Here comes the bride!

Claudia's wedding today. SO much fun was had! Enough about that! Yay Claudia and Braden!

Chapel at U. of Chicago
So cute!
365 degree views from the top of the Aon Center- reception!
Rachel in our shower cap from our work retreat (she carries it everywhere)! She's also sporting her dinner as a choker.
We had the best table EVER! I won the flowers...however, I ride planes to New York, so I just wore one in my hair, like Carrie Bradshaw!Our new friend Danny and Rachel decided to make a jumprope out of napkins. It was quite the hit! Even the bride loved it!

Crane

The Upper East Side was broken again today. Damn you New York City and your unsafe construction sites. Two people were crushed by the falling crane just 4 blocks from my house. This photo was taken from my rooftop of my building. I walk by the site almost every day, and I got several text messages rushed to my voice mailbox this morning just to make sure I was ok. Luckily I was at work when it fell, or at least on my way, but found out while sitting at my desk when I got a text from Dan that said "A crane fell on 91st and 1st, tell me you're ok". I was fine.

I came home early today because I'm heading off to yet another wedding (crazy few weeks) in Chicago this weekend for my co-worker and friend Claudia. I'm really looking forward to this weekend! Gonna stay with my friend Heather, and play with Rachel and Claudia at the wedding. Superfun!

Union Square Dance

Tonight Dan and I had dinner with our friend Alison, which is a regular affair. It was Japanese noodles tonight, and quite a fare it was! Yum-o! We got there in time for the early bird special and the worms were good eats!

After dinner Dan and I made our way back to Union Square. He's dog-sitting this week down there for a well-to-do friend in a high rise apartment overlooking downtown. It's posh, and it's rad, and it fills me with apartment envy, which happens all too often here in this city. We spent a few glorious minutes just sitting on the benches in Union Square watching people do-si-do around each other on their way to somewhere important, or just sauntering, biking, or skating around trying to look cool. We noticed the high turnover rate at these benches and talked about many different scenes we could do there in the park, just to see if people would watch (like, if he were to walk up to the bench where I was sitting and reading, pretending to be a stranger, but just sitting very close to me then putting his arm around me.) Oh the routines we've got to work out! The weather was fantastic-perfect actually, and it was just nice to be out in the city. Summer has arrived!

We finished up the evening in Barnes and Noble were we bought the book Skinny Bitch because my mom and Ellen told me to.

While walking to check the dog one last time, we came across this weird projector on the corner of University and 14th St. Perhaps they'd just showed a movie, or maybe it was some weird art thing, but I had fun making shadow puppets with my hands against the building across the street in the blue light. Making my mark with shadow puppets...classy!

Night

Tonight I went with my Harlem middle school children to see Elie Weisel speak. It was a VERY big honor, and since our 8th graders have just finished reading about and studying the Holocaust, one of the student teachers organized this outing. The great think about it was not only did he speak at the 92nd Street Y, he also allowed our students to have a question and answer session before his talk. It was truly amazing. Please read about his life here. We were so very fortunate to snap a picture with him (middle in a chair) before his speech. What a most surreal and vivid honor this was.

1/2 Day means play

I went to school to work on MORE testing stuff, but only for 1/2 the day. I went to a Dr.'s appointment, then got some lamb and chicken over rice from my favorite street vendor up the road and headed to the park. It was a GLORIOUS day, despite the morning rain, and my new sandals only gave me one tiny blister between my toes. I ignored it in exchange for the beautiful weather. Sat in the park along the East River for an hour or so, but when it started raining in the sun (again!) I headed home. I like days that are just a little different than the norm!

Up Up and Away/Mermorial Day

It's Memorial Day, and even though I had a really fun time, today when I was flying over lakes in Texas, all I wanted to do was be out on a boat on Gull Lake with my family! Sigh!

It was a great trip though, and most of today was spent in an airport or an airplane. That's why I ended up with these pictures from the sky. :)

Slidin' Through Sedona

We had another early morning in Jerome today. Got up and finished up a bit of shopping (yesterday was the thought of purchase...today was the purchase) and then met up with the youngin's from Mandy's wedding for breakfast at 11. What a great little town full of fun people, and a great place for Mandy to be! She fits so well here!

Celia and I grabbed our rental car and headed out for a bit of a road trip up through Sedona (LOVED the red rocks-breathtaking!) and then on to a national historic landmark called Montezuma's Castle. Not a castle, and not built by Montezuma (though purposed to by back in the day) it's actually a old Native American dwelling in the rock. Quite amazing really, they used ladders to climb up, and at one point several hundred people from the Sinagua tribe lived her.At one point they all mysteriously disappeared...very interesting! I loved it! Getttin' back to my roots today. :)

We finished up our day at a ranch resort called Carefree and it was spectacular- a huge pool, fancy dining room (I spilled my watermelon margarita all over it!) cacti, a fire pit, activities, and comfy beds that didn't bow towards the middle at the foot and the head or squeak loudly if rolling over like the bed Cel and I shared in Jerome. Charming, that one was, but these were nice and singular.

Dinner was very nice, watching out over the Arizona sunset. Later we got som'ores and headed to the fire pit and shared stories with the other resorters. It was like camping with really nice beds! As it grew darker, the guy working there, Lance, a Hopi tribe member told us about how last night the people at the fire had played around with glow sticks because he'd been waiting for people to go glow-disc-golfing. My ears perked right up and upon request he went and got his disks and glow sticks and we played 9 holes of frisbee golf right there on the resort grounds! 9 holes already built in! Love it! I managed to run into 2, count them 2 cactus and had several spears sticking out of my legs at one point. It was awesome. Those plants know how to protect themselves! Glow disc golfing is my new favorite sport by the way.

Mandy's Matramony Madness

Today was the day for the wedding, and thanks to jet lag I was up SUPER early today. Well, the sun peeking in through the shades (our view from the bed and breakfast was really awesome...except for the being a mile in the sky and therefore living in the clouds/fog), and maybe the birds woke me up. Either way, we got up early and had juevos rancheros and then got in several good hours of browsing the artist galleries and shops up and down the streets of Jerome. Only a few streets though, cause that's all their is. Only 400 people live here, so practically every shop we went into the clerk would say something to the effect of "Oh, are you here for the wedding"? We would reply yes and they would say "OK, well, we'll see you later then, we're coming to the reception when we're done at work today. "

Little did I know, they'd actually mean it. Even the girls at the really fun restaurant- Haunted Hamburger were there! A highlight of the afternoon was a wine tasting at the local winery! Almond Sparkaling Wine!

The wedding was gorgeous and sunflower themed. Short, sweet and nice. It was also packed--we had to sit on the groom's side!

Late, after an hour or so more of shopping we headed over to the town hall, Spook Hall as they call it here for the reception. There were hilarious drunken people, dancing, a live band, AWESOME cupcakes and free alcohol. Celia and I got Mandy a Harmony Care Bear cause we thought she might need a Care Bear Stare.
For what it was worth, this has been an excellent day!

Defying Gravity

It's Friday and I took off for Arizona. My old college roommate, Mandy is getting married this weekend in Jerome, Arizona, and I was invited and obliged to attend! Hurrah!

The flight was long and arduous, but in the end I made it here and met up with my friend Celia who's coming in for the wedding too. We had adventures around Phoenix, buying wedding gifts at Target, hunting for snacks and then trying to track down a Styrofoam cooler. Good times! Did you know people who work in most convenience stores in Arizona are nice? It's true. Super nice!

We drove through brush and cacti, then mountains and rain, then bursting sunlight through the clouds as we stopped off at Denny's for some much needed breakfast-for-dinner. We rolled into Jerome about 6 pm and relaxed before heading out to the pre-wedding day mountain town band and bar night. What fun!

Sex, Sun, Rain and Bows

It was one of those days that was just kinda off all day. It didn't go as planned, it was sporadic and rapid, it was sunny and raining, it was happy and sad, it was chaotic and quiet. After

quite a day, I wanted to get a few pictures on the way home, and found these choice shots:Raining in Sunshine: Gas $4.09

Sex and the City (whoooo whoooooo!!) and the Paper Mill

The Rainbow Over The Bronx. It was a double rainbow actually, but this whole sectioned glimmered in color. Pretty cool. Click it to get a close up.

Off to Arizona tomorrow!

And the winner is...

I was excited about the American Idol Finale ALL DAY LONG! I had a pretty good day today actually, most of my kids were surprisingly well behaved in Harlem. I did my after school program, then stayed for a new teacher training for NYU. It was a long day, but a good day.

When I got home I decided that I had an urge to eat chicken wings, which is a very stranger urge for me. I cannot remember one time in my life where I craved chicken wings randomly. So, I looked up Bondie's, the local sports bar and ordered some wings.

On my way home from wing-picking, I got this photo to update the catalogs on the 2nd Avenue subway construction. In a word: suck. It is loud and impassable almost every day and night. Another word: Annoying. A phrase: I will never reap the benefits of this subway line during my stay in New York, however long it may be. Another phrase: I will move to avoid rising costs of rent because of new subway line. That's what I have to say about that.

I ate delicious wings and reveled in the glory that is American Idol and David Cook. Hurrah!

Anio Pilas

That means "no batteries" in my Korean/Spanish language mix. Sometimes that's just how I roll. No batteries today. I made up for it by changing them and documenting their sad memory. Enjoy!

Spring Has Sprung (in my apartment)

While walking home from the Taste of Tribeca fest the other day, it was such a nice sunny, warm afternoon that I was just in the mood for flowers. Since I haven't been very good about planing (I keep MEANING too! I have the party porch AND my fire escape!!) I decided to stop off at a little shop and take a look at their flowers. I found these: cheap, beautiful, and perfectly matched to our colors in our place! Yay for flowers!

International Wall of Post Cards

I've always enjoyed collecting post cards. It's a favorite past time, and I don't really know why, but many many years ago, back when I was goofing around at Michigan State I started to decorate my walls with them. Through the years my myriad of postcards have followed me from place to place, adorning my walls and closets. It usually creates conversations whenever anyone new enters my abode, which is usually fun. I even had the chance to laminate most of them when I was teaching in Korea. My school was cool like that. My friend Lynn helped me.

Anyway, I decided that I'd had enough of my barren closet door, it's so boring. Also I had added to the collection while in Ireland, so I wanted those up, so here it is in all it's splendor: Jane's international wall of post cards!

Taste of Tribeca

I was planning on doing nothing today, just relaxing and getting some work done around my apartment, lesson planning, watching a movie. Didn't turn out that way. My friend Nina called and asked if I wanted to go to Taste of Tribeca. This is an anual even held in Tribeca during the spring/summer that raises money for local schools, and showcases all the fancy restaraunts in the area. I mean really fancy! The tickets were quite steep, but Nina and I decided to both splurge on one, getting 6 different tastes from different restaraunts, and then sharing, doubling our ohhhs and aahhhhs factor. We actually saw Spike from Top Chef (if anyone cares). The highlight was certainly the food though. It was out of this world. Worth every penny! The weather was beautiful, and it was the perfect day for this kind of festival. On top of that, it was sort of a random, unplanned activity, and I love those!
After the food, we headed down the block for a free wine tasting at Chambers Street Wines. Excellent choice, and a good way to wind up the afternoon.
I returned home around 5/6 and was greeted by Dan, in all his trecherous fashion glory. Oh Dan. Well, he ended up fixing his other bike up for me, so perhaps learning to bike in NYC is now possible (on bike paths, I'm not a big fan of street biking). I caught up with this old blog, and then went to a movie with Kate. We saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and it was quite shocking and funny!

In The Heights...again

Dan had gotten tickets to see In the Heights, even though I have gone to see it with my Harlem kids a month or so ago. It was totally different seeing it for myself. I LOVED watching my kids watch it, and seeing it through their eyes, but now it was just me, so I saw it differently. Either way, it was excellent. It's one of those plays that gives me chills during moments. So wonderful! That's why I go to theatre.

It was a rainy day in New York City. Another crazy day for Jane Teacher. The NYSESLAT tests were due today, so I went on a wild adventure through the Bronx trying to get those dropped off. Oy. My job. At least it's Friday!

3 Decker Diner

I had the most horrible day ever, and so I needed comfort food. Kate, Dan and I headed down the street to the 3 Decker Diner and General Store. The sign says it's been there for decades and decades, but I couldn't find any info in an online search other than menus. I guess that's the way with some diner's in NYC. They are everywhere, a dime a dozen, and even if it does have history, they might not be tech savvy enough, or can't be bothered to start up a web page. Perhaps that just makes me a child of my generation, assuming that they SHOULD have a webpage. Guess I'll go have to talk to the owner someday.

I had a delicious omelette, and more, and as I was hoping, it made my day a WHOLE lot better. Dan's chocolate chip pancakes helped too!

Life in the Park

I teach an after school program in Harlem to two of my ESL children, and most of the time I dread doing it all day because all I wanna do it go home after a long day, but the time comes and the boys come and I usually leave in a really good mood. I'll chalk it up to having really cool kids in there, who honestly need the one on one attention, and are pretty much thriving because of it. That makes me feel pretty good, so I step outside seeing almost instant progress.

This is another shot of Thomas Jefferson Park, which now that it's spring is a fun place to reenter the world into after a long day of work simply because it's teeming with people from all walks of life, the people of Harlem, out with their kids, their friends, their boyfriends and girlfriends, their dogs, their teams. Whatever. It's life, and I love to watch that sometimes.

Here is one of the many baseball teams that come out to play in spring.

NYU Knows How to Party!

Grad Alley was tonight, and even though I've been teaching for a year, Dan and my names were still in the program at graduation, because we technically graduated in September. Too bad we walked last year. But that just meant that we got invited to Grad Alley two years in a row. I can't complain. While my parents were here last year for graduation, my mom and I went down for dinner (free food, free EVERYTHING) and had a BLAST! It was so much fun. Danced the night away with our Language people and stayed for the fireworks.

It was just as good this year! We met up with our Brazil girls (most of them were graduating this year) and had a really fun time walking around getting the free stuff, eating junk, watching the street performers, and laughing at everyone in those stupid purple foam hats! Hilarious. We stayed again for the fireworks this year, and then walked up 5th Avenue to Union Square so we could see that the Empire State Building was lit up PURPLE for NYU. I think that's my favorite day of the year to see the ESB. :)