Last week was my coworker Rob's birthday. Last year he demanded a Big Sandwich from Subway and we ended up just getting him several sandwiches and lined them up next to each other. He didn't fall for it. This year, he really really wanted to have a kiddie pool to play in, so we actually did it. Our new girl Katie did most of the work in researching and obtaining said pool, and since it was raining and cold out, we had the party in the lounge area.
We all (not including me) put a lot of work into making sure everything was just right.
Including the ice cream sundae.
People even climbed stairs to attend this event.
While we were waiting for Rob, we played with a beach ball. Can you tell how miserable and un-summerlike it was outside??
But we were still excited.
Rob was ecstatic, although not surprised (he had only been talking about it for a year now).
He had even brought his swim trunks and a towel for the occasion.
We all sat around and watched him soak.
Goggles and all.
Our boss, Zarina, dished out all of the sundae.
It was delicious! We were all reminded of the simple beauty of a banana split.
I don't think there are many workplaces out there where you can throw a pool party in foyer any time you want.
"Success!" cried Robert.
He even rolled up his shirt, 80s-girl style, so as not to get it wet.
Later that day, we mused to Sarra how much she looks like the Wacko Jacko on her shirt.
The next day, Jennifer was in town!!! Yayyyyyy! PS 260 had a little party and Dustin tried several times to get a good shot of us together. He kept making us pose over and over again because it came out blurry, so the shot he finally got adequately captured our impatience.
But no worry. We had gotten a fabulous photo earlier that evening to capture our giddy excitement at seeing one another after 2 months of separation.
On Saturday, I threw caution to the wind, cancelled my hair appointment, and joined Dustin on a trip with his college pals to Jones Beach for some last-minute summering. You Arizonans might take September and October for granted, but here in the East you realize with a jolt how fleeting the summer is by August 25th. How sad. Luckily Aaron, D.'s friend, has a car, and with his girlfriend Claire and childhood friend (whose name I ALREADY FORGOT! now named Orangina Girl), we set out on a Saturday funfest.
Happily backseating it...
It was funny... at the beach they had shower rooms and "comfort stations."
We had bought some scrumptiously fresh sandwiches on the way, and boy did they come in handy by the time we got there.
After that, it's stone cold chillin'.
Aaron, a writer for the Wall Street Journal Online, is a furiously fast speaker, point-maker and all-around conversationalist, and even takes his naps in a gesturing pose.
We played in some rough and freezing cold waves for a very long time, which was so amazingly fun - I felt like I was five years old again. We got no pictures of that, but believe me... it was exhilarating. You'll just have to settle for the shades photo.
After more napping, Dustin and Aaron played some Connect Four.
Then it was the long trek back to the car.
The sun was setting as we drove back to Brooklyn, shading a gorgeous light upon our five-person Pixies sing-along party.
Boy, I've had a busy week. Finally, on Sunday, Dustin and I met up for the Revenge Of The Book Eaters event. It benefits 826NYC, which is a nonprofit organization that tutors kids 6-16 in the creative writing area. The org is run by Dave Eggers, who also runs McSweeny's (a quarterly humor magazine) and who wrote one of my favorite books of all time, "A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius." That is all very convoluted, but let's just say Dave Eggers is my hero. The event at the Beacon Theatre was hosted by Dmitri Martin, a comedian and "youth correspondent" for "The Daily Show."
It featured many musicians, bands and some comedians, including A.C. Newman from The New Pornographers.
Grizzly Bear also performed, and although I love their music I ordinarily wouldn't choose to go to a full concert of theirs, because their music is sort of slow and I am always afraid I'll get bored at those sorts of things. But let me tell you............. they were SO phenomenal, each instrument perfectly in tune, every note of each voice gorgeously pitched. I was totally amazed by the depth of sound they put out.
And Fiest did one song with them... although I'm not a big fan of hers.
I was blown away by Grizzly Bear. But THEN this guy Jim James from My Morning Jacket comes on, and completely awed me as well. It's hard to describe how huge and beautiful his voice was, so if you'd like to know click here and choose the song "Bermuda Highway" for a sample. But let me say I couldn't believe how fully his voice filled the space, not overbearingly or strangely the way that live shows sometimes can be, but just beautifully. I have to say the acoustics and the sound engineer were pretty much amazing as well.
Then Fiest came out and read some of the stories the kids had written, including the tale of giant peanut man and his wife, Jelly Taker (which I thought was very odd and pretty hilarious).
And she sang.
The dudes from Broken Social Scene were also there.
As was Britt Daniel from Spoon, who played a bit with A.C. Newman at the end.
They brought everyone out at the end for a last hurrah, although I kind of wished they'd all get together and sing "Let The Circle Be Unbroken" or something.
All in all, a beautiful and well-used weekend, I think. Who cares if my hair is still shaggy?
After all of our adventures, we only had 1.5 days left for vacation. We used the time wisely by swimming in the ocean.
Friday morning we signed up for a 1-hour snorkeling adventure. Neither of us had ever done it before, so it was a good learning experience. There was a reef about 5 minutes out from the resort, which is why the water at our beach was less blue than in Cancun proper. We got all suited up.
It was weird breathing through the mouth and keeping your body horizontal so as not to disturb the coral peace.
See? Coral.
It's kind of hard to see here, but that mess of objects is a school of clown fish. They were all over the place. It was pretty much awesome.
¡Buenas Dias!
If you click on this picture it's easier to see all the beautiful blue fish that were swimming around us. I think they're called Blue Tangs or something to that effect - the instructor said she had never seen so many at one time as when we were out there.
More fish & coral
The floor.
I'm really glad we did the snorkeling thang.
Afterward, we were excited to get to the spa for one more massage. The spa is surrounded by hibiscus that remind me of home -
- and banana trees, which I had never seen before in real life.
Spas generally tend to be the kinds of environs that make you instantly sigh contentedly and relax when you walk in, and this place was no exception.
My massage was basically life-changing. Gloria massaged muscles that I didn't even know I had, and came as close as anybody could to getting rid of that knot in my shoulder. I felt so good afterward, I spent the rest of the day saying "I've never been this happy." This is not the best photo of me in existence, but it aptly illustrates my perfect calmness as I walked out of my massage and told Gloria, "I love you."
It was a good way to spend our last full day at the resort. Can you guess what we did after the massages and before dinner?
Yep.
That night I walked around the premises as Dustin took a nap, and looked around the souvenir shop. They had earrings that dangle!
And I picked out this pretty necklace as a souvenir, because it reminded me of the coral from our snorkeling trip and the seaweed in the ocean.
After dinner we walked around and enjoyed the resort by night.
The perfect darkness of the ocean.
The next morning - mmmm, bacon The next morning we packed up our stuff and, as our flight didn't leave until 7pm, we stored our luggage and I went to the beach one last time while Dustin caught a game of Giant Jenga. Or could it be Jiant Jenga?
Aaahhhhh... as I said before, I love this view.
On our way out, we stopped for one more ice cream - you wouldn't believe how glorious it was to feel the cold ice cream on your lips when it's so hot out.
We bid the Excellence Riviera a fond farewell and expressed our gratitude aptly.
Then it was back to America, back to New York... by way of Newark of course.
Happy but sad all at once.
And covered in the necessary wounds of a trip well spent.
Makes me itch just thinking about it.
Ah, yes, it was a wonderful and necessary trip, and we spent it well, I believe - and lucked out as far as the timing goes. This very region of Mexico spent last weekend evacuating in preparation for Hurricane Dean. I'm very glad we went when we did, enjoyed it to the fullest, and got out when we did too... I'm just hoping it will all remain intact for people who come after next week, so they can enjoy this as much as we did.
On Tuesday of our trip, we decided we wanted to go see Chichen Itza, the site of ancient Mayan ruins and one of the new 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. We signed up to go on the bus and have a day trip. The brochure said we would go to the ruins site, have a 1-hour guided tour, spend 2 hours exploring on our own, then a light lunch and swimming at the cenotes, which are beautiful natural watering holes all over this region of Mexico. It sounded great, and we were excited, even at 8am.
This was our tour guide, Jaime, who was fond of loud microphones (on a bus) and "breaking the rules." This meant he was going to change our itinerary for the day.
As we travelled through the Yucatan region, we heard a brief history of his entire life. He is half Mayan and half Welsh (wha-??) and used to be a professor of history, until he decided to be a tour guide (wha- wha-???). He took us to these still-in-use Mayan houses near Chichen Itza.
Then he introduced us to something called "commercialism" which means taking tourists to a flea market-type place where they can buy tchotchkes from the local region.
They did have a cool mural though.
And a goat. Goats make the weirdest noise! For about ten minutes I was convinced there was a man somewhere nearby, just moaning. But it was a goat.
Then Jaime decided to take us to the cenotes before the ruins. He said, "We'll only be here for about 8 to 10 minutes, and you could swim, but I don't recommend it, it's very polluted." Of course when we got there there were about 15 people jumping in and swimming and having a grand time.
Then we got to the ruins. They were pretty darn cool. This was, Jaime believes, an observatory.
This was six buildings built on top of each other.
And this is the famous sacrificial pyramid.
See how excited I look?
See?
Don't believe it - it's all a ruse. We had a guided tour of TWO and a half hours instead of one, and do you see any shade in this photo?
No. I was disappointed, because I really wanted to enjoy the place, but I think I was getting heat stroke. I kept thinking I was going to pass out. This is how I really looked all day.
After that we got a little lunch and saw a traditional Mexican dance from these cool peeps, who balanced trays with beer bottles on top of their heads. It was neat-o.
It would have been nice to go swimming then, after being in the 100-degree heat and humidity all day, but instead we just got back on the bus to go back to the hotel.
And then the bus broke down in the middle of nowhere, and they said another bus was on the way but it would be an hour and a half until it got to us.
Fortunately, another bus stopped over to pick us up and took us to meet the other bus halfway.
And we got chips, so we were happy.
Sigh. That was the only bad day I had on the trip, which was worth it for so many good days. That night we went to dinner and saw the harpist again. He was amazing, and amazingly fast with his fingers. He told us he got an old harp three years ago and just taught himself how to use it. He was so good that Dustin told him he should be in an orchestra. But he doesn't know how to read music - to which Dustin replied, "Well, you should learn!"
Isn't the bar gorgeous?
We had pan-Asian that night.
The next day, after laying around on the beach all day, we went for a shopping trip to Cancun proper. The tour guide let us stop by the actual Cancun beach, which is bluer than the one at our hotel.
We started out at one of those flea markets that have lots of stores and they all try to rip you off, but they're easy to bargain with.
Of course they've got the Virgin Mary.
Who doesn't like jewelry?
So then they took us to a mall, which happened to have a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville there. They gave us each a coupon for a free margarita, so we thought, hey, why not? We need to eat anyway.
It was a pretty corny place. They made the employees dance to Jimmy Buffett songs.
And just to show you how little they need your money, they line the ceiling with dollar bills.
We were SO PSYCHED to be there! It definitely was an experience.
I even got a flower made of balloons!
There weren't any really great stores at that mall, so we didn't get anything. I'm pretty sure they just took us there because they have a deal with Jimmy Buffettville.
The next mall they took us to had a Taco Inn, which you may rememberalso has a restaurant near Dustin's house in Mexico City. It's SOOOO good and we were mad we had already eaten.
While we were there, Dustin found a cool pair of Vans and snagged 'em.
... while I was eaten alive by mosquitos.
Okay, guys, we're almost there. Stay with me now. This will be the best part of the post, because it was our best day of the trip. On Thursday we signed up for a zip lining adventure. Zip lining is where you get hooked up with harnesses to a big thick cable that's tied from one tree to another and you go flying over the jungle canopy. It's totally safe because you are linked to a cable at all times. The place we went to (Selvatica) had 11 lines and the longest zip line in North America. A van came to pick us up and these two little kids sitting in front of us were holding hands. It was precious. I think the little girl was afraid and her brother was trying to comfort her.
They have you get all geared up, complete with caps and latex gloves under your helmet & gloves. I thought we looked like jungle doctors preparing for surgery.
Then we got strapped in.
We had a short training session to teach us the proper positions, and we realized we were there with a family reunion of 18! That's quite a reunion. They're the ones wearing red.
The zip line experts, who have the best jobs in the world, showed us the technique on a mini-line.
Then we looked up at the spiral staircase that would take us to our first zip.
I'm afraid of heights, but ever since I saw them do this on "The Amazing Race" I've wanted to get in on the action. I was SO READY.
That canopy sure is high!
We watched the 20 people in front of us go flying through the air, including a THREE-YEAR-OLD!, who started off by squealing, "Mama!!"
Then we finally got to go. After you do the first one, you're so exhilarated you don't want to wait for the next one.
Dustin even took video of me!
By the end I was so brave that I went Spider-Man style, zip lining upside down!
It was frickin' awesome. As if that weren't enough, we got to go for a short bike ride...
... and ended up at a private cenote, where we were able to cool off and swim in this 40-meter-deep natural sinkhole. They even had a short zip line so you could zip out, let go and drop into the water. It was tremendously fun!
We had the foresight to buy a waterproof disposable camera, so we got lots of cool photos, which I will show to you now.
After all of that, we were happy and exhausted, so.... well we did what we always did, layin' around on the beach. Dustin also got into a game of beach volleyball. You can kinda see him over there, all the way on the right.
Then dinner.
It was the meatiest, most active part of our vacation, with a little bit of everything you need: fun, adventure, and near-heat stroke.
Here's a freaking precious picture to end the post.
On Friday night, I left work practically running. Half a block later, I realized that I had forgotten a print-out of our itinerary so I had to go back, and actually snuck in undetected because I didn't want any chance of being drawn back in to the editing fray. I know that it's just a job, and that people with families to take care of never really get a break, but when you work 2 straight weeks of 14- and 15-hour days, it really wears on you. By Friday I was starting to get that high-pitched, hysterical-sounding laughter that people usually get right before they're taken away in those fetching white straightjackets. Dustin had been working even harder, staying until 1am most nights, but he handles stress much better than I do. Anyway, my point is, by the time we arrived at Newark Airport at 7am on Saturday, we were definitely ready for a week away.
We were surrounded by New Jersians.
I'm usually afraid of flying, but if I sit at a window seat, halfway through I usually calm down enough to enjoy a view of the world from a different angle.
Gorgeous. Meanwhile, Dustin was all bundled up and asleep next to me.
Just before we landed, I looked out the window and squealed, "OH MY GOSH LOOK! IT'S WATER!" As you probably know, I'm easily amused/amazed. I took about 20 shots like this.
We were staying at the Excellence Riviera, an adults-only, all-inclusive resort. We were a little nervous about the the place. Booking online, there's just no way to be sure that you'll be staying at a decent place, or if you've fled your city only to be sleeping with bed bugs and dirty sheets, you know? When I told my boss we were going to Cancun, she crinkled up her nose and went, "Oh." Sort of the same way as if you'd just told her that you're moving to Harlem. When I pressed her further, she said, "No, I'm sure it'll be fine, it's just... I went there once and... well, it's kind of just like New Jersey." So we weren't totally sure about this place, and I wasn't sure about Cancun at all. Fortunately, the resort was on the Riviera Maya, about 20 minutes away from the city of Cancun, so we were away from the strip clubs, Pizza Huts and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.'s. And as soon as we got out of the taxi, we were handed cool towels to refresh our faces, and when we walked into this lobby, greeted with glasses of champagne, we knew we would be just fine.
Oh man it was beautiful. We had to wait for our room for a bit (we were really early for check-in) so we dropped off our bags and walked around the premises.
Beautiful bathrooms, of course.
Giant chess set!
And this was our beach. Private.
We promptly plopped ourselves down next to the pool and started maxin' and relaxin'.
We walked all around, squealing to ourselves and each other about all the amazing amenities. Since it's an all-inclusive hotel, you pay one price and get unlimited food and drinks, all tips already included, and you can choose from 7 different restaurants or 24-hour room service. We were beside ourselves.
But the best was yet to come. Due to a clerical error that we never happened to correct, we were booked under a Honeymoon suite. Don't worry, it wasn't true, we are NOT married, but we got a little something extra in our room.
Awwww.
Our room was perfect. WITH a jacuzzi bathtub.
And a nook.
Heaven.
The best part, though, was the view.
But there was no time to waste with the room. We immediately changed into our bathing suits and booked it to the beach.
I love these bamboo umbrellas. May I call them bambrellas? Good. They're perfect when you don't want to be in the sun (though I still always wore my SPF 50) but still want to be outside, on the beach. This was the best view of the trip.
We were lovin' it.
After layin' around for awhile, we checked out the pool, which was equally warm and luxurious.
After that we went back to our room to chill before dinner. We had perfect timing - as soon as we got upstairs and opened the drapes, it started to pour rain, harder than I've seen in a long time.
Luckily for us, despite the weather forecasts that called for rain all week, that storm lasted about a half hour and was the only rain we saw all week (while New York was getting drenched and Brooklyn got an actual tornado).
We dined that night to the dulcet tunes of a wonderful harp player, who we later learned was self-taught. But more on that later.
They had the most gorgeous, huge chandelier.
We took a walk after dinner and enjoyed some more design elements of the Excellence Riviera.
I love the way pools look at night, like an oasis from the darkness.
We passed by the outdoor theater, which was playing "Crash," and which we soon learned would be the bane of our (my) existence. This was the only unfavorable part of the trip: they would have big, loud shows at the theater and awful cover bands playing bad renditions of cheesy love songs from 3:30 to midnight every day (they were especially partial to Whitney Houston, circa "The Bodyguard") and since our balcony faced the theater area, it sounded like it was... well, ON the balcony. But hey. I am NOT complaining.
The next day, Dustin caught a game of Texas Hold 'Em with some fellow vacationers while I hung out on the beach.
Did I mention the pool's swim-up bar?
We had lunch at one of the many restaurants, and my that time I was taking my mother's advice to eat slowly, and just enjoy the moment.
Dustin, not much of a drinker, actually tried a Strawberry Daiquiri.
After dinner at another lovely restaurant,
We walked around and saw some cool things, like these decorated palm trees on the beach.
And this beautiful outdoor lamp.
Monday morning came like a dream, although brutally interrupted by the bright sunlight.
We went to the spa for a massage, and beforehand they make you do "Marine Wellness Therapy," which is a series of steam rooms, showers, jacuzzis with strategically placed jets for each muscle, an ice-cold water dunk, a sauna, and ice bath, and more showers. It was pretty cool.
Of course the only way to follow up a massage is with some lounge time on the beach.
This guy was tremendously hairy. It was like he was wearing a fur apron. Just click on the image and you'll see the detail.
And that brings us to the end of Part I of Vacation '07. I will leave you with some scrumptious images of our dinners (and breakfasts).
Hey y'all! Back from my fabulous vacation to the Riviera Maya in grand old Mexico. I am working on part 1 of 3 of my vacation blog, but until then, all I've gotta say is this:
... and boy did we earn it, working late every night for two weeks leading up to our departure date. It was one of those vacations that was not just wonderful and luxurious; it was necessary too. And although every day of our trip I tried hard to suppress thoughts of work, I still dreamed about work 4 nights out of 7, including one dream where I killed an M&M. Go figure. Anyway, details coming soon, but for now feast your eyes on the glory above.
One night last week Dustin and I went deep into the heart of Brooklyn to see his brother, Tommy, play drums in his band, called Erector Set. The place, although in a sketchy-feeling 'hood, was tiny, cool, and well-decorated. The bathroom was covered wall-to-wall.
We went with Phoebe and their uncle, Mr. Stickney.
While the band set up, I got some bad photos.
You can kind of see Tommy through there.
The band was awesome! I was a little surprised, but the group of 18-year-olds had a very catchy sound and played all their own songs (which were well-written and had great hooks) except for one cover of a Kylie Minogue song.
We now pause for some New York moments. A doll abandoned and forgotten on the sidewalk:
And a ne'er-do-well's motto scrawled on a subway car:
On Saturday, Dustin and I decided to have a picnic.
Naw, we left the rack of lamb at the meat department and instead got some prosciutto and cheeses for a li'l pick-a-nic.
Mmmmm, cheese.
We got to Riverside Park right at sunset and enjoyed some delicious flavor combinations among the fireflies and cool breeze.
I am totally in love with this particular brand of ginger beer:
I cut up the avocado with the kind of skill that only a chef, or a girl whose father knows how to masterfully slice avocado, could do.
Ah, dusk.
The next day, Dustin and I met up at The Whitney, which you may remember I had some trouble getting to last week... thankfully this time I arrived on time, with no problems except the pouring rain all around. We were there to see the "Summer Of Love: The Art Of The Psychedelic Era" exhibit. The place was crawling with guards, so I apologize if some of these renegade pics are wonky.
Outside they had this groovy car.
Inside, there were posters.
There were amazing dark rooms with only a projector showing trippy undulating installation films.
There was an epilepsy-aggravating room made of aluminum drapes and strobe lights. That one really made me nauseous.
There were cool sculptures.
Of course, paintings too.
This was the ceiling of a bright room, more like a box, that you walk into and it's covered in these paintings, which are backlit by the room itself.
It's hard to explain, maybe this exterior wide will help:
This box was in a room that you had to take your shoes off for. The floor was covered in shag carpet, and it was pitch black except for this box. There was a terrible buzzing white noise that permeated the space and the whole room smelled like feet. That REALLY made me nauseous.
They had a paint blob on the floor.
They had an early Rauschenberg, which I almost peed my pants over.
They had this giant box with a tiny square hole you look into, and this is what you see:
It was like you died and went to disco heaven. But the coolest thing they had was this big ol' cuddle room, filled with a rainbow of colors and made of felt shapes. It was great for 5-year-old boys who like to crawl around.
As well as some baby boomers who probably remembered the time period from whence it came.
We were lovin' it.
The ceiling was so beautiful!
I loved the red.
Just seeing that exhibit made me feel like I was in another dimension. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the hippies in the '60s who were on drugs and living through it.
On the 4th floor was nobody. Everyone was at the psychedelic exhibit and missed out on the most beautiful room in New York.
The whole space was covered in a thin veil of aluminum foil, scratched thousands of times by the artist and every viewer who actually came to see it.
And wow! that chandelier.
There was also this gorgeous room where the floor was made of mirrors and on the walls were paintings of gold abstract textures.
Well, it's Wednesday now and I am just counting the days until our vacation to the beaches of Mexico (three days). I am working so much, late every night, but it will make my week of nothing that much sweeter. I won't be posting for another 2 weeks or so, so take care! Love y'all.
