Hilary Clinton, Des Moines, Iowa

With the Iowa caucus on January 3, Hilary Clinton brought the big guns with her to downtown Des Moines, Iowa on New Years Eve. With the three top democratic frontrunners running in a statistical tie, candidates don’t dare take a break on New Years Eve.

With a huge American flag as a backdrop, the Senator from New York accompanied by her more popular husband Bill and her daughter Chelsea addressed the small but enthusiastic crowd for approximately ten minutes.

She spoke briefly about taking over the White House and wished the crowd a Happy New Year. She and the former President then shook hands, posed for photographs and quickly disappeared behind the stage.

Christmas Eve in Times Square

So what does Christmas mean to you? I have not celebrated Christmas in years. I cannot remember the last time I celebrated Christmas. I do not decorate my apartment. In fact, if you were to walk through my apartment there are no signs of Christmas what so ever. There is no tree and no Christmas cards hanging from the refrigerator.
The Christmas cards I do receive I read and throw out. I send very few cards myself. Those I do send go to my brother and his family.

It’s not that I dislike Christmas; I am totally neutral about the whole thing. I hate shopping for gifts and do as little of it as possible. I don’t mind receiving a gift but I am neutral on this also. Most gifts are nice but I can live without them. I appreciate the thought though, since I don’t really like thinking about other people I know how hard this thought can be.

Christmas is for children. I like to see young children enjoy their gifts and get excited about Santa. My younger niece and nephew come to mind. They are real believers and there is something magical about that complete confidence in Christmas that makes me smile. See, I am actually smiling.

I hate visiting people for Christmas, even though they have been very kind to invite me to their homes to celebrate the holiday. I like being alone at Christmas, but for many years I have worked on Christmas Day, as today and I have not had the option to visit or not to visit.

I am not religious so the spiritual side of Christmas barely registers with me. I like walking the quiet streets in New York or Hoboken at Christmas. I like to take a run on Christmas Day. When I see people hurrying through the streets with Christmas presents packed into large brown bags, I often wonder where they are rushing.

I try to think of the less fortunate at Christmas but I do nothing about their plight. I am not any more generous at Christmas than at any other time of year. There is plenty of room for improvement there.

I have fond memories of Christmas growing up. I like the fake white tree with its paint by number colored limbs, which made it easy to build. I liked going into the attic as a child and pulling down all those brown cardboard boxes full of tinsel and ornaments. I liked sitting on the sofa and watching the Sound of Music on television, eating as many sweets as I could manage. I have not given up on these traditions.

These memories are Christmas to me.

How Things Have Changed

I left Dublin in the late 1980’s with a suitcase and a couple of hundred dollars in my pocket and headed for New York where I have lived for the last 20-years. I left Ireland with an official unemployment rate of 20 percent and a weather forecast that seemed to match the doom and gloom of those difficult economic times - rain followed by more rain. Fast forward to today and I am still in New York, but the Irish economy has moved on with close to full employment and an economy that just seems to hum along, despite recent reports.

Recently, I spotted an article in the New York Times (12/21 ‘New York Condos Lure Deal-Seeking Europeans’- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/realestate/21condo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin), that described an Irish couple apartment hunting while visiting New York. On at least two occasions this year I have read about the Irish coming to New York not just to spend their euros on Christmas presents like the Nintendo Wii, but to buy Manhattan apartments. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/realestate/04cov.html?vendor=GABRIELS&partner=GABRIELS&ex=1198645200&en=166fd27125a233ee&ei=5103.)

Personally, I take great pride in reading about the Irish spending their disposable income on New York apartments. It makes a pleasant change from those stories about economic migrants seeking a new life. My Irish friend’s tell me a cautionary tale of borrowed money, but my reply to them is - who cares if it’s borrowed money? The United States economy is built on borrowed money. I read somewhere recently that the majority of Americans have a negative savings rate. Americans spend more money than they make, all the time. That is want keeps the U.S. economy running.

When I visit Dublin I like listening to friends economic success stories. The pub talk has changed from whether so and so living abroad will be home for Christmas, to talk about whether to spend the Christmas holidays at their primary residence or at their holiday homes. The Irish economy has brought economic wealth but also an economic confidence that I never saw before. For all the doom and gloom that forecasters predict for the future of the Irish economy, I sincerely doubt that those horrible days in the early 1980’s will ever return, now that the Irish have seen what is possible.

Now if there was only something we could do about the weather!

Happy Christmas y’all.

A New York City Bust

I was walking home from work on Friday 12/21 at 4.30 pm when I came across an altercation between two groups of teenagers. One group was driving the silver BMW and the second was driving a black Hummer located out of sight behind the BMW. A fight broke out between both groups at 47th Street and Ninth Avenue. Police swarmed the scene in minutes and started to make arrests. No one appeared physically hurt. I could not find out what set these two groups off.

A New York City

Penny Harvest Field

One hundred million American pennies ($1 million dollars) look exactly like 100 million Irish pennies; all brown and copper like. Except this sea of pennies are laid out in a square box in Rockefeller Center in mid-town Manhattan.
The Penny Harvest Field, as the exhibit is called was unveiled on Monday (12/10) and measures 30 x 165 feet. The pennies were collected by school children for charity. Over 800 schools participated in the drive that began on October 22 and ended at the end of November. The non-profit ‘Common Sense’ organized the event to teach children about charity and giving to those less fortunate.

Rockerfeller and Photos

Christmas has arrived in New York, and nothing epitomizes Christmas in New York like Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center is a four block long and two block wide piece of real estate that sits between Fifth and Seventh Ave. in the heart of mid-town Manhattan and buzzes with tourists at Christmas. In this rectangular space lie some of New York’s most famous icons; 1. The Christmas tree, an 84 foot Norway spruce stands majestically above the Rockefeller ice rink. 2. Rockefeller Ice Rink, made famous in Woody Allen movies. 3. The ‘Rockettes’ are playing at Radio City Music Hall and 4. new sculpture called Penny Harvest containing over $1 million dollars worth of pennies.

The Christmas spirit really starts in October in the most consumer driven nation in the world. Children’s toy adds start playing on television in October. Shops or stores as they are known here, start to advertise Christmas savings/specials/discounts/gift cards and store credit. I was looking at TV. this week and some financial guru said that Americans spend more money than they make. So if your income is 80,000 dollars you are spending 85,000 dollars a year. The money Americans don’t have is provided by American Express, Visa and MasterCard at hefty interest rates.

As I walk to work up Ninth Ave., I pass Christmas trees lined up like soldiers outside every deli and bodega. The smell of pine needles filled the air this morning. The streets seem new as if washed from the rain the night before. A flock of pigeons grey and white pigeons swooped and spiraled carelessly in the air, oblivious to the buses and cars passing below.

One Job a Week

I read an interesting article in the New York Times on Thursday (11/19). (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/fashion/29Work.html?em&ex=1196485200&en=081baa1e47c86e90&ei=5087%0A)
Meet 25 year-old Sean Aiken, a college graduate with a degree in business administration, and not a clue about what to do with his life. He came up with the novel idea of taking one job a week for a whole year. He is currently writing a blog (oneweekjob.com) about his work/life experiences. Aiken began by asking friends and family for a job and then readers of his website started offering him jobs. He sleeps on couches all over the country. This week Aiken is working as a photographer’s assistant in New York, scouting location sites for a photographer. Aiken is sponsored by Nicejob.ca to the tune of $1,000 per month and donates his weekly salary to Make Poverty History / ONE Campaign. So far Aiken has raised $14,281.

Aiken wanted a job he could be passionate about. He did not want to end up like his father working as an accountant for 30-years for the same company. Aiken’s parents told him he could do anything he wanted with his life and he believed them. The article drew a parallel between his generation (Gen. Y) who wanted to do it all, and his father’s generation who took one job and stuck with it for as long as possible or until he was let go or retired.

Cyber Monday

The fuzzy season is officially here; or should I say funny season. This involves mandatory Christmas stories in every news cast or paper. We have already had stories involving, Black Friday the official start to the Christmas shopping season and the day after Thanksgiving; and Cyber Monday (11/26), the biggest online shopping day in the calendar. Americans return to work today and log onto their computers after the long Thanksgiving (11/22) weekend and a huge portion of those Americans will go shopping for Christmas presents. Brick and mortar stores and online shopping malls are geared up to offer huge discounts to these eager and apparently not too busy shoppers.
Incentives like free shipping and iPods for 77% discount encourage shoppers to buy online.
I never liked to buy online before. I wanted to see the item I was buying before I spent my money, but I have been converted. Now, I like the convenience sitting in my bedroom (that’s were I have my computer) spending money. I have never been disappointed by what I have bought online and this has played a role in my online shopping experience. I thrust the security precautions taken by major online sites and this also helps. Finally, I absolutely hate walking around shops looking for something unique to buy friends and family. It’s boring and time consuming.
So what will I buy this year? Well, my niece and nephew in Dublin have asked for anything Barbie and Power Rangers; also, if I saw anything to do with the movie the ‘Incredibles’ that would be fine too.
My two nieces in California are a bigger problem. I know they love sports, but getting young girls a present they will use or wear can be problematic. Money is always welcome but too impersonal.
So I intend to keep you informed of what I buy folks for Christmas. Since nobody reads this blog, I feel I won’t reveal any secrets.

Christmas Toys

I have three nieces and one nephew; so when it comes to Christmas, I really like to spoil them with gifts. My brothers two children who are in high school are easier to buy for than my younger niece (4-years) and nephew (3-years) in Dublin. I am always on the look out for the IT toys; toys that I think they may want. So since it’s that season again, I decided to do a little research to find some of the hippest toys this year.
With scores of toy recalls this year in the U.S. - the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled millions of toys this year in the U.S. because of lead paint or parts that could choke a child. At one stage, it looked like there was a news conference every week recalling one toy or another from the shelves. ‘Batman Batmobile’, had 314,000 units recalled alone.
Here are some toys I found on about.com and I think they are just brilliant.







Hasbro's Transformers Movie Ultimate Bumblebee, transforms from a yellow car into an Ultimate Bumblebee robot.. Boys will love this toy.
($80 / Euro 54)


The Puppy Grows & Knows Your Name from Fisher-Price is adorable. The puppy grows to a full sized dog in 4 days. It knows its own name, your child's name and can sing 2 songs using your child's name. The puppy can be personalized using the CD provided. You also get a measuring tape with a growth chart, a bone, brush, and a birth certificate. ($50 / 38 Euro)




Hasbro's Furreal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot is a toy
with features such as voice recognition, animatronics, and dance features. It comes with a remote control which has pre-programmed voice commands which can prompt the parrot to say something or dance if there's music playing. Although, since this parrot loves to dance, it will do so to his own tunes too. ($70 / Euro 47)


Hasbro's Power Tour Guitar meant for ages 10 + is a great way for youngsters to learn how to play the guitar. The beauty of the Power Tour Electric Guitar is that there are no strings attached (literally) which makes it much simpler to learn. The whole concept is touch activated. The guitar fret is color coded, and the flashing lights prompt the player where to place their fingers. ($50 / 38 Euro)


Jakks Pacific's Eye-Clops, the handheld bionic eye that plugs into your TV. Not only is it designed to keep kids of all ages (including fully grown kids) occupied and excited for hours, it also serves to educate your children. Eye-Clops works by providing close up images of minute objects. It's amazing to see something magnified by a factor of 200 on your TV screen! It even includes an observation dish and tube to view liquids, salt, bugs or anything that catches your fancy. Three built-in lights help to illuminate the objects under observation. ($40 / 27 Euro)

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

This week (11/19-11/26) is the busiest travel week in the U.S. calendar. Thanksgiving Day on Thursday (11/22) is America’s biggest travel day (37 million Americans) and the most celebrated holiday in the U.S. calendar. Thanksgiving is for Americans what Christmas is to the Irish. Airports, train stations and roads are packed with folks heading home for the holiday to hearth and family.
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. Families gather around their dining tables with their best linen and stuff their faces full of turkey, cranberry sauce (don’t ask me); sweet potatoes (yams), with pumpkin pie for desert (not as bad as it sounds).
Thanksgiving Day began with the pilgrims celebrating the end of the harvest. American’s tend to believe that the U.S. was settled by the persecuted Christian refugees whose legacy is felt beyond Thanksgiving to the political present. The Christian conservatives that dominate the White House and Middle America hark on back to their original pilgrim roots at every opportunity.
Thanksgiving Day is also associated with street parades all over the States with the biggest being the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Macy’s being the famous department store on 34th Street in Manhattan, made famous by the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street (staring Maureen O’Hara). The parade boasts huge balloons in the shape of cartoons and the size of small buildings.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year. The American family begins its two month long prayer ritual to consumerism. Families all over the U.S., enticed by huge store (shop) discounts go out and spend massive globs of money on red and white Christmas sweaters with snowmen on the front.
Typically, stores like K-mart and Macy’s start their holiday sales huge discounts in order to attract large lines (queues) outside their stores when they open. Retail competition is so tight that some stores open at 12.00 am Thursday night and folks spend their evening sleeping in front of the store to get those early bargains.

MANHOLE FIRE

November 13

40th Street and Ninth Avenue
Firefighters cordoned off a half block radius while smoke billowed from a steel manhole cover on Ninth Avenue outside Port Authority Bus Terminal. The fire started at approx. 8.00 a.m. Tuesday morning as he bus station spilled its humanity onto the street.

New Yorkers are used to seeing smoke rising from all sorts of holes in the ground as they scurry back and forth to work. This fire was no real exception, although it could have been. You see there are two worlds that separate New York City, the subway below, and the streets above. In winter, grey steam clouds rise from the underground, as the hot air from below ground meets the cold air above. In winter orange and white chimney cones resembling the cat’s striped hat in Dr. Seuss ‘Cat in the Hat’, appear all over the streets of Manhattan allowing the steam from the nether world below ground to vent its frustration at the living world above ground. Manhole fires are quite common in Manhattan, as last nights rainwater collides with the worn, poorly insulated power cables that run up and down the streets and avenues of this city. However, they can be deadly. Fire crews will not touch a smoking manhole, until they are sure Con Edison has cut off all power.

On July 19, a manhole cover exploded in midtown Manhattan killing one person and injuring dozens of others as they made their way home from work. The explosion was so loud, officer workers heard it streets away. That explosion received both national and international attention, a by-product of September 11. Hell, on February 15, a dog called Bob, was electrocuted walking over an icy manhole. Bob also died.

Broadway Goes Dark, Well Sort Of

Broadway Goes Dark, Well Sort Of.

With the Broadway stagehand strike heading into its third day on Monday (11/12), I decided to take a walk down to 44th St. and Broadway home to mega Broadway musicals like Les Miserable and ‘Xanadu.’
During intermission standing outside the musical Xanadu and across the street from ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Spamalot’ were Andrew R and Phil A from London, who write an online theatre review blog called the West End Whingers (http://www.westendwhingers.net/). Both visitors asked that I not reveal their last names.

Andrew and Phil were in New York to see and write about six Broadway shows they planned to see in six days. They arrived on Saturday (11/10) night when they managed to squeeze in their first musical ‘Alter Boyz’.

Neither Andrew nor Phil was aware of the strike before their plane touched down on Saturday. Both theatre enthusiasts said they would not have altered their plans if they had known about the strike earlier; before they left London. “We wouldn’t have changed our plans anyway,” Andrew said. “Xanadu alone was worth the trip,” Phil said. Andrew and Phil admitted the show they really wanted to see the most was Young Frankenstein, but they were not sure if it was effected by the strike.

Not all Broadway shows are effected by the strike between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the League of American Theatre and Producers. There are eight Broadway shows still open for business.

The strike is primarily over working rules at the theatres. The theatre owners and producers say they are forced to hire more stagehands than are necessary, thus forcing up production costs. During a press conference on Saturday (11/10, a representative for the producers and theatre owners said, that each stage hand makes between 150,000 and 200,000 dollars a year.
The stagehand union claims that the owners and producers are trying to force job cuts on the union while theatre owners make record profits.

Steve a member of the Theatrical Stage Employees Union who was handing out flyers from behind a picket line outside ‘Les Miserables’ called the theatre owners demands ‘unreasonable.’ Steve who has worked as a stagehand for more than 30-years called the salary figures quoted by the producers and theatre owners as “highly inflated.” “There are several different pay scales for union employees,” he said. “An average union employee who worked a full year might make $100,000 dollars,” He was prepared to stay on the picket line for as long as it took for the theatre owners and producers to come back to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith, he said.

In the meantime, New York City loses millions of dollars a day; some estimates run as high as $17 million dollars. On Sunday (11/11), Mayor Bloomberg said he was willing to help both sides reach an agreement in any way he can. In a statement he said, “While this is a private labor matter, the economic impact is very public and will be felt far beyond the theatres closed today,” It is in everyone's interest for both sides to come together and resolve their differences."

There are no talks scheduled in the near future.

In the meantime as the call went out for theater goers to return to their seats for the second act in ‘Xanadu’ both Andrew and Phil were giddy with excitement to hear that ‘Young Frankenstein’ was not effected by the strike.

New York City Marathon

November 4

It certainly was not my best finish time 3:53:14 for the New York City Marathon; but I did not hurt as much as my previous marathon experiences. My legs were tired and stiff but not completely immobile when I finished.
I was back in work on Monday (11/05) and none the worse for wear. The New York marathon is a boisterous, ebullient affair with 39,000 runners from all over the world. This was my fifth New York marathon and certainly one of my best from a physical stand point. I felt ready for this one and maybe that’s why I was not hurting so much, when I finished. The Wednesday night interval training on Weehawken track in New Jersey paid off. The 20 mile long runs in Central Park paid off.
I find running long distances a spiritual experience. No matter how many people surround me when I run, I am alone with my thoughts and yes, sometimes prayers. Before any long run actually before I exercise at all I offer the practice to those living and dead who touched my life.
The New York City marathon is simply the best from a participant’s point of view because of the public support all along the 26.2 mile route. Over one million people come out to cheer on the runners; and I mean cheer them on. They are enthusiastic and verbose. It makes one weary mile after the other just fly by. As a runner you are not concentrating on your pain but on the crowds. It can be very emotional at times.

The Writers Union V’s Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers

November 2

The writers union, Writers Guild of America went on strike on Thursday (11/02) night. This would mean nothing in Ireland but here it can cost a huge industry billions of dollars in lost profits. We all know in the U.S. profits are everything. Writers work for Hollywood production companies and television corporations and are responsible for writing movie (film) scripts, television sitcoms and comedy bits for late night talk shows like ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jay Leno.

About 17,000 writers all over the country walked out. Talk shows that rely on writers for relevant comedy bits from that days news, will suffer most from the writers strike. Hollywood produce films years in advance, so they will have a stock of films in ‘in the can’ ready to go. They suffer the least.

The writers are looking for payment from DVD sales, internet and cell phone revenue. The producers union, the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, want to recoup the cost of the movie or television show before paying any residuals to writers.

Construction Unions in New York protesting
non-union construction site.

The Filty Streets of New York

November 2

You thought Dublin was a dirty city; New York gives Dublin a run for its money. In the morning the sidewalks or pavements to you, are full of black plastic garbage (rubbish) bags full of left over dinners or rotten food, are left out by the multitude of restaurants that line every street. These bags are often torn open by rats or the homeless or freegans (people who don’t want to pay for food so they rummage through garbage bags looking for food that is still good to eat. It has something to do with saving the environment or reducing their carbon footprint) during the night. Add to the restaurant rubbish, the regular household rubbish; crapped out computer screens, old sofas and chairs. All this shit leaves the place smelling like a sewer and the pavements slippery.

Bee Movie Premiere

October 25


Bee Movie New York City Premiere
October 25, 2007 - AMC Loews Broadway, New York, NY United States

Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock arrive at the New York City Premiere of Bee Movie.
Seinfeld is co-writer and co-producer of the film. He plays ˜Barry a shy bee leaves the hive and falls in love with a human florist, Vanessa, voiced by Renee Zellweager. ˜Barry sues the human race for exploiting bees. Chris Rock voices Mooseblood a mosquito. The film officially opens on November

See link below
http://vipglamour.net/2007/10/26/jerry-seinfeld-and-chris-rock-arrive-at-the-new-york-city-premiere-of-bee-movie/

CAST
BARRY B BENSON - Jerry Seinfeld
VANESSA - Renee Zellweager
ADAM FLAYMAN - Matthew Broderick
MOOSEBLOOD - Chris Rock
LAYTON T MONTGOMERY - John Goodman
JANET BENSON - Kathy Bates
MARTIN BENSON - Barry Levinson
KEN - Patrick Warburton
TRUDY - Megan Mullally
DEAN BUZZWELL - Larry Miller
LOU LO DUCA - Rip Torn

Dream Works Animation

Halloween

October 31

New Yorkers really do Halloween. I mean they spend billions of dollars buying costumes and going out to bars or pubs to you, in the hopes of winning some costume prize.
But the West Village, known as a gay area hosts the biggest parade in the world. Thousands of parade participants are dressed in elaborate costumes, some with themes ripped from the news headlines. For example there was one poor unfortunate dressed as a Taco Bell fast food restaurant. Why, you ask? Earlier this year, a camera crew filmed loads of rats running wild all over a closed restaurant. The television coverage was none stop for weeks. This guy wore a home made costume that resembled a Taco Bell, with a clear plastic bubble attached to his belly with live rats running around. I tell no lie. Now he did make the news.

Tuesday 10/23

It appears that California is burning. Million dollar homes in Malibu are burning. The fire department cannot contain the fast moving fire, spread Santa Ana winds. At the time of writing 1,200 acres have been burnt and one person was killed in the fire. Turkey’s threat to invade Northern Iraq in an attempt to weed out PKK (Kurdish Worker Party) rebels has the United States on edge, according to the New York Times (10/22). The last thing the United States needs is a war on Iraq’s northern border. The Kurdish controlled North was the only relatively violent free part of Iraq. I think that the U.S. has painted itself into a dangerous corner when it comes to giving advice to Turkey. After all, if the present administration is to be believed, we entered Iraq to deny al Qaeda safe haven and of course to rid the country of its nuclear capabilities. Therefore if Turkey decides to go after the Kurdish separatists then who are we to tell them they should wait? The U.S. should be standing on the bully pulpit congratulating Turkey on its aggressive stand against the PKK.

NEW YORK TIMES

Monday 10/07/2007


I have mentioned in past postings that I love the NY Times. I spend many a happy hour reading the NY Times Sunday edition. It contains numerous inserts covering everything from cars to style.
The Sunday ‘Styles’ insert both attracts and repulses me at the same time. Styles are a collection of stories about who, what and where is hip in New York City. Sunday's (10/07) had a story on an unknown 'boite' in the East Village in New York City where a reservation is necessary to drink in the bar. Clients and not patrons have to walk through a telephone booth in the back of a diner to get into the bar. The signature cocktail for the bar is "The Reverend Palmer"; a black tea infused Elijah Craig 12-year-old bourbon with lemon and Angostura bitters. Is there anything more pretentious than unknown bourbon and Angostura bitters in a bar where you have to make a reservation and then pass through a telephone booth to get in? I guess there must be some folks, part of the faux and fabulous, kicking themselves because they never heard of this hidden getaway? Will there be a rush to make a reservation? I bite my nails in anticipation.

Styles has a section called the ‘Nite Gala’ that covers New York’s elite; the movers and shakers, the rich and powerful attending charity events all over New York City. This page displays black and white photographs of older men in back tuxedos accompanied by younger women in ball gowns attending charity events at the likes of Lincoln Center.

At the end of a 10-page insert come the wedding announcements. These are a charm. You can read the short life biography of Emiley (even the spelling is strange) Elizabeth Zalesky, 30, and Keith Lockhart, 47, who were married Sunday, Oct. 7th. Zalesky is an Assistant Attorney General in Boston who attended Georgetown Law School and Lockhart is a conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Utah Symphony Orchestra. Sadly missing from these announcements is the local fireman marrying his high school sweetheart. The NY Times wedding announcements are for the children of the privileged with stellar academic credentials.
I am not sure why I am attracted to the ‘Styles’ insert? I suppose its because I get to see how the stylish, trendy and powerful live their lives. I am a voyeur looking into a rarefied world.

Monday (10/08) marks Columbus Day in the U.S., a federal government/federal holiday marking Christopher Columbus discovery of the United States back in 1492. It also marks another American tradition; Christopher Columbus Day sales in department stores (shops) and car dealerships. What could be more American than a sale. NYC has a little attended parade down Fifth Avenue. Most private employers do not give employees the day off reports Columbus Day as the least observed holiday for employers. Public schools, government offices and banks are closed. .

Patrick McGeehan from the NY Times (10/07) (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/nyregion/07columbus.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

NEW YORK CITY FOG

Wednesday (10/03)

New York City was enveloped in a fog on Wednesday (10/03) morning. The Reuters news building in Times Square wore a foggy top. It was a serenely quite walk up Ninth Avenue past the garbage bags (rubbish) piled high on the sidewalk. I smiled as I passed frustrated mothers dragging their small uniformed kids to school. It reminded me of my own mother.

Thursday (10/04)

I wanted to call out sick on Thursday (10/04). I felt like I had worked weeks on end without a weekend in between and that my body cried out for a break. Do you ever get that feeling?
I wanted to thumb my nose and say “not today thank you.” So why didn’t I? Guilt. I feel guilty if I take a day off work for no real reason. That is the American in me. If I lived in Ireland I doubt I would feel the same guilt for taking a sick day. In the United States work consumes most of your life. To call out sick is a mark of failure or weakness. At least that is how I feel. You are always one paycheck away from losing your job.

ADVICE
Now the euro is running high against the dollar, I am looking to cash in (as it were) on the monetary differential. Is there a US product I could market in Ireland? I am aware of the customs duties and VAT; these added expenses have to be taken into consideration. Does anyone out there have any ideas?

I live in Hoboken, New Jersey, located just across the Hudson River from Manhattan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoboken,_New_Jersey. I work at a television station in New York City/Manhattan.



I am attempting to bridge the gap between an Irishman living in the United States and the Irish people I left behind. I am somewhat bemused by the stories of the still surging Irish economy and all the economic advantages it brings. When I speak with friends through Skype (lets hear it for Skype) sometimes we talk about mundane things like work, weather or commuting. Occasionally we speak about politics or sports, but I personally like to talk about the changes that have taken place since I ran from Ireland in 1989. I have taken infrequent vacations (holidays) at home through the years but not so much since my parents died. I preferred taking vacations in warmer climes, like Belize or Mexico. Friends in Dublin tell me this neighborhood house or that neighborhood house sold for 1.1 million euro and I am agog. All of my close friends have succeeded far beyond my own mediocre success here in the United States. I am basing success on a financial, how many things you can accumulate basis; a truly American way of viewing success. A few of my friends are multiple homeowners and I have to admit, I am jealous at times. It never lasts. I have never owned anything more expensive than my car. I bought that used (second hand) and it was cheap in comparison to Irish standards.

Frequently, I speak with my friends about their long commutes to work and I think back to my own commuting experiences when I worked in Dublin. I can honestly say I did not have too many commuting stories, because I did not have many jobs to commute to. That brings me to the present. I have lived in the New York area for nearly 20-years and I cannot remember traveling less than one hour to work either by car or public transport. Today my commute is about 50 minutes the shortest I can remember. I get up at 6.00 am to get into work for 8 am. I walk three blocks (one block = one street) from my apartment to the bus stop. The bus takes me from Hoboken through the Lincoln Tunnel that connects New Jersey to Manhattan. That bus ride is frequently the most enjoyable part of my day. I get to read the New York Times newspaper and savor the quiet moments.
How do you believe Americans measure success?



Saturday 09/30/07
BRING ON ROUTINE
I like the weekends. I am unusual in that respects!! I take comfort in my weekend routine. As I got older, I relish routine. It brings a sense of normalcy that a weekday does not give me.
It is a beautiful Fall Saturday here in Hoboken and I got up at 6.00am. I am an early riser since I don’t socialize much these days.
I called my running partner Newman and we ran at 9.30 am along Hoboken’s beautiful waterfront. It was a quickie; just 5 miles. On Sunday, both of us were running an 18 mile race in Central Park, N.Y., in preparation for the N.Y.C. Marathon on November 4.

After the run I went to my usual yoga class at the Y.M.C.A. I have practiced yoga, but not consistently, for many years and as my body aged I found the stretching and meditation beneficial to my runner’s body. Today while practicing yoga in the Y’s dingy, badly lit basement, the yoga instructor in her in her tightly wrapped ‘juicy’ like sweatpants demonstrated a very difficult ‘pose’ that involved manipulating her body into a position where her head ended up underneath her ass while standing in a crouched position, with her arms behind my back. Needless to say I did not begin to attempt this pose; as I envisioned myself in traction at the local hospital shortly after.

In the past, I used to attempt all the yoga poses. I did this for three reasons; first, to please the instructor, second, I wanted to avoid being the odd man out and finally, to challenge myself despite the risks. Today, I am comfortable just pleasing myself (biblically), without wanting to please others. I recognize my limitations and I have come to accept them.
I cannot help feeling somewhat peeved when a yoga instructor demonstrates a pose that I cannot in my wildest dreams carry out. Does anybody else feel that way?

Sunday 09/30/07
A PERFECT SUNDAY, WELL ALMOST
Today was a perfect day, weather wise. I rose at 5.45 am put on my running gear and headed into Central Park with Newman. Newman is my running partner. Newman drove into New York City. The air was crisp and clear. The temperature reached 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 Celsius). I ran 18 miles at a mediocre pace. Although, I am a firm middle of the pack runner, I was not pleased with my performance. My knees hurt and my breathing was sketchy. However, running in Central Park in the fall with thousands of other runners makes up for any disappointments. A strange thing happened when I was stretching after the run. The woman next to me who was also stretching started screaming at the top of her lungs. She made a serious commotion; hysterical in fashion. I came to her aid. She suffered a leg cramp and could not move. Some other runners came over and we started to work on stretching her tight muscle, all the while she kept on screaming. She eventually calmed down when the cramp faded. Nevertheless, her reaction to the cramp was so far out of proportion I wanted slap her. She was from Florida so I made some allowances. Unfortunately, the City of New York issued Newman’s car a parking ticket, which will cost $135. I recommended the parking spot.


Hoboken celebrated its Arts and Crafts Festival on Sunday (09/30). Washington Street, Hoboken’s main thoroughfare was lined with artists, painters, photographers, and sundry stalls all selling their wares. Band stands were set up at each end of the festival route and there was plenty of food from local restaurants. I celebrated with a walk along Washington Street in what will surely be one of my last opportunities to wear flip-flops, shorts and of course, my 18-mile Marathon Tune Up tee shirt, I received earlier in the day.
Does anybody run and smoke?