what to wear anymore!  I hear 60s and I think it sounds lovely, but half the time I forget that 60s still means a light jacket is advisable.  I used to hear 50s and would think, that's not soooo bad, but then I'd get outside and freeze.  So now I hear low 50s and bundle up and am too hot.  I love fall, but seriously, this is too hard.  Maybe it's because last week it was 70 degrees one day and 50 the next and wind chills in the 30s the next.  I don't know.  I've never felt this clueless when it comes to temperature.  Help!

Heat and Smoke

I hate secondhand smoke.  A lot.

Personally I don't care if people want to smoke.  It's not my business.  It's really harmful to your health and there's a lot of side effects, but I really don't care.  Until it affects me.  I choose not to smoke.  I shouldn't have to suffer the consequences because you (random third person you, not you the reader) decide you want to smoke.

The cigarette smoke used to come in through the vents in our apartment, usually the bathroom, sometimes the fuse box in the hallway.  It was like the polluted air was being pumped into the room and it was awful.  We were just stuck in it -- we couldn't leave every time it started to come in (which was like every hour).  This is our home.  Where are we supposed to go?  I used to walk around with a heavy duty dust mask on which was not pleasant.  I know a lot of smokers (from news articles) would say to just get an air filter, but we have multiple air filters.  It got so bad in the bathroom that we would clean the small bathroom air filter and it would immediately start buzzing again that it needed cleaning.  Terrible.

Lately, the smoke has been coming in through our heating unit.  The only explanation we can think of is that a neighbor downstairs is smoking on the patio.  I hate it because our entire living room becomes off limits but at the same time it's also hard for me to complain about this because I always say smokers should go outside so they don't end up pushing their poison in through the internal vents and this person is probably smoking outside.  So it's exactly what I always said neighbors should do to be good neighbors.  Except it's now in our apartment and I'm stuck in the bedroom.  (Which is fine, since, really, I should be asleep and I can read on my Kindle for iPhone, yay Kindle.)  If this person is smoking outside now, clearly neither time of day nor winter weather fazes them.  Something to look forward to all winter?  Or maybe the reason it is so strong in our living room is because the person is standing in the doorway of their apartment because they are cold and that's why it's just coming straight in without even dissipating into the air?

Anyway, does anyone have a magic solution to remove cigarette smoke from the air?  I always ask but I could really use one.  If not that, any recommendations for smoke-free rental buildings in NYC?

I Voted!

It's Election Day.  Have you voted yet?

 

I voted this morning at our usual polling place (and got a Foursquare badge, yay).  The process has completely changed from the last time I voted and it was a little unsettling!  Change is welcome, but feels weird sometimes.

 

The way NY has always voted -- from the time I went into the voting booths with my parents as a little kid -- was in this big antiquated voting booth where you pulled a lever to close the curtains, flicked little knobs to vote for each person, reviewed your votes, and then brought the lever back to record your votes and leave.  It may not have been the best system and it certainly had its problems, but after voting like that for years, it was very... comfortable.

 

Now, they give you a ballot and a "privacy sleeve" (a manila folder) and have you go back to a little cardboard booth with a (standing) desk to color in the bubbles (like the SAT) for your choice.  I don't know why but turning the knobs and hearing each one click felt so much better than coloring in little bubbles!  (Although I did like the sample for coloring in bubbles - vote for your favorite ice cream! But seriously - vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan?  When did butter pecan become ice cream flavor #3?  What about strawberry, pistachio, mint chocolate chip?  I was thinking maybe they picked it as some form of racial analogy or joke, but google research just told me that butter pecan ice cream really is the third flavor according to the "Ice Cream Association."  I've never even had butter pecan ice cream!  I always thought strawberry was #3!  Anyway.) Also most people missed the proposals before in the booth because they were set off to the side.  Now they're on the back of the page so they're even easier to miss.

 

When you're done, you take your sheet to the scanner, which takes it and then you're done.  Well, not me.  First, we realized that somewhere along the way I lost my card with my name and number on it.  The lady said it was because I was texting but I wasn't and had the card when I left the table but didn't have it when I got to the booth to color in my votes (and forgot she gave it to me -- I'm tired!).  But there was no card on the floor.  Turned out someone picked it up and gave it to someone.  So of course I didn't know what happened to it. 

 

Second, why wouldn't the scanner tell you your votes and ask you to confirm?  For all I know, they think I voted for the Republicans and misread my bubbles.  If it's an electronic system, how hard would it be to pop up the votes and ask you to press a button to confirm?  There's a lot of uncertainty here.

 

Third, the machine told me there was an error and to notify an election official.  On the same screen that it told me my ballot counted.  Huh?  So... did my vote count or not?  I sure hope it did.  I don't want a governor who thinks that I'm catatonic because I live in Manhattan.

 

I miss the old broken voting booths.  These new ones just feel weird.

Test

Attempting a post from email... but I didn't remember making this my password.  Will this work?

We Heart KLM

Another post written in Amsterdam to post later. Sorry for the absence - it's been busy around here! Hopefully we'll finish posting all about our trip by Christmas?

We had never flown KLM before. We booked through Delta and our flight out to Amsterdam was a KLM codeshare. We were excited because it sounded like a nice airline. Compared to the Delta flights we’ve previously taken, we’re really glad we got the KLM overnight flight!

First, all the flight attendants were really nice. They would refill drinks for people whenever they needed it, were always helpful and never got an attitude with anyone. How refreshing compared to the usual (outside of JetBlue).

Second, the food was surprisingly good. When we booked on Delta, they said we were getting breakfast, so anything more than that and the bag of smoked almonds they gave out shortly after takeoff was such a surprise.

An hour or so into the flight, they told us that they were going to serve dinner. KLM has been working with chef Daniel Green to put together healthy and tasty meals for their trans-atlantic flights. Instead of eating heavy food that makes you feel sick on the plane, or other junk, the idea of a light, healthy dinner was really appealing.


Dinner consisted of a hot dish, a warm roll, a salad and a dessert. And none of it was junk food!


First up, the cold salad. Lettuce, carrots, a big cherry tomato and seafood, dressed with a very light vinaigrette. The dressing wasn't overwhelming (in taste or quantity) so it left the salad very crisp and light. It wasn’t gross and clammy like a lot of seafood gets in a cold salad. The dressing wasn’t gloopy and all over the salad. I was wary about having a seafood salad on an airplane, but it was actually really good and full of flavor.


The hot dish, according to the wrapper, was a chicken thai red curry. The rice had good texture, not too hard or watery. The green beans were healthy. And the chicken was actually really good. Not good only by airplane food standards, but it would have been good even coming out of a restaurant kitchen. We were really happy to be having such a good and healthy dinner!


Then it was time for dessert. It looked like ordinary chocolate cake but it was more like a sacher torte with fruit (raspberry?) flavor in the middle of spongey cake. It was delicious, fluffy and good.

Then, shortly before landing, it was time for breakfast.



Raspberry yogurt, a chocolate chip roll and orange juice. A nice start to the day.

Third, they have pretty good in-flight entertainment. I love when you have a personal screen instead of a hard-to-see one above someone's head. Granted, the one low spot was that mine didn’t work. The screen was fine, the remote was fine except the “enter” button – the one button you need to start the whole system – was broken, so I couldn’t get past the “choose your language” menu. I had to use A’s IFE and watched a cityfilm about Amsterdam and then listened to a “today’s hits” mix all the way until arrival.

Fourth, we got to listen to things in both Dutch and English. That was kind of fun.

Everything else was fairly standard but the service and the food put it for us in the same category as Singapore Airlines which we love (although Singapore Airlines will always be the gold standard). Nice, safe flight (considering the turbulence from Earl) and a good experience overall.

Next time: we sightsee at the airport.

If you follow our food blog, no, you're not crazy. Parts of this post were originally posted over at our food blog.