Turning up the heat

Well we've finally got the heat of summer upon us, just in time for the solstice and the end of school for the kids in the area. Although it was hot this week, it was a relief to wear a swimsuit instead of sweats to work.

Monday: A wall's responsibility
In the closet where the guards keep their things there is a large sign that reads, "not responsible for personal property." I look at it and wonder, who is not responsible for personal property? The golf club? The management? The wall? Sometimes having a subject in your sentence can make a huge difference!

Tuesday: Gift wrapped and only 185 days until Christmas
Near the train station in Harlem sits this very festive wall. It is all ready for the holidays. Too bad we're 6 months away from exchanging "Merry Christmases" and "Season's Greetings" with one another. Oh well, I guess it is better to be early than to be late.

Wednesday: Hello, Mrs. Dalloway
After finishing the very masculine literature of Jack Kerouac, I've moved on to the notably feminist writing of Virginia Woolf. In my opinion, her beautiful metaphors and imagery are some of the best in anglophone literature. Beware though, she is famous for long sentences. It is not unusual for her sentences to extend through the full length of a page.

Thursday: Battle wounds (tan lines) of a lifeguard
One of the benefits of being a lifeguard and out in the sun for 40 hours a week is that you gain a nice tan. One of the drawbacks is you'll also get some pretty funky tan lines as per my flip flop tan here. After 10 years working at pools, I have come to accept this as an occupational hazard.

Friday: Mister Softee
Mister Softee is a nearly ubiquitous sign of summer here in New York. The Mister Softee ice cream truck offers soft serve cones with sprinkles or dipped in chocolate, sundaes, and milkshakes to hot New York residents and visitors. Summer just wouldn't be the same without the Mister Frostee jingle resounding through the streets as the vender trucks around looking for customers.

Saturday: Central campus
Columbia's central campus is one of the most beautiful campuses I've seen (besides University of Delaware's of course). The design is unique for New York city, with its large courtyard and green spaces. When you enter campus you feel like you're worlds away from the noisy surrounding streets of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

Sunday: Pasta dinner
Rich and I decided to experiment with making our pasta sauce from scratch tonight. It was quite a delicious experiment! We have lots of leftovers and I can't wait to eat them up for dinners this week.







Well it is time for me to prepare for another week in the sun. Have a great first (official) week of summer! -K

Rain again and Art All Night

This week the rain continued and subsequently the pool was very quiet. However, I'm sure it was a calm before the storm. The temperatures are supposed to reach the 90s (~32C) by mid-week. (For you Texans, that is scorching hot in this part of the country.) Not only will the heat draw a crowd to the pool, but the end of the school year this week will ensure all the kids kept away from the water so far this summer will be free to splash and play from opening till close. This weekend I took a brief trip down to New Jersey to visit Rich's family and to attend Trenton's Art All Night event, a yearly occasion for all of Trenton and Trenton area artists to display their visual, musical, and performance art work.

Monday: Rich's Birthday! 
I wasn't able to make/procure the traditional vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for Rich's birthday because I was at work until late on Monday. Instead he had to suffer through a cheesecake brownie as a substitution.

Tuesday: The Pool
I took advantage of the rainy day to snap a picture of the pool. The majority of the pool is taken up by the 8 lap swimming lanes, which are usually full. To the left is the baby pool and as you can see the pool has two diving boards at the far end (to my chagrin).

Wednesday: Jack Kerouac's On The Road 
Since there are only so many pictures one can take of a swimming pool, I've decided to add some pictures of my summer reading to the blog. This week I've been reading Kerouac's On The Road. Rich and I have had many discussions (arguments?) about this book because he loves it and for some reason I'm finding it hard to relate to. As I move along further I'm understanding it better and it is growing on me, but I still believe that it speaks best to a young male audience, rather than a female reader.

Thursday: Tom's Restaurant
The famed "restaurant" sign from Seinfeld sits only 8 blocks away from us on Broadway. Although this sign is most often associated with Seinfeld, it actually was immortalized before the sitcom met success. Tom's Restaurant, which is closer to a diner than a restaurant though it is not open 24-7, first entered the limelight with Suzanne Vega's song "Tom's Diner" in 1987, two year before Seinfeld aired on TV.

Friday: Sunset on campus
Columbia has a beautiful campus and I was lucky enough to catch a stunning sunset on Friday evening while strolling around the brick-laid paths.

Saturday: Art All Night
While there were many exciting things to see at Trenton's Art All Night, one of the centerpieces of the night was the Iron Pour. Throughout the night the large furnace was filled with scraps of iron and heated until it liquefied (sorry if I'm not using the proper terminology for this...). Once it was ready, the liquefied iron was poured into large molds. It was a fascinating process to view and in the evening when it was dark, it was also exciting to watch the scintillating sparks jump as the furnace was prepared. (Click here for more pictures of Art All Night.)

Sunday: Happy Fathers Day (or Go Chargers!)
Happy Fathers Day, dad! Thank you for being such a great dad. I'm all ready for this year's football season. I'm excited to put on my jersey for some good Sunday football games this year. Go Chargers!















And now it is far past my bed time, so I will bid you all good night! Until next week. ~K

Brr, is it really June?

Early this week was very cold for June. The highs were only in the 60s (about 15C)!  The lifeguards and I shivered our way through the week. Less than a dozen people came to swim over the course of three days and I don't blame them. Brr! Thankfully, this weekend it warmed up just in time for Rich and me to trek out to Burlington, VT for a couple days.

 Monday: Lifeguard tubes
Lifeguard tubes are one of the most essential pieces of equipment at the pool. They're used for almost any possible rescue a lifeguard could perform. On cold days, like Monday, they work great as pillows for napping guards, too.

Tuesday: The folly of graffiti
Outside our apartment is a large dumpster used to dispose of random fixtures (toilet seats, faucets, etc.) from apartments under construction. On my way home from work on Tuesday I noticed this graffiti aphorism ("we are who we aren't"). The lesson here? Don't turn to graffiti for wisdom or sage advice!

Side note: This is my 100th picture since I've started!

Wednesday: Guard of the week
Once a week the other manager and I choose one exemplary lifeguard to be guard of the week. This guard is rewarded with a free lunch and public recognition at the pool. This Monday I will be announcing the first guard of the week. I always enjoy recognizing a guard for his or her good work.

Thursday: Harlem- 125th street station
The Metro-North train station in Harlem straddles 125th street, one of the busiest thoroughfares in uptown Manhattan. Every day I take a bus across town to catch my train up to the pool from here.  I'm always intrigued by the elaborate decorations adorning the overpass.

Friday: Cherry Garcia St., Burlington, VT
Rich and I traveled in our usual way (by bus) up to Burlington, Vermont this weekend. Burlington is a delightful town of which I cannot say enough. In the center of town is a pedestrian street lined by unique shops, gourmet food carts, and open air cafes. Of course, you can't go to Vermont without some local Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. The street names in this area are a subtle reminder to stop by the shop for some ice cream as you stroll.

Saturday: Lake Champlain
Burlington is not only a quirky college town, but a mecca for outdoors enthusiasts. Settled right on Lake Champlain and wedged between the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains, there are few places more beautiful on the East Coast. Rich and I had a hard time deciding what to do with our precious time in Burlington. Should we sample the myriad of maple syrup products? Should we taste the local cheeses? Should we explore the hiking trails or walk along the lake? Needless to say we'll be returning to Burlington soon!

Sunday: A day of rest
After all the excitement in Burlington, Rich and I spent most of today resting and recovering. We're back in good old New York city where the pace of life is much faster and there are much fewer cows (if any).














Before I end this post I want to say happy birthday to Debbie (Rich's mom)! I'm off to prepare for another (probably warmer) work week. See you all next week!

Let the pool season begin!

Memorial Day weekend has officially passed and that means time for the pools to be open! Congrats to my little brother, Robert, on his graduation this past weekend. I wish I could've been there. We are all so proud of you in all your academic achievements. I can't wait to hear about your adventures in college!

Monday: Memorial Day
On Memorial Day I began battling a cold that has plagued me all week. Mostly I spent the beautiful sunny day in bed staring at this American flag on the wall across from me (at least it was patriotic, right?).

Tuesday: Harrison train station
To get to work at the pool I take the bus across Harlem to the Metro North station. From the Metro North station I take the train to a little town called Harrison and then I walk to Rye where the pool is.

Wednesday: Macedonian Sunscreen
At the pool I manage, many of the lifeguards are brought over for the summer from Macedonia. As you can imagine this sometimes leads to some interesting cultural and language situations. This politically incorrect sunscreen is just one of many examples that I encounter at work. The front is all in English (for advertising purposes) but the back is completely in Macedonian. Unfortunately, I think someone must have mistranslated the intended English name for the product. I don't think I'll be finding suntan/sunscreen products called "Black Up" in my local CVS any time soon.

Thursday:  "It's great to live in Harrison"
As I said above I take the train to a town called Harrison and then walk to the pool from there. Harrison looks like your stereotypical American small town with shady trees canopying the streets and American flags by the doors of each locally-owned business. I always smile to myself when I pass this sign. It says at the very bottom, "It's great to live in Harrison."

Friday: Cold, cold go away
The cold I began to battle on Monday persisted all the way through the weekend. When it got to the weekend -and my days off- I realized just how bad I was feeling. I don't remember much of Friday or Saturday, just the few moments when I was awake to take some more NyQuil or eat a bowl of soup.

Saturday: Is the cold gone yet?
Gatordade: one of the necessary accoutrements for my lingering cold.

Sunday: Rainbow after the rain
After a long week of rain and coughs and colds, I am feeling better and as icing on the cake we were met with a rainbow this afternoon! Dolly Parton said, "the way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." And I guess she is right.







I hope everyone is having a peaceful Sunday evening and maybe even seeing a few rainbows of their own!

Rain, rain go away

This week was really rainy here in New York, which made it hard to get out to take pictures. It looks like the rain is subsiding now so hopefully I can look forward to some sunnier days this summer.

Monday: Max Cafe
Max cafe is a great, European-Style cafe just down the street from us. I love to hang out all day there drinking coffee and reading.

Tuesday: YMCA blues
I joined the YMCA here for the summer (they have a great pool that is open all day!). Unfortunately, there was a problem with the machine that prints out IDs. It ran out of all the colors except for blue! So my ID features a special monochrome rendition of me.

Wednesday: Appletree Market
Appletree is the corner grocery store in our neighborhood. There is barely a day that goes by that I don't run to Appletree for something. It is so nice to have a 24HR grocery store only a block away.

Thursday: Rain
On Thursday I got restless and tired of being stuck inside so I ventured out to take some pictures of the rain. It seems like everywhere I went there were puddles and flooding streets this week.

Friday: More rain
Just more rain. I couldn't stay out long to take pictures because it started down pouring. Yikes!

Saturday: First day back at the pool!
I am so excited to be back at my old job as pool manager this summer. Saturday was my first day back on the job and it was really great to see everyone from last year back at the pool.

Sunday: Wet feet cause colds
After all this cold and dreary weather we've been having I guess it is no surprise that I'm nursing a cold. Fortunately I have Sunday and Monday off from work. Lots of water and cough drops are on the bill for today's activities.







I hope everyone is having a great Memorial day, remembering those who have served, getting out to the pool, and having some good barbecue! See y'all next week.

A week in Austin, A day in New York

This past week in Austin went by in a whirl. It was so wonderful to see my family, eat great barbecue, and to visit some of my favorite Austin haunts.

Monday: Dad's famous smoked ribs 
We continued the Mother's day celebration on Monday and dad made his delicious smoked ribs. Tony and Cynthia joined us for the barbecue indulgence. It was so fun to have the entire family together for dinner.

Tuesday: Spa pampering 
For Mother's day dad treated mom (and me and Cynthia) to a spa day. We spent the morning lounging around the spa as we were treated to manicures, pedicures, and massages. Afterwards we had a late lunch of turkey soup and gourmet grilled cheese. Truly a decadent day!

Note: I forgot to get a picture with Cynthia's toes included, but I can assure you hers were equally pampered looking as ours.

Wednesday: Cuppa Joe
Went solo on Wednesday and I took the time to visit some of my favorite places in Austin. Unsurprisingly, my first stop was a coffee shop. Genuine Joe's is an Austin treasure: eclectic, friendly, and full of locally grown, made, and prepared goods. It is one of the places I wish I could just pluck up from Austin and transplant to wherever I'm living at the moment.

Thursday: Eastside Cafe close-up 
On Thursday the family reconvened for a delectable meal at the Eastside Cafe, another local Austin resto. Eastside Cafe cultivates its own backyard garden complete with chickens! Since we were a larger party, we had a bit of a wait for a table. I snapped this picture of Tony and Cynthia while we were all basking in the setting sun and awaiting our chance to sample the Eastside's cuisine.

Friday: Amy's ice creams
Friday I had to squeeze every last drop of Austin out of my visit before I departed from the south. Dad and I dined on Mexican food for lunch and then topped off a rich lunch with a richer dessert at Amy's ice creams, Austin's funky version of Coldstone (the server assured me Amy's was around before Coldstone, however). In the evening I went with Tony and Cynthia to the Alamo Drafthouse to take in one of their "Master Pancake Theatre" movies, a parodied version of the classic The Sound of Music.

Saturday: Pre-Dawn at Kerbey Lane
Very few places warrant pre-flight, pre-dawn visits, but Kerbey Lane is definitely one of them. Before my 7:30am flight, Tony, Cynthia, mom, dad, and I ventured out to the Austin "diner" to enjoy their irresistible pancakes. I had their spring special, lemon poppy seed pancakes and I was not disappointed.

Sunday: Something fishy in Manhattan 
Back in Manhattan, Rich and I ventured out to our local farmer's market this morning. Of course we couldn't miss the fresh sea food. It is great to be back in New York for the start of summer.








I'm so glad I got a chance to spend a week in Austin this year. I had a wonderful time visiting my family, my favorite places, and a few great new places. I'm lucky to have Austin as a hometown that I can always return to!

New York and Arrival in Austin

Hi everyone! I'm writing from Austin tonight! I arrived in the afternoon yesterday and I've been having a great time hanging out with the family.

Monday: Spring flowers
I've been so excited to see all the flowers blooming around the city. These pretty pansies were flowering in Morningside park right next to Rich's apartment.

Tuesday: Metro theatre
I found out on Tuesday that this theatre on the Upper West Side is going to be converted to a New York version of one of my favorite Austin movie theatres, The Alamo Drafthouse. I'm happy that this great space won't be sitting vacant any more and a little piece of Austin will be coming to New York!

Wednesday: St. John the Divine 
St. John the Divine is an Episcopal cathedral that is about 10 blocks away from us in New York. They have a large (and quite grotesque) sculpture in their garden that features a large assortment of animals, demons, and angels. It is quite an extravagant piece of art.

Thursday: Alma Mater under construction
May is graduation season. Columbia's entire central campus is transformed for graduation events and the week leading up to graduation the campus looks like a construction zone as they prepare for the ceremonies.

Friday: Stationary shop/ North view of Harlem 
The view from Columbia down Amsterdam Avenue looks onto Harlem. This stationary shop is on the corner on the way to the apartment. I always love seeing the lights at night overlooking Harlem below.

Saturday: Arrival in Austin
Robert made these tasty cupcakes this week. He even made the fondant flowers from scratch!

Sunday: Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day mom!











I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. I'll be taking it easy here in Austin for the rest of this week and then it is back to New York for the start of the summer.