Come and Gone

December 28, 2007

The stress of the season can take an exhaustive toll on anyone, myself included. With work and nightly holiday events associated with work making for super long days in the weeks leading up to Christmas, my feeling of running on empty was only worsened by my struggle to get over yet another sinus cold (surprise surprise) and an eye infection. Luckily the thought of coming home gave me the positive energy boost I needed to get through a rough couple of weeks.

After an expectedly delayed (and surprisingly not cancelled) flight from New York to Toronto, and my just barely making my connecting flight back to Alberta, I finally arrived in Calgary safe, sound and sick-free early Saturday morning to the familiar and comfortable aspects of home, ready for a week to unwind with family and friends whom I've missed so dearly. Not to mention play with the newest members of the Pecush clan, Macy and Roca. Unfortunately my grand plans for the whole week I'd be back took a spot on the back-burner when just one day into my Christmas vacation I came down with the stomach flu. Man, talk about bad luck... as if I hadn't been sick enough these past four months.

So... the gingerbread houses, the caroling at the piano, ice-skating in the park, the Christmas puzzles, and the neighborhood walks checking out Christmas lights and blown-up Santa's on the porch all had to be put on hold while I hibernated for most of the week. Even my long-planned trip up to Edmonton to see some truly great friends had to be cancelled. Being able to escape a city where time waits for no-one, I wish my time at home would've slowed down just a bit, lasted a little while longer and allowed me to be in better health so I could fully enjoy the great company of the people around me. Unfortunately you can't get everything you wish for at Christmas time.

I'm heading back to New York first thing tomorrow morning, the first day of the long downhill run of my internship. Wow, crazy to think about, how I'm already halfway through my placement, which has been such an amazing, enjoyable but sometimes taxing experience thus far. But I'm going back with an eager outlook, anxious to find out what the new year will bring, where it will take me (or possibly keep me), and what other exciting adventures I may find myself doing. At least it will start off with a bang. Despite my dislike for crowds, I'll be ringing in the new year with hundreds of thousands of other revelers in The Crossroads of the World... anticipating the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square with my sister and good friend from university. Watch for us on Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve. We'll be the Canadians wearing those funky 2008 glasses waving to the camera!

Happy New Year Everyone! Wishing you all health, happiness and joy in 2008!

Macy and Roca wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year too!

I just love my parents' new puppies!

Sign of the Season

December 15, 2007

If there's just one thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas in New York, it's likely the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. An annual icon of the season, the 84-foot tall Norway Spruce from Connecticut stands tall in the center of midtown Manhattan, shining vibrantly for its 500,000 daily visitors.

Trimming the family tree and saturating the house with holiday decorations is something I look forward to year after year. Unfortunately I missed out on helping to deck the halls at my parents house this year, so to make up for it, I ambitiously attended the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony awhile back. Despite my dislike for being couped up like a chicken in a holding pen with thousands of tourists (real New Yorkers are smart, they avoid situations like these by staying home), I stood, perhaps stupidly, for over 2 hours on a brisk, bone-chilling evening, staring at a bare tree, actually, only the top half of the tree, because I was that far away. Half an hour before the tree was to be lit, I caved. I went home. Despite the real excitement of the evening being so close, I much preferred the idea of waking up the next morning with my fingers and toes still intact instead of dealing with the possibility that the lights wouldn't even turn on when the giant switch was flicked. Man, how disappointing would that have been?

Well, the lights went on alright, and with a much closer and warmer view of the tree thanks to the TV in my heated bedroom, I arrived home just in time to see what I had hoped to have seen in person. On the bright side, I got an ample dose of fresh air and was able to hear the joyous sounds of pre-taped live performances of Carrie Underwood and Celine Dion.

This past week marked my return to the site that once left me with a simple memory of a gigantic, exposed, pre-lit Spruce. What a difference 30,000 lights on five-miles of wire can do, not to mention the sparkle of the Swarovski Star, adorning the Tree with all of its 25,000 crystals. Pretty spectacular I must admit. It sure beats my lonely, whimsical Whoville tree that's on display in my apartment.

A simply stunning sight!

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

The Plaza isn't the least bit crowded...

Stage Fright

December 7, 2007

It's been close to 20 years since the first time I stepped foot on a stage, performing 'Teddy Bear's Picnic' to a sold-out house at my year-end dance recital. Hundreds of performances would eventually follow over the course of my years in competitive dance, but no matter how routine and familiar it became to perform in front of crowds of known and unknown people, one thing was always for certain... the ever-present feeling of butterflies in my tummy!

The same feeling was true every time I sat down at a piano to play for others, be it nervously at one of our formal semi-annual concerts (where we even had to rehearse our bows), or just plain frightened when I played before an intimidating expressionless RCM examiner, showing no emotional response whatsoever in their deciding whether the performance quality of my six memorized songs was worthy of a pass to the next grade. Oh how glad I am to no longer have to deal with that added stress. Nowadays, it seems that my opportunities to perform with a musical instrument are much more inviting... just as I found out this evening.

My debut performance as a violinist... with piano accompaniment and all! How exciting! I have been nervously anticipating this moment all week. Despite having practiced my scales, bow crossings and rhythm patterns every spare minute I could get, no amount of practice could ease the slight anxiety I was feeling all day leading up to my first time performing on the violin in Turtle Bay's monthly adult performance workshop. With only eight short lessons under my belt, I wasn't quite sure if I'd be able to pull this off without any screeching, but I'll let you be the judge! Am I now worthy of moving on to Jingle Bells? Too late, I've already been practicing. I'm sure my sister already has a program of Carols in place so we can duet on the piano and violin over the holidays!

Tourist Trapped

December 3, 2007

I swear the population of this city doubles on weekends. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, opened the holiday shopping season with a bang. Droves of people flocked to the city, thrilled to be given a run for their money with 4 a.m. - 12 noon markdown madness sales, all in an effort for retailers to benefit in the slightest from the downward spiralling of the American economy. As if this city is not crowded enough, the most popular shopping districts in Manhattan, Herald Square (which is home to all eight levels of the World's Largest Store, Macy's), as well as Fifth Avenue (shopping paradise at its best), are literally exploding at the seams on a typical Saturday afternoon. If you dare brave the pandemonium and hope to come out alive, I'll give you one pointer, get those elbows out and moving! It's a dog-eat-dog jungle out there, both in the stores and on the streets, and it's one jungle I'm so elated to not have to deal with... I think the majority of my Christmas shopping was done by Halloween.

So in my best efforts to avoid prime commercial hot-spots without having to hibernate in my apartment, I've most recently spent a free Saturday aftenoon entertaining and educating myself with a little history. The largest natural history museum in the world, The American Museum of Natural History, holds more than 32 million artifacts in 40 grand exhibition halls. Renowned for its collections that illuminate millions of years of the earth's evolution, from nature to space-age technology, the museum, which spans 3 city blocks and towers five stories high, is a tremendous undertaking, particularly when you're limited to just a few hours.

Perhaps my expectations in thinking I would be able to thoroughly take in the entire museum in just four hours were a little high. I failed miserably. No wonder people buy memberships to institutions like these... you'll give yourself a headache attempting to see it all in one afternoon. I know I did and completely crashed for the night upon my arrival home. What I did see though was quite incredible. From the Rose Center for Earth and Space which showcases a 13-billion-year history of the universe; to a series of fossil halls, including two famed dinosaur fossil halls wherein 85% of the fossils are real as opposed to casts; to a spectacular biodiversity hall depicting the Dzanga-Sangha rain forest, the most biodiversity-rich ecosystem on Earth; it was an information-overload outing on my part, but still an enjoyable one nonetheless. I'll be sure to give myself a little extra time though on my next visit to a museum... I've set aside a full day for MoMA this coming weekend but the Metropolitan Museum of Art will definitely require a full weekend, or maybe even a full week! Before I make that visit, I'll be sure to look into whether or not they allow visitor sleepovers.

A realistic display of elephants in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals

Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs

The Origami Holiday Tree: Over 500 creations including dragons, unicorns, mermaids, and animals hang from and surround the tree

Holiday Barosaurs greet visitors at the entrance to the Museum

The Rose Center for Earth and Space

Turkey Day Celebration

November 22, 2007

Two Thanksgivings down, still no turkey. At least a yummy Christmas dinner is just 4 Mondays away and weeklong leftovers of turkey sandwiches, soup and casseroles follow close by. So on this (lack of) Turkey Day in New York, I opted for a 5 a.m. wake-up call rather than a very tempting opportunity to sleep 'til noon on my first American Thanksgiving holiday. But, apparently 5 a.m. just wasn't early enough... considering the hordes of people lining the street when I arrived on the parade route close to 3 hours before the Macy's parade was set to begin, I'm thinking most of them probably never went home last night after they took in the Big Balloon Blow Up.

As the official kick-off event for the holiday season, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade drew a crowd of millions on this unseasonably warm November day, where temps soared close to 20 degrees Celsius. Marching bands, performance groups, floats and giant helium balloons flowed through the streets of Manhattan, from the Upper West Side to Macy's flagship store on Broadway and 34th Street, pleasing enthusiastic on-lookers of all ages.

It was utter chaos and mayhem being a part of the masses and masses of people on the sidelines of this event. Having strategically placed myself to have the luxury of leaning against the railing of a subway station entry for the duration of the parade, I also had the best view in witnessing trainloads of families arrive at the stop, only to be stranded underground. The throngs of people above ground, prevented them from climbing the subway steps to ground level; there was physically nowhere for anyone to move to allow them through. Apparently, even the subway had to bypass this particular stop and go on to the next because of absolutely no space to let anymore people off the train. Talk about claustrophobia at its best... and to think this was only one corner of a route that went on for 2.5 miles.

This aspect of my parade morning alone will remind me to stay home for any forthcoming parade in this city, but at the same time, I'm glad I braved and survived the insane elements to surprisingly enjoy this truly unique New York experience in history and tradition. But if there is ever a reason that I have to forego my watching its live broadcast on TV and once again be a part of it in person, it will only be because I'll be marching my way through it! Marching bands have violinists, right? Darn. I think I picked the wrong instrument... I best find out if Turtle Bay offers lessons in trumpet.

The 81st annual Macy's Parade gets underway along Central Park West

Just one of many spectacular floats

One incredibly huge (and talented) marching band

One of America's most recognizable icons

My personal favorite!

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? In the Macy's Parade of course!

The Parade kept going and going...

The Incredible Hulk

Holiday Tradition... But With More Sparkle

November 19, 2007

So it may still be a little over a month before Christmas (35 days to be exact... I've been counting down for some time now), but the holiday season has already bursted into New York on a grand scale. The impeccably designed Macy's Christmas display windows have now been revealed, ice dancers are gracefully gliding through Bryant Park's 'The Pond' and the Rockefeller Center Plaza gets lit up to the stars with the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony next week.

It snowed last night in New York and will continue to for awhile... maybe not outside, but definitely inside Radio City Music Hall. With the annual tourist mecca 'Christmas Spectacular' show now underway, the world-famous Rockettes are celebrating their 75th glorious year, in what can be considered the biggest and most flashy show yet! From a full-scale double-decker bus taking the audience on a scenic ride through New York as it pivots against a 90-foot LED screen; to an extravagant display of fireworks; to a captivating Nativity scene complete with live camels and donkeys; to the mesmorizing display of 36 Rockettes meticulously performing athletic choreography in their Swarovski crystal studded costumes, the show certainly ignited the spirit of the season in audience members alike.

With the lights dark on Broadway for some time now, with no close end in sight (thanks to a Stagehand strike that has shut down more than two dozen plays and musicals during the most busy time of the year), disappointed theatre-goers, myself included, were lucky enough to score a ticket to this real Holiday treat... where the glitter and shimmer of the Rockettes' extravagant costumes alone could light up more than just the Radio City stage. And guess what? You too can check out the glitz, the glam and those high-flying kicks for yourself without even having to come to New York, unless you want to of course... watch NBC on December 1 as the show will be broadcast for the first time on network TV. Maybe then you'll join me in thinking how cool it would be to be a Radio City Rockette... although I'm not sure how long I'd last in their multiple kicklines... I'd be certain to pull a muscle or two.

Ice Skating at 'The Pond' in Bryant Park

The final touches are being added to the Rockefeller Center Tree in preparation for the Lighting Ceremony on November 28

Ice-skating Rockefeller style!

Celebrating 75 spectacular years and counting!

The stunning Swarovski Christmas Tree hanging in the Grand Foyer of Radio City Music Hall

The magnificent proscenium arch

Celebrating the holiday season with less sequins, more crystal

Nina and Me

November 12, 2007

There once was a time, that on any given day, I'd be able to pull an empty sandwich bag out of my pocket... actually, every pocket of every jacket and pair of pants I owned. I also had ample supply of Windex, paper towels and stacks of unread newspaper on hand in the event that certain 'business' matters just couldn't wait.

It's been quite some time since I've had the added responsibility of caring for a pet... and I've quickly realized just how much extra time and energy it takes to do so! With my roommate away for two weeks and not having her usual dog-sitter available, I excitingly volunteered my 'don't-be-silly-I-can-handle-it-piece-of-cake' efforts to look after her precious Nina. Up until the time the two of us were left alone to fend for one another, Nina and I were simply acquaintances. I'd see her when I woke up, and again when I got home from work, occasionally patting her on the head, but that was the extent of our relationship. I'm certain she saw me as a foreign stranger (which I am) worthy only of a blank stare and bark upon my entrance through the front door.

My latest experiences in walking a dog literally involved dragging my babylove Shih Tzu, Caesar, along the sidewalk, taking a good half an hour to get from the front of my apartment building to the back. How stubborn he became in his old age, having absolutely no interest or desire in going for walks, but being oh-so-cute nonetheless! Most recently, Nina has been the one taking me for walks... dragging me along the concrete with her incredible degree of nervous energy. If there is one dog that should live anywhere but New York City, Nina is it. Panic-striken at the slightest glance of a jogger or the sound of a cyclist passing by, she leaps, barks, and yelps all the while completely tangling herself up in the leash. A simple walk around the block is exhausting for her, simply because of the energy she exudes being so unbelievably conscious of her chaotic surroundings. In this concentrated and bustling city, it's no wonder Nina is uneasy, scared and stressed... I know because I've experienced this too.

How relationships can change over such a short period of time. Having recognized and finally accepting me as her temporary caregiver, yogurt and kibble mixer-upper, and personal pooper-scooper, Nina and I are now one another's best company. In a city that can be very lonely despite people being everywhere you turn, I'm lucky to have Nina around to brighten up my day (despite her embarassing temper tantrums on the street). She is constantly following me around, forever sitting beside me with her snout on my lap and has become the best possible foot warmer I could ask for as I catch my nightly zzz's.

Who's this now circling at my feet? What's this plastic in my jacket pocket? Oh yes, I have some responsibility to attend to, and quickly... Nina is really starting to pace which can't be ignored. I'm not at all stocked up on the aforementioned items... although I wish I was. Cleaning up 'business' inside at times seems a little more appealing than what I'm in for every time I step out my front door with Nina.

Completely wiped after a frantic walk

Her charming good looks sure can be deceiving!

New best friends...