Throughout history and traversing all cultural boundaries, men and women have collectively joined together to protest injustice and defend human rights. Massive political and social movements have developed when collectively; people take a stand and say, “NO MORE!”

I am therefore announcing that I have decided to enforce a blog STRIKE. That’s right, folks: no more posts until I get FIFTEEN comments!!

You wouldn’t think of walking past me on the street without at least waving, or saying, “hey Carm! What’s up?” I would hope that you would kindly smile if we met while in line at the grocery store. (Maybe you’d even talk to me!) Yet, every day you visit my site when you’re bored at work, or nothing’s on TV at home, or you’re just plain nosey and want to see what I’ve been up to in my corner of the world. And do you even say, “Hi?” Nope! I give you people daily commercial-free entertainment, political insight, interesting thoughts, and make a fool out of myself in public just to get that perfect picture for my blog, and how am I even thanked for it?

Now, I must say, that not all of you secretly stalk me without leaving a comment now and then. I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t acknowledge that there ARE a few of you who are considerate enough to leave me a “ha ha” or “that’s funny, Carm” in the comments section. I am especially touched by those of you who write even more than 1 sentence! So THANK YOU to all my encouraging supporters. But I’m not budging- that’s right FIFTEEN comments need to show up before you’ll see any more pictures or funny stories.

This is where the rubber hits the road, people- no more online anonymity! I purposely made my blog PUBLIC so that I could openly share with you, but I can see the traffic counter and I KNOW that dozens of people are viewing my blog daily and not even saying “hi!” Who are you? Who’s out there? I wanna hear from you!

What kind of idiot can't park a MINI?!

I saw this mini cooper parked on our street while I was walking home from work. Now, I know I have little tolerance for people who can't parallel park but THIS is the worst!! Ha ha!

Excuuuuuse me!

Last weekend, we were on the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty with Dan's nephew and niece. We lined up early and got great seats outside on the upper deck so we could get good pictures and...some ignorant dude stood right in FRONT of me! Here's a picture of his rear end blocking my view. I finally tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me- I'd rather see the statue of liberty than your backside." He moved and I got the pictures I wanted.
Dan didn't like holding my purse while I played photographer...

Black & White's

A New York legendary treat: Black & White cookies. Sooo yummy! Originally, they were made with leftover cake batter- they taste more like fluffy cakes than cookies. The icing is half vanilla, half chocolate fondant. "Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony..."

Etiquette of a Barbecue

It is important to study the etiquette of this outdoor cooking ritual, as it is usually the only type of cooking a real man will do - probably because there is an element of danger involved. When a man volunteers to do the barbecue, the following chain of events is put into motion:

1. The woman buys the food.
2. The woman makes a salad, prepares vegetables, and makes dessert.
3. The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
4. THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
5. The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
6. The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.
7. THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
8. The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings them to the table.
9. After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
10. Everyone PRAISES THE MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
11. The man asks the woman how she enjoyed her night off and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing her.

PUN-ishment!

The horse got run over by a car. It's now in stable condition.
When a woman sees her first grey hair, she usually thinks she'll dye.
Her boyfriend had a wooden leg, until she broke it off.
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes Benz.
He wears glasses during math because it improves division.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U C L A.
It was an emotional wedding. Even the cake was in tiers.
When the waiter spilled a drink on his shirt, he said, "this one is on me."

Central Park-ing

Autumn hasn't quite shown its colors in NYC yet... we went to Central Park this weekend to see some foliage, but we ended up just seeing some wierdos. (You'll know who I'm talking about at the end of this blog...) Central Park, for those of you who have never been, is simply stunning. It's ginormous, and we still haven't seen even 1/10th of it after living here for a year! It's amazing that this is in the middle of the busiest and craziest city in the world- it's so beautiful and serene and calming. This vineyard area is one of our favorite spots.



The vines have grown and made a roof and a green shady canopy.

Dan asked me what kind of beans those are, hanging from the vines. I said I dunno, he should eat them and see what happens!

This vine was so cool-looking! It kind of reminds me of those curvy waterslides at water parks!

I took a picture of this gorgeous tree below because it immediately struck me as a great climbing tree! I climbed so many trees as a kid, that even now I find myself looking for good trees to climb. This one would be awesome! Maybe I'll go back and climb it... and probably get arrested.

Here's a courtyard with a massive fountain and a lake where you can rent rowboats. The fountain is in the opening credits of "Friends, " for all you fans. Dan wouldn't jump in the fountain to re-create the scene. He just made a face at me for asking.

And, as promised... let's play "where's wierdo", my version of where's waldo! Can you see the weirdo in the picture below?

Bingo!

Rock out with your...SKATES ON!

I walked through Rockefeller Center on my lunch break and... WHAT? The ice rink is up already?! That means Christmas and snow and all that good stuff is right around the corner! I stayed for a while and watched people skating, and I gotta tell ya, I was far from impressed. (FYI: Americans can't skate!) I snapped this pic of the Rockefeller rink with my phone. As I was walking back up 5th Ave to my office, I saw a man with no legs in a blue satin jumpsuit, balancing upside down on ONE HAND while playing the HARMONICA! (What the...?) Yeah, I wanted to take a picture of that too, but he was begging for money, and I felt kinda rude walking up with my camera and taking a picture like he was a freak.

...and then I found 5 dollars ;)

Interesting Mall Facts

There are 50,000 shopping malls in the United States alone.
Women will buy more if they hear their heels clicking on polished hard surfaces, so designers often use hard flooring in hallways. Inside the stores themselves, there is often carpeting or softer surfaces to lure customers in and make them feel at home.
Places to sit in the common areas of malls are hard to find. People aren't shopping when they're sitting.
Escalators are placed strategically to force shoppers to pass the maximum number of storefronts.
Most malls have bends and turns as shoppers typically won't walk towards something that seems more than one tenth of a mile away.
Floor plans in malls are disorienting for a reason - so shoppers cannot make a quick exit.
The average mall shopper stays for 80 minutes and spends $75 each visit.

How the?

These shoes hit the NYC fashion runway for the Spring 2008 collection... how exactly do you walk in these? I'm confused...

I'll take it!

Alot of people reminisce about the days before the internet... how in the world did we survive? Remember having to go to the library and read books to research a homework assignment? Remember the days of encyclopedia salesmen? Remember when you had to look up a business or phone number in the phone book? Well, as much as I struggle to remember how I lived without the internet, I've decided there's another thing that we can't imagine living without... the DOLLAR STORE!

What is it about walking into a store where you can literally buy ANYTHING you see that gives you a sense of power? It's amazing the stuff you can find now... it's a mini dollar walmart! Dan and I found a dollar store here in NYC on 34th street that is three floors with escalators! It's a dollar department store!

This weekend, we went bowling in Canada, and I was wearing flip flops. Fully aware that there was NO way I would stick my bare feet into those nasty bowling shoes, I needed socks. Where did I turn? That's right... "A buck or Two." Interesting fact: in Canada, the dollar coin is called a "loonie" because it features a loon on the face of it. Therefore, many dollar stores are named " The LOONIE Bin!"

Upon arriving at the dollar store, I set out with one goal- buy socks. What did I end up with? Here's a list:
A lint roller
Christmas gift tags
A candle
Lightbulbs
Gum
A ghost halloween candle holder
A Scarecrow candle holder
40 Christmas Crackers (a Canadian/British thing- anyone know what crackers are? NOT the edible kind!)
Pink, orange and black clip on hair extensions (to look COOL while I'm bowling... Dan's idea)
2 toblerone bars
And finally, a pair of purple and orange Halloween socks with pumpkins on them!

What did we do before dollar stores existed? Crazy!

Teen Poverty: A letter from 2 concerned grandmothers

We just spent several hours observing teenagers hanging out at our local mall. We came to the conclusion many teenagers in America today are living in poverty. Most young men we observed didn't even own a belt; there was not one among the whole group. But that wasn't the sad part. Many were wearing their daddy's jeans. Some jeans were so big and baggy that they hung low on their hips, exposing their underwear. I know one must have been ashamed his daddy was short, because his jeans hardly went below his knees. They weren't even his daddy's good jeans, for they had holes ripped in the knees and a dirty look to them. It grieved us that in a modern, affluent society like America, there are those who can't afford a decent pair of jeans. I was thinking about asking my church to start a jeans drive for "poor kids at the mall." Then on Christmas Eve, we could go Christmas caroling and distribute jeans to these poor teenagers. But here is the saddest part - it was the girls that disturbed us the most. Never, in all of our lives, have we seen such poverty-stricken girls. These girls had the opposite problem of the guys. They all had to wear their little sister's clothes. Their jeans were about 5 sizes too small! I don't know how they could get them on, let alone button them up. Their jeans barely went over their hipbones. Most also had on their little sister's top; it didn't even cover their midsections. Oh, they were trying to hold their heads up with pride, but it was a sad sight to see these almost grown women wearing children's clothes. However, it was their underwear that bothered us most. They, like the boys, because of the improper fitting of their clothes, they had their underwear exposed. We had never seen anything like it. It looked like their underwear was only held together by a single piece of string. We know it saddens your heart to receive this report on condition of our American teenagers. While we go to bed every night with a closet full of clothes nearby, there are millions of "mall girls" who barely have enough material to keep it together. We think their "poorness" is why these 2 groups gather together at the mall; boys with their short daddies' ripped jeans, and girls wearing their younger sisters' clothes. The mall is one place where they can find acceptance. So, the next time you are at the mall, doing your shopping and you pass by some of these poor teenagers, please say a prayer for them. And one more thing: Please pray that the guys' pants won't fall down, and the girls' strings won't break?

Thank you all,
Two Concerned Grandmothers

Extra! Extra!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated, so here’s a little run-down:
A couple weeks ago, I went to the eye doctor because my eyes were red and scratchy. I was afraid that I had pink eye from holding onto the bacteria-infested subway poles, or escalator handrails…blech! Turns out it was some sort of an allergy that cleared up when the doctor prescribed drops for me. She had me read a couple lines from the eye chart, and I like an idiot, I couldn’t read anything. Literally, I was like… “uh…M?... no, R?... duh… yeah, I’m not even gonna try that one, I have NO idea!” She laughed and said it was probably because of the allergy, and my eyes would clear up with the drops. I went back to the doctor on Thursday, and had a full eye exam to check out my progress… guess what? I need glasses! I told Dan, and he said, “NERD!” (what a supportive husband…) My vision isn’t bad, it’s one line above 20/20 on the eye chart, so the glasses are really just for long distance vision, night driving, going to the opera or the theatre. It’s just a sad reminder that my youth is fleeing me!

What else has happened? Umm… last week while I was walking by Bryant Park, I saw a pair of pants, socks, shoes, and a shirt lying on the sidewalk as if the person wearing them had been raptured or something! It was funny, they were perfectly aligned just so… everyone stared as they walked by, as if they were trying to figure out what was going on. Weird!

Prince learned to climb up the stairs! Romeo has been doing it for months, but Prince fell down the spiral stairwell when we first moved to NYC, so he was scared to go near it. (He wasn’t hurt- he landed on top of a pile of moving boxes and blankets/towels.) Last week, I was doing the dishes upstairs, and put both the dogs downstairs to play and get out of my hair for a while. Romeo came running up the stairs immediately, and Prince cried down there by himself. Next thing I know, Prince is running into the kitchen, with a look that told me he knew he’d done something BIG! What a cutie!

My brother Nolan flew into NYC from LA on Friday night, and we’ll be driving up to Canada for Thanksgiving this weekend. Nolan’s moving up there for a while, but Dan and I will come back on Monday. Nolan’s cat is here with us too, and she’s just starting to get used to the two crazy dogs- they follow her and sniff her relentlessly until she growls and makes them scared.

As for recent celebrity sightings, I saw them filming Sex & the City on 5th Ave, and I walked by Hank Azaria on the way to work one day. I think that’s about it. Not much of a re-cap, but I’ll update again soon!