Doing Very Little

I had Friday off and haven't left the house since Thursday. What I have achieved this weekend:
1) Swept the apartment
2) Showered once
3) Watched nearly a whole series of Mad Men
4) Made blueberries and pancakes
5) Watched five matches of football
6) Had 19 hours of sleep
7) Ate a load of leftovers from the week
8) Had 8 Skype calls

That is all.

A Crazy, Gun-Toting Month

We entered a posh looking building in the Flatiron district and asked the guy on the door timidly, "We're looking for Westside Pistol Range..." It was 10.45am on a Saturday morning and we were heading to the basement to do some shootin' - followed by some dim sum, 'cos you know, that fits. 

There were five of us who eventually signed up. The group size had waxed and waned for a few weeks. I had been fairly up for it, but the closer we got to the date, the more worried I became. What if I decided to go on a kill crazy rampage once they put a gun in my hand? The Boy wasn't entirely thrilled when my response in the class to the question, "Why are you nervous" was "I don't know what might happen..."

It wasn't as bad as it might have been and was all pretty safe. Honestly, I did cack my pants for the whole two hours, though perhaps the last round of shooting, I did perhaps aim a little. The first round was just emptying the rifle of bullets so I could sit back down. 

The instructor was your stereotypical gun lover; big, I mean really big, and bald with questionable views on gun ownership. I repeat his phrase verbatim: 'If you leave New York City and go beyond Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you'll get to a place called America where they let you have fun with guns." Quite incredible, really.

Overall, this has been a crazy month. We went on a last minute, four-day ski trip up to Vermont as well as another trip locally in New York; we went out of town to catch up with A & J and their comedy kid, who just cracks me up; we had a Sunday session - I'd missed those - and ended up going bowling, which reminded me of being back in Japan; I'd had a crazy, last minute proposal due at work, which meant I had to change my annual leave days; and I also interviewed for another job (yes, I'd kept quiet about that), but didn't get it. What a month!

In amongst all this, I navigated the US health system for the first time. For a Brit, it seems crazy to have customer service when it comes to seeing your family doctor. Can you imagine not having to call up at 7.59am so you're the first in the queue for the day's appointments or not having to call for 30 minutes until you get a human being and not an engaged tone? Trying to choose a doctor is facilitated by online scoring and review systems so you know whether you're getting a good egg. 

I had hurt my ankle the first time I went skiing back in February, but just carried on using it and had been getting worse. It was pretty bad timing really, as we had just switched insurance providers, meaning that I'd have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed. I'm still waiting for the bill now, but imagine it's going to be hundreds of dollars. 

Anyway, it's been a while since I had to deal with anything bureaucratic and it's always stuff like this that makes you remember that you're living abroad in a system that isn't quite familiar to you. Gambarimasu!

 

A Random Weekend

Last week was a bit crazy at work. A last-minute deadline meant working late at night to coincide with my colleague in Brisbane's working day to thrash out the project details. It was disappointing that we had to pull the plug on it, as we just couldn't quite get it to work out.

The weekend was surprisingly boozy, with delicious Himalayan food in the East Village, followed by delicious kebabs in Huntington cooked by our chef friend, followed by delicious mac 'n' cheese and ramen back in the downtown NYC. The whole load was washed down with beer, wine and margaritas. Cor!

Some random bowling was also thrown into the mix. Not sure our showing was stellar, but it was a fun random weekend.

We Conquered the Beast of the East

We said goodbye to the ski season with a final jaunt to Killington, the Beast of the East. It's a proper resort with three mountains, so we took the five-hour drive up to Vermont and de-camped to a quaint looking B&B with daily waffles for breakfast. 

The Boy broke the speed of light barrier and properly boshed his head. You know there's trouble when as you approach your husband, he's looking dazed and confused and surrounded by four strangers. He's fine though.

We properly explored the resort and ventured to the terrain park (I skied around all the jumps), the mogul runs, and the tree runs. Fun! 

One of the highlights was definitely the hot tub at the B&B, which we made use of both days. The last day, the Boy told me off, as Aims and I were in there for two hours! I still had pruney fingers when I went to bed after we'd come back from dinner. 

Back to NYC and drizzle. To be honest, I was confused by why it felt so strange for a good 10 minutes. Of course! We've not had liquid rain in months, just snow. I don't fancy going outside much!

 

The Strangest Strange Thing

I step into the lift of our building and see the old lady that's always doing her laundry when we are. I look around and there's another girl, clearly related because they look so similar.

I stare at her more closely and she stares back at me.

"Do you go to Punk Rope?" I quiz her.
"Yes." She replies.
"Do you go to Anderson's Martial Arts?" I fire at her.
"Yes." She replies again.
And without respite I ask, "Do you live here?"
"Yes." She responds again.

That's so weird, particularly as Anderson's is a 25-minute walk from our place so not a convenient, round-the-corner hobby. So weird.

My Quiet NY LIfe

Another quiet weekend for me with brunch with an old colleague and friend from back home who is over for a last-minute wedding. They had the full NY City Hall wedding experience; taking a ticket to get in line for the ceremony, plus bouquets from vending machines. 

I'm getting as obsessed with happy oysters as I am ramen, having been to a few in the East Village and beyond now. The one that still escapes me is the one at Upstate, which has either been rammed when we've tried to go or been bumped for other activities. Let me know if you want to help me vanquish Upstate. 

Today, we went to Windham for more skiing and what a nice resort it is. I'm stuck on the intermediate plateau, never to get better, always comfortable, slow, steady. Destined for mid-table (were I a football team) mediocrity forever. Ah well, at least I got to use my new boots.