Polar Opposite Perfection

Awesome NYC.

This past weekend Dr. H and I went adventuring in New York City to two could-not-be-more-different activities. Since both were absolute Manhattan perfection, I figured I'd let you all in on the secrets!! 

The adventuring began on Friday night, when Dr. H and I went to see Queen of the Night, an immersive theater experience which was honestly, beyond explanation. When I heard that Randy Weiner, the unique genius behind The Box and Sleep No More (an in-an-"abandoned hotel" interactive production of Macbeth which I saw/loved several years ago) was at it again, I was quick to scoop up tickets to the first of Queen of the Night's 6 week limited run. 

The show, hosted in the recently renovated (and truly stunning) Diamond Horseshoe theater beneath the Paramount Hotel in midtown is loosely based on Mozart's Magic Flute, but is best described as "an immersive-cirque-dinner-theater-orgy experience". Moments after checking my coat, I was snatched away from Dr. H by a costumed gentleman who (completely in character) required that I imagine I was being snuck into the party (I was. We raced through the hotel lobby and down a back stairwell where he introduced himself as "Master Q" and led me past a series of characters and finally into the main supper club/theater space where I eventually found Dr. H). The space itself is dark and sexy, the  inventive cocktails (included in your ticket price) flow freely and people are invited to touch, look and explore before being escorted to various large tables for the main performance which is a wild combination of acrobatics, dance, acting and feasting (mid-show massive trays of beef ribs, suckling pigs on spickets and bird cages over-flowing with lobster are brought out and you are invited to feast on what's placed on your table or anything else you wish to walk around and procure). The show evokes your curiosity and an open-minded sense of adventure is absolutely required (nudity, slow dancing with strangers, hugging and being spoon fed dessert by a cast-member are all part of the gig!) but the circus-meets-theater-meets-dinner format is wildly exciting and not to be missed! (NY Times review HERE, Wall St Journal HERE).

For a complete change of pace, on Saturday, Dr. H and I had our most adorable niece and nephew come visit (their periodic sleepovers are a favorite treat for all 4 of us!) and we adventured over to CMA, the Children's Museum of the Arts to check it out. The hands-on museum amazed me and at ages 6 and 8, my kiddos were perfectly able to participate in the wide variety of activities from learning how to do stop-motion animation to painting chinese new year dragons and creating "musical Van Gogh" with old cassette tapes!

Ball Pond up top, entrance/galleries down below

And one of the nicest things about the museum is that each activity station is fully staffed with (impossibly patient!) artist employees who explain everything the kids need to know and assist them as they engage with the project at hand. Parents (or aunts and uncles!) can relax a bit and rest assured that the kiddos are getting a fully entertaining, educational and creative experience. And though going berserk in the Ball Pond (a room stuffed with various size/color yoga balls) was probably the kids' favorite part of the day, I think the animation, clay, painting and art-making made an impression too:) For a great kids activity in NYC, be sure to check out CMA.

Want to see something amazing!?

Facing south in the 86th St. cavern (where the station will be)

Little known fact - I am an absolute geek for mass transit systems, especially NYC's. I actually love riding the subway each day (save for a few sardine-in-a-can rush hour mornings) and find cruising on a city bus to be a genuinely relaxing way to get around town (such good people watching!) Given this love affair, you can imagine my excitement about the city's current major construction project - the building of a brand spankin' new subway line! Planned and occasionally worked on since 1929 (!) "The Line That Time Forgot" has been a mythical promise to the subway-less east side of Manhattan for decades (even getting mentioned as a real estate perk in this past season of Mad Men!)

This is happening under 86th street... right NOW!

This week, the MTA, led members of the press 160 feet below street level for a tour of portions of the Second Avenue Subway, which led to these amazing photos of the 65-foot-tall cavern that will become the 86th Street station.

What is this? A subway station for ANTS?

The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway is slated to open in December of 2016 with a projected daily ridership of 200,000. These people will all be coming over from NYC's current 4, 5, and 6 trains, which FYI have a daily ridership greater than Chicago and Boston's subways combined!!!

Northbound tunnel between 72nd and 86th (as seen from 86th)

The 96th Street cavern

The total cost of the 8.5-mile 2nd avenue line is expected to be over $17 billion (NYC doesn't mess around). If you want to geek out a little harder, visit THIS great Gothamist article for more pictures and information.

"Woooo Baby!"

Lining up to take in the scenery?

I'm walking down a crowded Manhattan sidewalk, my recently purchased lunch in hand, when suddenly I hear "wooo baby". I look up. A middle aged man, likely employed in the construction industry (or just dresses like it?) gives me a huge smile and says "you're so beautiful baby." I pause for just a second, ignoring the beads of sweat on my forehead and the uncomfortable way my dress is sticking to my legs (oooh summer in the city) and smile right back at him. "Thank you!" I say. As I continue down the street he tells me that the view is even better from behind and I can't help but give a little courtesy grin over my shoulder as I head back to the office. My day has been made.

                                So now I'm going to confess something... 

Girl's got ASSets!

I freakin love getting an unsolicited compliment  (a "cat call" as the more uncouth refer to them) on the street. While some ladies are put off by the crass nature of a man shouting at them in public, I can't think of anything more flattering than a random gentleman finding himself so struck by just the look of you that he has to exclaim out loud. Because Dr. H, for all his loveliness, is not prone to whistle at me on my way out the door in the morning and sometimes, an unexpected midday compliment is just the pick-me-up a lady needs to feel sassy and fly. So next time one of you girls garners a compliment from a passing gentleman on the street, grin right back and enjoy it... Is that man likely to be the one you bring home to meet mom and dad? Probably not, but he thinks you're sexy which I think makes him pretty brilliant! 

You go girl:)

A Manhattan Moment... tales from 4:45am

Damn you hooligans!!

Last night, as Dr. H and I were peacefully attempting to sleep off our first-day-back-from-vaca exhaustion, we were startled awake around 4:45am by a thunderous crash. "What the hell!?" he says. "This can't be for real" I reply. Already accustomed to the occasional garbage truck or screaming college coed late at night, we knew this was something new... and ongoing... and f'ing loud. We clicked on the sound machine and I popped in my ear plugs. Reverse beeping, asphalt dumping. Now I'm out of bed, opening up the terrace door, observing in horror a full-fledged construction scene four stories below. I'm pissed. Hell hath no fury like a woman woken from deep slumber (and who is now stuck in bed with a tossing and turning husband). I needed to take action. I needed to complain!!

As I spelled out my street address to the lady on the other end of my 311 call (who sounded exactly the way you'd expect someone working the pre-dawn shift at 311 to sound...) I thought to myself "holy crap, I am that crazy lady!" I'm that lady calling to lodge a complaint, demanding an explanation, snapping pictures with my cell phone and mentally drafting a heated letter "to the authorities" while I attempt not to foam at the mouth. I think this makes it official folks, I'm old.