New York Cares

Monday, October 20, 2008

Every year the city sponsors a day called “New York Cares.” A lot of businesses and church groups sign up to volunteer in the city to spruce up the city. Most groups are assigned to schools or parks. This year, our church group was assigned to a junior high school in the Bronx. It was a long day moving computers and books up and down 3 flights of stairs, but it was well worth it. A small amount of time from a lot of people can make a big difference. Later in the day, we were also assigned to do some painting. I helped paint the stage in their auditorium. Others with more talent were in charge of painting murals in the bathrooms.

These kids have so little, so I was glad I could make a small difference by spending a few hours helping them. Plus, it was fun. I was so tired by the end of the day that I felt like I could take a nap on the subway.

Parents in Town: Part II

Due to my dad having a work conference out in New York, my parents came out for a second trip to New York in six months. Last time they came we did practically everything touristy in the city, so I wasn’t sure what we should do. In the end, we had a lot more relaxing trip this time. On Saturday, my parents really wanted to see Coney Island.

Since developers keep talking about tearing it down, I figured it was time that I went. Everyone told me how unexciting it was, so I was prepared for a let done. Surprisingly, we still had a good time. We wanted to ride the Cyclone, but it was already closed for the season.

We walked along the boardwalk and enjoyed the beautiful weather. And of course we had to eat at Nathan’s Famous (where they host the hot dog eating contest every 4th of July).

Other adventures from my parent’s trip included a jaunt through Chinatown and Little Italy, and a New York Street Fair (every Saturday and Sunday in the summer, they close off 10 to 20 blocks to traffic and set up tents for vendors. It is fun to walk around and see the little shops and sometimes you can even find a great deal. You can also always find some good food.)

The rest of the week included lots of nice relaxing dinners. I also took my parents to Jersey Boys where my amazing friend Heather showed us around backstage. Thanks Heather! I love it when my parents come in town.

My Last Yankees Game at Yankee Stadium

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

In case you don't know, they are tearing down Yankee stadium. I wasn't planning on going to another game because the price of tickets have skyrocketed with the end drawing closer, but then a friend called me up last night and asked me if I wanted to go.

Of course I did. We had a great seats, so it was a great send off to good ole' Yankee Stadium. Here are some other pictures I took during the evening.

This board counts down the games left in the stadium.

The Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox. This is Yankees playing nice at the end of the game.

The grounds crew performs YMCA as they smooth out the clay.

September 11th

Last year, I didn't realize it was September 11th until later in the evening and by then I was too tired to go down and see ground zero and the beams of light. I decided I wouldn't let that happen this year.

It was a very somber experience. Everyone was really quiet, but there were people everywhere. There were makeshift memorials set up along the fences surrounding ground zero.

As I walked around, I saw so many people in uniforms. Some were firefighters, some were police officers, and some were in the armed forces. This place means a lot to them. There is a large ramp that goes down into the pit (for construction purposes). There were flags from all the different countries of people who died in the tragedy lining the ramp.

A lot of people who went down to the site realized for the first time that the beams of light representing the two towers are not actually on the site of the towers. They are about 4 blocks south of ground zero. They sit on top of a parking structure because of all of the work going on at the site. Supposedly, this is the last year they are supposed to have the beams of light.

Then, I stopped a the fire station that sits across the street from ground zero. Inside you could see the memorial for the firefighters that lost their lives from this station. It was very touching.

It was a great experience that I will always remember. I think I went 2 hours without speaking which gave me time to reflect on what had happened 7 years ago.

Trip Home

Thursday, September 4, 2008

It has been nine months, but I finally returned home to California to visit. I've seen some of my family on vacations since Christmas, but I never actually went home. I guess it was because I thought I would be moving to Utah where it is a lot cheaper and quicker to get home.

It was such a great, relaxing trip. I flew in late Wednesday night. On Thursday, we just lounged around, played with the kids, went to the pool and then headed out on the boat. It had been over a year since I had last been wakeboarding, which I definitely noticed. Unfortunately the water wasn't very good, so we switched to the tube. That night, my older brother and older sister came over for a big BBQ. I realized how much I missed home cooked meals.

Then on Friday, we woke up and went to Disneyland. It is so much fun to go to a Disney park with kids! They make it so exciting to see how excited they are for the rides and characters. The kids were so good all day, even though they were catering to me. It was the first time that I had been to California Adventure, which has a lot of cool rides. Here's some pictures from our adventure.

Then the rest of the weekend we just lounged around and enjoyed each other's company. We played some Wii at my brothers and had another BBQ. On Sunday, we celebrated my nephew's first birthday. He wasn't as excited as we would have hoped, but I think he still had fun. He had his own cake to play in and made a mess with it.

It doesn't necessarily take living far away to realize how much your family means to you, but it definitely solidifies it. I loved being with them and miss having them around.

U.S. Open

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Another checkmark added to my list. One more thing you can only do in New York is attend the U.S. Open. I only attended an evening session, so I just went to the main stadium. They have almost 15 different courts with all different games going on at the same time though. It's pretty cool. We went the 2nd night of the open, but still saw Venus Williams and Roger Federer play. It was great. I've never really watched tennis on TV before, but it's quite exciting live. Here's some shots we took.

This is Venus serving.

And here's Federer.

Boston

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I just got back from a much needed break from work and life in the city. My friend and old college roommate lives in Boston. He lived in New York over the summer for a law internship, but had a week at home before he headed back to good ole’ Provo. So I decided it would be a great time to go visit Boston. I’ve wanted to go since I moved to New York, but haven’t had the opportunity yet, until now. So me and a couple of friends headed up Friday after work on the luxurious Chinatown bus. On Saturday, we woke up and had some fun on the lake in his backyard. We went for a swim and even went for a nice kayak ride. It was absolutely serene. After getting ready, we headed into the city to see all of the Boston sites. We walked most of the Freedom Trail.

On the Freedom Trail, we saw the Old North Church.

Fanuiel Hall
Paul Revere’s grave
Bunker Hill
and the Cheers Bar.

I even thought Paul Revere deserved a high five for everything he did.

In the midst of seeing everything (including too many things to blog about), we ate some great Italian panini's in the North End of Boston (Boston's Little Italy). It was really good. After a long day, we headed back to Jon’s house in Georgetown. For the next two days it rained and wouldn’t stop. I wasn’t complaining though because it gave us some time to watch the Olympics and just take a break from life. Even through the rain, Jon took me up to see New Hampshire, which is a beautiful state.

On Tuesday, the rains parted and we had a gorgeous day. We decided to go back in the city and tour historic Fenway park. As you can see, I was converted.


Then Tuesday night, I was lucky enough to use Jon's family's season tickets to go see the Red Sox play the Texas Rangers. It was the best game I could have asked for. The Red Sox scored 10 runs in the first inning. I thought it was over after that, but the Rangers came back and made the game competitive. The final score was 19-17, which is amazing for a baseball game. We were lucky enough to see a slugging fest.

This is David Ortiz after he hit his second 3 run homer in the first inning.

I should add that Jon's season tickets are absolutely amazing. They have had them forever, so they are lucky enough to get them on the 5th row, right near home plate. I couldn't have asked for better tickets. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that made my whole trip. Here is the view from our seats.

To finish off the trip, we headed to Harvard. It is a beautiful campus. Maybe someday I'll actually go there. Who knows? :)


What more could I ask for from a week's vacation.