I Feel The Need, The Need To Read!

I'm officially a resident of Brooklyn. It's not because I signed a lease nor is it because my pay stub says so.



I now have a Brooklyn Public Library card.

The city is a bit more lax about who they give library cards to. I applied online, it was mailed to my apartment, I activated it. No fuss, no muss.
No more of this "need to show proof of residency with a utility bill" sort of deal. Granted, it's a real card and not one of those mini cards that attach to my key chain, but I'll deal.

There are 65 branches all over Brooklyn, and lucky for me there is one just a quick jog away in Carroll Gardens. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I got there. I've grown up with big, suburban libraries with thousands of books, multiple floors and plenty of room to find a corner and read for a while.

This library was an eighth the size of the libraries in Rockland. When you walk in and can see the entire stock of books and everything else it offers without turning your head, you know it's a small library. I tried looking up books they might have in their online catalog, but most of the ones I looked up where not there or out of stock. So I instead sifted through the shelves, hoping something would catch my eye. I got lucky and found what must be a brand-new copy of The Time Traveler's Wife. It's a perfect paperback copy that nicely fits in my bag for work.

Now I shouldn't completely judge this library. There are 64 other branches I could try. And honestly, my whole county had maybe 20 libraries, so kudos to Brooklyn for using the "more branches, fewer books, more convenience" route. So this isn't exactly the branch that I'd go to and find a quiet space and read for an hour. I'll go in, hopefully find my books, and head out. Like their cards, "no fuss, no muss."

But this library did provide me with something that's been missing for a while. It gave me a sense of community. I'm starting to feel like I fit in (minus the whole "hipster" vibe) in Brooklyn. People walking their dogs/babies down the streets smile as I walk by. My apartment feels like a home. And now with this new library card, I can fill it with some great reading material.

Obamacare...Now What?

I was able to stealthy stream CNN live on my computer today at work to watch President Obama sign out nation's health care bill into law. There is still the hurdle of passing changes in the Senate, but most likely, change is a-commin'.

Even though I don't work in news anymore, I do my best to keep up with the constant 24-hour news cycle, (Even if it means watching NY1 "read the newspaper." I wish I was kidding, it's part of the Saturday morning newscast. Guess that's where "How I Met Your Mother" got the idea) Anyway, one thing I did notice was although the news was giving me "some" idea of what this health care bill means, I didn't feel like I was getting the whole picture; the good, the bad and the "what the heck?"

I'm not going to give my opinion, because honestly, I'm still forming it. There is so much to absorb from the 2,000+ page document. It actually makes me question who sat down and read the whole thing. I'm also trying to find the Cliffsnotes version of it, so if you know where it is, send it my way.

But here is what I've found so far in my research that I find truly helpful:

1. This is a great interactive graphic from the New York Times that lets you know the changes depending on your current insurance status. If you're employed and your company provides insurance, it gives you the positive and negative changes that will come with this bill.

2. Here's a timeline of when each change will take effect from now until 2018. Most of us know the highlights, like being able to stay on your parent's coverage until 26, but what about the provision that will give tax relief for health care professionals with student loans? I didn't know that was in there. That will take effect this year.

3. Take a gander at Politico's series entitled "Health Care Diagnosis." From articles, to video interviews to interactive graphics, they spill it out for you. No wonder Mike Allen was running around the newsroom at 4am on Saturdays and Sundays. There's a lot to cover. (Politico shares a newsroom with Newschannel 8 and WJLA; he was at least a little company on my overnight shift!)

I'm still not done fishing around for answers so please pass along any materials that can help provide a better understanding.

It's Funner With A Runner

I am surrounded by people who love to run. I left a bunch of marathoners in DC. My current roommate is training for a marathon. Another friend in Brooklyn would wake up at 5am to get a run in before grad school classes. I have a friend who blogs about it. My brother is currently training for a triathlon. I just can't get away from those feet-pounding, knee-icing, stretch-loving fitness freaks.
And if that wasn't enough peer pressure, I have a boyfriend who's looking for a running buddy now that the warmer weather has finally arrived.

So I gave in.

I knew the weather this weekend would be my downfall. You couldn't ignore how nice it was. Prime running weather. I had no feasible excuse. So we laced up our sneakers and hit the pavement. Both of us pretty much took a "it's too cold outside and we are too cheap to pay for a gym membership" hiatus from running, so we eased in with a mile and a half run around his neighborhood.

I might regret publishing this, but honestly, it was not bad at all.

We kept up a good pace, and before I knew it, we were more than half way done with the course we created for ourselves. I even sprinted at two separate points in the journey, and liked it. Gasp!
This does not mean I'm signing up for the New York City Marathon tomorrow. Nor does it mean I'll categorize myself with my "runner" friends. But I've already planned to run one day after work and again this weekend with the boy, so I guess that's a start.

Did I just unlace Pandora's sneakers? Will I fall in love with running? I've tried to and failed before, but I guess this time I'm willing to give this relationship a second chance.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Living in New York has been wonderful these past few months. And now with the warmer weather finally on its way, I see clear skies, sunny days and cool breezes in my future.

But before that, we got rain. Not just a drizzle, but the raining cats and dogs kind of storm. (I like to pretend I'm the mother on HIMYM with my yellow umbrella.)

We all know, "when it rains, it pours." Well that part came true thanks to Mother Nature, but it also could be used to describe the slew of Maryland friends who made the trek to Brooklyn this past weekend.

It first started with the arrival of my dear, former roomie, Amy. We braved the monsoon to walk around my neighborhood and discovery Brooklyn.

I think she would have braved a tsunami combined with a hurricane and tornado for a New York bagel. Luckily, there's a good bagel shop two blocks from me.

Anyway, after a little shopping and a little baking (annual hostess birthday cupcakes!), we took the subway up to Green Point, to meet up with our guy friends, who made a 24-hour trip to NYC for a concert.

Concert was great, cupcakes were awesome.

After an memorable taxi ride (funniest cab driver who blasted "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" on our way down the BQE), we were back near my apartment. But before we headed home, we made one more stop...to see Lauren and Tad! They were in town for Lauren's brother's 30th birthday.

It was such a wonderful change of pace to see some of my favorite, familiar faces from college. It's these weekends where I realize just how much I miss seeing these people on a regular basis. The next time I see them all probably won't be until April (Maryland Day!), so it felt so great to catch up, even if it was for only one, rainy night.

The Good, The Bad and the Just Plain Icky

After a jam-packed awesome weekend with some great Marylanders (details and pictures to follow), I luckily have some down time at work to catch up on today's news.

Maybe not so much the headlines, but this stuff is still pretty interesting.

1. Thank you DC for at least trying to tackle the sky-rocketing HIV/AIDS rate that plagues the city.

2. Arizona and Hawaii, get with the Daylight Saving Time time program!

3. Thanks to split-second photography and Enya-like music, the hussle and bussle of NYC living can seem, well, relaxing.

4. Read about this one very special lady. The very last sentence in the article gave me an "ewwy" feeling all over.

Te Amo El Faro

This past weekend my parents took my brother, Adam, Steve and I to El Faro in the West Village for my birthday dinner. My parents have been coming to this little hole in the wall tucked away on Greenwich Street...forever. They always tell the story that they were there in 1975 with their best friends at the time, Ben and Barbara, before they went to a taping of Saturday Night Live! (The story continues that my Mom then fell asleep during the show, because clearly the first season of SNL couldn't hold my Mom's attention. Or maybe it was just the sangria.) Anyway, my brother and I have inherited a love for this place. We always request to go their for birthday dinners or special occasions if we are in the city.

There are a few things that stay the same every time we go:
1. We almost always get lost finding the place. My brother must be in the car every time because no one else in my family can remember what cross-streets it's near. ("Horatio! Wait Greenwich Ave or Greenwich Street!?")
2. We never make reservations; just show up at an early bird special time. My parents told us we do that because the place doesn't take reservations. We learned this past go around that they've been taking them for the past six years. Opps.
3. We all order the exact. same. thing. My brother and Dad get the double order of lobster and white sauce, I get shrimp and saffron rice, my Mom gets a chicken dish. We order some clams to split and fried potato slices along with a pitcher of sangria.
4. I take some of the white sauce and put it on my shrimp dish. (Thinking about it right now, and knowing that I have still have leftovers in the fridge...mouth is watering....)

What I think is the best thing about it is that we never go too often. It's not our back up nice restaurant we go to. It's a part of my family's history, and will hopefully stay with us. The numbers at the table will grow, but at its foundation, I'll always remember it as a table for four in the corner.

Mmmm Cupcakes

So my birthday was yesterday, but I'm not going to write about that yet. Instead, I'm going back in time to a few weeks ago, when my dear friend Jillian celebrated her 24th birthday. Today, I was stealthy able to upload pictures on my camera to my work computer using my blackberry charger. Hooray!

(This should have been dated February 16th) What's great about living back in New York is being able to celebrate birthdays with people I'd previously only be able to call up or send a card. (Or in mine and Jillian's case, give each other gifts months later when we actually were in the same city.)

But now, things are different. And we rejoice, with cupcakes!

Jillian organized a girly cupcake decorating party equipped with delicious homemade cupcakes, pastel-colored frosting and sprinkles!! We each got two cupcakes and went to town, turning these tasty vanilla cakes into tasty colorful works of art!

Clearly I would be the one to make a smiley face on my cupcake.

The night was also filled with catching up with old friends, lots of laughing and a screening of "Julie and Julia" in the apartment. (Because there wasn't enough estrogen already in the room!) I could only eat one cupcake there so I thought it would be smart to bring the other one home.

I did not realize the power of the New York City subway. But don't worry, it didn't go to waste. It's just a little smooshed, it's still good, it's still good!

It makes me a little sad to know that people I celebrated birthdays with the past few years are now the people I can only call up on that special day. But I have to admit, it's a lovely change of pace celebrating birthdays in a new city, with new fun activities and hopefully some new adventures along the way!