Memorial Day Photos

The Art of Negotiation

It used to be the place to go if you wanted a cheap Gucci purse. Or Prada wallet. Or Oakley sunglasses.

The streets of Chinatown used to be littered with luxury knock-offs on every corner, but in the past few years, they’ve come down hard on the vendors selling luxury imitation goods. 

Anyone who wants cheap jewelry, scarves, purses, sunglasses, and more can get them from tiny little shops about 50 sq. ft. big (although there are only about 20 sq. ft. of walking space). There are plenty of good-looking products that are cheaply made...about the quality of goods you would find in Forever 21 or H&M.

Shopping in Chinatown

Although high quality luxury knock-offs are not sold openly on the streets anymore, a person need not work further than a few feet before being accosted by an African American or Chinese, “Chanel? Louis? What you looking for? Handbag? Oakleys? Coach? What you looking for? Handbag? Sunglasses? Watches? Got Rolex. What you want?” or “Got purses in bags. Got purses in bags. Louis? Gucci?”

African Americans sit around on steps with giant black trash bags big enough to hold a big kid or small teen, and these bags are filled with luxury knock-offs. The Chinese, on the other hand, take you to a small room in the back of an alley - a small room with false walls - to show you their luxury goods.

One thing to remember about Chinatown: Never pay full price for anything. They give you one price. Then they immediately give you a lower one.

“How much is this purse?”

“$25. $20.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“$20. Yeah? Okay. How much you want? You name price.”

“No thank you.”

“Name price. You name price.”

Sometimes, negotiation is as easy as not countering.

Philip was disappointed that I didn’t get a knock-off, but I did leave with a black metal double-headband with a jeweled flower and a small orange crossbody purse. My mom is the best haggler I know, and today was a testament to just how much I learned from her.

Starting price: $37

Ending price: $26

I’m looking forward to my next trip. Perhaps I’ll come home with a luxury imitation purse next time...and an even better deal!

Do Whatever You Want To Do

(Blogger was out of service for a couple of days, but I had this blog ready to go. This is my 5.12.11 blog.)

I finally got to go to Central Park today, and it was just as breathtaking today as it was last summer. 

Contrary to what I once believed, Central Park is not like the small parks people are accustomed to in Phoenix. It is 2.5 miles long and .5 miles wide. For you cowboys, that’s 843 acres.  And it’s just like the movies.

There are trees, bike paths, walk/run paths, small bodies of water, short waterfalls, rocks you can climb, rocks you can sit on, benches, dogs, frisbees, picnics, little children with their nannies, baseball games...and they are everywhere in the park. It is truly picturesque...exactly how you would imagine a park to look.

A group of young adults were playing frisbee a couple trees away. 

After playing with her little brother and parents by the pond/lake about 100 feet in front us, a little girl, with a big innocent smile on her face, joyfully reached up for her daddy to hold her. 

An old man was walking his small dog, perhaps a yorkie, when the dog’s butt became itchy and he stopped to drag it on the sidewalk before strutting off with dirt and leaves hanging from his rear.

Everything you could think of was happening all around us, but we just wanted to relax and enjoy a nice book. We snagged a spot in a grassy area surrounded by tall, luscious trees, and Philip read Water for Elephants while I read To the Lighthouse.

It was a beautiful day.

On Beauty

What is beauty? 

Artist in Times Square

Is it the girl every guy chases or the guy every girl wants? The perfectly blossomed rose in the midst of flowers still blooming? The toddler in a pink dress twirling for her daddy? I don’t have an answer for you.

What makes something beautiful?

Is it the brilliant color that emanates from something? The interesting pattern and unique texture? The perfect harmony of musical notes? I don’t have an answer for you.

Who decides what beauty is?

Is it the popular crowd at work or school? The magazine editor of a beauty magazine? The fashion designer with a new clothing line? This I have an answer for: YOU.

Phantom Pit

The cliche “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” may be overused, but it’s pure truth. You define what beauty is. You decide what makes something beautiful. You. No one can deny you the right to your definition of beauty.

I used to want so badly to find beauty in the sky, the cactus, the Grand Canyon because everyone else seemed to. These were God’s creations, but I couldn’t see the beauty. 

I’ve realized, though, that I find beauty in other creations: the green trees and forests, flowers with just the right mix of colors, the contrast of something beautiful against something harsh, a city skyline...

Panorama of Times Square

I find beauty in certain songs and in certain lyrics, in musicals or ballet performances, in the Resurrection Dance, in books and movies with strong story lines...

Theatre where Phantom is performed

Today, I found beauty on the stage of Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre. Philip and I bought tickets at TKTS in Times Square, and the tickets turned out to be on the front row, off to the side. The pit was just below us, and the actors were just a few feet in front of us. The story, acting, and singing were beautiful, and they moved me to tears.

That’s how I know something is beautiful. It moves me. Somehow or another (often through tears), it moves me.  Seeing beauty in the world around us is so important, but we have to know how to recognize it. 

Can you recognize your brand of beauty?

No Cancer For Me

My beautiful new toaster oven

Health nuts say microwaves cause cancer, and we shouldn’t use them anymore. People on the run say microwaves are lifesavers, and they use them all the time. I say microwaves don’t come with my apartment, so I can’t use them anymore.

Do microwaves really cause cancer? I don’t know. All I know is that my tiny little kitchen in my tiny little apartment doesn’t have one, and because I do live in a tiny little place, I needed to buy a multi-purpose appliance in its place. Like any woman who needs to buy one thing for the kitchen, I bought two: a toaster oven and George Foreman grill with removable plates. In making these two purchases, what I really bought were the following: toaster, oven, grill, waffle maker, baking dish, and microwave.

Look familiar?

The combination of a toaster oven and George Foreman grill really is better than a microwave. 


Today, Philip and I reheated left overs for the first time since we moved to New York. Using our toaster oven, we reheated (without drying out, overcooking, or burning) macaroni and cheese, a burger, carne asada meat, rice, black beans, pizza, and a pasta dish. Using our George Foreman, we reheated corn tortillas.

They were all oh-so-delicious...nothing was soggy, limp, or chewy like food normally is when it comes out of the microwave. And best of all...I don’t have to worry about cancer anymore.

What do you mean, "There's no chips and salsa"?

Filet mignon and diners were never a combination I might have imagined had I not seen it and experienced it myself.

Lansky’s (http://www.lanskysnyc.com/) is a Jewish diner in the Upper West Side that serves coleslaw and pickles in place of the traditional chips and salsa Phoenicians are used to being served. I remember the first time servers brought coleslaw and pickles to our table last summer when we ate there. I didn’t understand why they brought it to our table, and Philip and I kindly explained, “We didn’t order this.” Apparently we didn’t need to.

We returned to the diner today and were again thrown off by the Jewish diner’s version of chips and salsa and respectfully declined because we’re not coleslaw or kosher pickle eaters. We did, however, return to the restaurant for burgers, mac ‘n cheese, and strawberry cheesecake, so we made sure to order all the right foods.

Half the 10 oz burger and mac 'n cheese

Anyone who knows Philip knows that pizza, burgers, and mac ‘n cheese would be the staples of his diet were they healthy enough to sustain him. But they’re not. They are, however, still a part of his diet, and Lansky’s has some of the biggest burgers in town and the best macaroni and cheese Philip’s ever had.

The smallest burgers on the menu? 10 oz. Yep, over half a pound! Don’t worry, Philip only ate half the burger.

Filet mignon, fries, caesar salad from a diner (only $14.95!)

I, on the other hand, tried filet mignon. It wasn’t the best filet mignon I’ve ever had, but then again, I wasn’t at a high end steakhouse and I wasn’t paying a high end price either. It was cooked more than I wanted, and it was too chewy and tough for my taste. For what it’s worth, though, it wasn’t bad, and I might even order it again the next time we go.

Indulging in the Unplanned Day

There’s always something to do in the City. Even when plans don’t work out as planned, the City is defaulted to provide unplanned backups to anyone who needs them.

Philip, knowing that when possible, I try to be “green,” decided to take me to Chinatown/Little Italy for a major street exhibition event. The way he described it to me, it was a 4-day event during which time vendors set up street exhibitions demonstrating different ways to live green in the City. Or something along those lines.

We hopped onto the subway, changed trains at Columbus Circle, and popped up to the street in Chinatown. We walked. And we walked. And we walked. Until Philip took another look at his phone to see if perhaps we had gone to the wrong part of town. No, we were exactly where we should have been. Apparently, the exhibitors decided to make their exhibitions very green today - so green we had to be there yesterday to see them.

Yes, we were a day late for the street exhibitions. Other aspects of the event were happening today, but not the street exhibitions. Oh, well. One of the benefits to living in NYC is that our day wasn’t wasted. We simply walked a few blocks to an Italian restaurant in Little Italy for lunch before indulging in some yummy gelato at Ferrara Bakery & Cafe.

Ferrara's in Little Italy

Ferrara Bakery & Cafe (http://www.ferraracafe.com) is an Italian bakery over 100 years old with an Old World feel to it. We figured it must be really good to have not only survived that long, but to have thrived. The main bakery and cafe is indoors, but there was line out the door. The store was selling gelato on the street right outside its main doors, and there was a line of about 10 customers waiting for their sweet indulgence of the day. 

The gelato really was good. Philip stayed with the tried and true chocolate while I ventured out with a flavor I’ve never before tried, hazelnut. 

Yum, yum. I can’t wait to go back!

The NYC Yield Sign: It's No Longer Yellow

The quintessential meal in the Big Apple is a slice of pizza with your choice of Snapple. If a pizza place doesn’t have both, walk out. Okay, so maybe it’s not quite like that for everyone, but I’ve been taught by Philip that in NYC, you drink Snapple while you eat your pizza.

NYC is littered with pizzerias. Every couple of stores, you’re likely to find some sort of pizza shop, whether it’s one of the many Famous Ray’s Pizzas (Original Famous Ray’s, Famous Ray’s Original, Famous Ray’s, etc...they all think they’re the original, but the eternal question is - was there ever an original?), a mom and pop joint, or some NYC or nationwide chain. Pizza joints really are everywhere. You might pay $.99 a slice or $5 a slice, all depending on which one you end up walking into.

With so many pizzerias in the City, how do you know which you should choose? This may be NYC, and it may have more pizza joints than any other place in the world, but they are not all worth visiting.

Your pizza destination: What are you looking for in a pizza?

Yield Sign Pepperoni Pizza

a. The best pizza in town. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (Don’t let the AZ locations fool you...They’re good, but the Brooklyn location is best.)

b. The biggest pizza in town. Koronet Pizzeria

c. A pizza made just for me. Can’t help you there (Unless you sit down at a restaurant, pizzas are generally sold by the slice. They’re pre-made cheese pizzas, they add your desired toppings, and they throw it in the oven to warm it up for you.)
d. I don't know what I'm looking for. Grimaldi's Pizzeria or Koronet Pizzeria.

Okay, so there are many more than two good pizzerias to choose from in NYC, but these are the two that Philip and I have become particularly attached and drawn to during the times we’ve come to the CIty.

Today’s visit was to Koronet Pizzeria on 110th Street and Broadway. What makes this pizzeria so good is the sheer size of its pizza slices. Although yield signs are typically yellow and black, we’ve dubbed Kornet’s pizzas “Yield Sign Pizzas” because that’s how big the slices are. Notice in the picture above that the slice is as big as the plastic tray, and the plastic tray is the typical size you would find in any fast food restaurant. 1 yield sign pepperoni pizza, 1 regular cheese pizza, and 2 snapples: $11.25.

As Philip and I at our pizzas, I noticed someone ordered two yield sign pizza slices to go - they just barely fit inside a whole pizza box.

Welcome to New York

We woke up this morning to a bunch of ants crawling around next to the bed. They scattered when we turned on the lights and started moving around the apartment...Welcome to New York.

Like most NY apartments, ours came with a window a/c unit and a radiator whose heat is controlled by the apartment super...Welcome to New York.

Want to go green without breaking the bank, but rather saving? Buy a metro pass in New York. It’s $104 per month to travel by subway or bus in the city. You don’t make car payments, you don’t pay $60 per week per car on gas, you don’t have car insurance to worry about, and best of all, you don’t pay $500 per month to park your car in NYC...Welcome to New York.

In Arizona, apartments and houses have an abundance of electrical outlets. In New York, they don’t...Welcome to New York.

I quietly stumbled to the bathroom in the middle of the night only to wake Philip with a loud clank when the toilet flusher fell onto the tile floor. I heard a gasp followed by a panicked “What happened, baby girl? Are you okay?” He fixed it in the morning...Welcome to New York.

We have Times Square in our backyard, about 15 minutes or so from our apartment. How many people can say that? Oh, wait. Millions can. It’s still a fun backyard...Welcome to New York.

New York is brimming with life, and if you can appreciate the beauty of urban life, it’s really the place to be...WELCOME TO NEW YORK!

The Bittersweet Arrival

Me and Philip at Sky Harbor with our many bags.

We arrived safely at JFK this morning. With the number of bags we had (4 check-in suitcases and 5 carry-ons), we were in desperate need of a van taxi...they’re not as rampant as taxi cars and SUVs, so we were concerned about running into this challenge immediately upon arriving in New York after a redeye. 

But it is New York, and we need not have worried. Besides, it just so happened that when it was our turn for a taxi, a van pulled up.

The drive to our new apartment seemed long. And short. I slept through the entire hour-long drive, so I didn’t get to enjoy my first journey to my first New York home.

Our apartment is a cute studio, about 300 sq. ft. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that 300 sq. ft. is not as small, cramped, and claustrophobic as I had feared. It is a furnished apartment with an 8-foot tall, double-wide maple bookshelf immediately to the right of the door. Across the room is a dark brown square kitchen table for two pushed against the wall and small backless chairs with leather seats. On one side of the table is a medium-sized fridge, sink, and small stove; on the other side is a full-sized bed and a black desk with black chair.

It sounds like a lot of furniture, but it fits perfectly in our apartment.

I didn’t care that I slept through my drive home. I didn’t care that the apartment was small (however cute). What I cared about was that I had an apartment to drive to, an apartment where I could crash before my job interview. Yes, a job interview on the same day I moved across the country. It was an ambitious decision, but I was excited about the job and the interview and simply wanted to get it done.

After the job interview, which was at the King’s College in the Empire State Building, I ran to meet Philip at the Starbucks on the first floor so that he was the first person to know that I was offered a job!

I’m excited to begin my new life in the Big Apple.

The Bittersweet Departure

It’s been a bittersweet day. Moving days always are, though, aren’t they?

It’s 11:15 pm on Wednesday night in Phoenix, and Philip and I are waiting to board our plane to New York. For months, we’ve been planning for this very night, but now that it’s here, it seems surreal. 

All day, I’ve been packing and saying my goodbyes. This morning, I went to work at Grand Canyon University for the last time. Even the atmosphere in the office was bittersweet. It was convocation day, so our students were leaving us, and everyone, not just me, had to pack up all their belongings because the University would be demolishing the building over the summer. 

I had hoped packing my office would give me some sense of closure, but I didn’t find closure today - perhaps because everyone was packing.

It’s 11:30 pm now, and our plane is supposed to depart in 10 minutes. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. Everyone is still sitting in their seats, waiting patiently to board. Oh, wait! They just called for everyone who paid extra money for extra leg room.

I’ll finish writing about my day later...perhaps after I get settled into my new apartment tomorrow morning.