I love New York!

I especially love New York City in Autumn. Okay, so it isn't exactly Autumn yet but almost. And while I can't say I love my job, I love my new schedule 12:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday.

So, this morning, I decided to take advantage of my schedule and the city. First, breakfast with my friend, Gregory, in Soho. The company was nice. The food? Well, don't get me started. I'm quite dismayed at the state of the New York bagel. Twice in the past month I've gotten a bagel that was really your basic white bread inside a bagel-like shell. First of all, bagels are not supposed to be soft inside, not white Wonder bread soft. They are supposed to be crunchy on the outside while chewy and dense on the inside. And I spent $9 on this particular bagel. Okay, it came with cream cheese and lox along with red onion, capers and a tomato. But even so, for $9 I expect a real bagel. I could make better bagels and have!

After breakfast I wondered up to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). I have always been discouraged from going to MOMA because of the $20 entrance fee and the long lines of European tourists waiting to get in. But then I became a member for only $60 a year. And in just a month or so, I've been in the museum six or eight times. As a member, I can just walk past all of those tourists and flash my membership card. Today was the opening of a Van Gogh exhibit and it was a members-only preview so I felt very exclusive walking in while all of those Europeans over here taking advantage of a great dollar exchange rate had to wait. I saw at least four people try to sneak in the exhibit. They didn't make it. Great exhibit. My favorite picture was The Potato Eaters.

After the museum, I walked up 5th Avenue past all the posh shops. I'm dismayed by Abercrombie and Fitch. First of all, their clothes look like clothes that should be discarded or at least bought second-hand. And the trend of having a nearly-naked young man (boy?) standing at the entrance to the shop seems truly tasteless. It would seem if you're selling clothes, you would have the model wearing some.

Then I walked past The Plaza and across the way at the Sherry Netherland, a man on the 11th floor (I counted) was reparing a window. He was standing in the window, half hanging out and he didn't appear to be tethered to anything. It was toe-curling. You can't see him in the picture but I swear he was there.
On into Central Park I stopped to watch the seals swim around in circles at the zoo and stopped to take a picture for a tourist couple. I do that at least once a day. I'll see a guy taking a picture of his wife or girlfriend or vice versa and stop and offer to take a picture of them together. They almost always say yes. Except the Japanese. I'm sure they think I wouldn't know how to use their expensive camera (or that I might steal it).

And then I walked through Sheep's Meadow. No sheep there anymore. But what a beautiful place!
Then home to sleep for the rest of the day.

I love New York!