Thoughts After A Quick Trip Over To Columbia

NYC - Columbia University: Low Memorial Library, originally uploaded by wallyg.

I just got back from a quick trip up to Columbia this afternoon. I was helping one of my colleagues hang up flyers for an apartment he's trying to rent.

I finished Columbia in 2002 and as I walked around in the rain this afternoon, I realized how much I missed the place. Sure, it's kind of in the hinterlands of the Upper West Side (not Harlem, kids) and it's a pretty self-contained environment. But it's neat to be around so many intelligent people, so much academia. And no, academia is not the real world, but if I had to be engrossed in it, Columbia is a great option.

A few things:

1. I am amazed at how tight security is now. When I went to Columbia I think the only time I used my student ID was to get into the Met for free. They wouldn't even let my colleague and I into Lerner Hall without one. Even when I asked a journalism student to let me into the journalism building, she quizzed me about what classes I would have taken second semester. Weirdo.

2. I couldn't get past the guards in Butler Library, but I did get an alumni ID, so I now have alumni borrowing privileges. Way-pah. If I start quoting Balzac and Plato, you'll know why.

3. I think that the bookstore has some nerve charging upwards of $40 for ski hats that say "Columbia" on them. Furthermore, they weren't even fully lined. Grrr. Do. Not. Want.

4. Several members of my family are getting Columbia -themed Christmas gifts. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Chugs Along

Holidays are for sleeping on the couch with your favorite pet. Here are TR and Valentino, enjoying an early evening nap.

Earlier today TR and I hit Wegman's and Target. For your typical suburbanite these trips are mundane, but for city slickers such as ourselves they were adventures in consumerism.

Me, in Wegman's, in awe of the size of the place.


Wegman's has a section of "international foods" and so they included tea in the British section. No stereotypes there!


Last time I checked Tazo tea wasn't from England. Isn't it from Starbucks?


We just don't have in-store displays like this in NYC


Just seeing these made me feel 30% more Christmas-y.


After Wegman's we hit Target, where I actually got some gifts for some relatives and some goodies for myself. Target is the most fun you can have in discount shopping.

And if anyone's been looking for me, either over e-mail or phone, please know that since I'm out of town, I'm not answering much in the way of e-mail. Like my two beasts, Peppe and Valentino, I am enjoying a few long naps. I'll deal with you all in a few days.

And this? This is the piece of flourless chocolate cake that wouldn't leave me alone all afternoon. It's so good I could wear it.

Thanksgiving, It Is Going Well

I'm out in Easton, PA for Thanksgiving with TR's family. It's a rural little town and TR's family's place is built in the middle of a very hilly golf course. Yesterday before dinner TR and I headed down to the greens and took some photos. Yes, we brought Peppe and Valentino, and they have been quite a hit.



One of my faves.


I have eaten my body weight in food and plan to camp out at the gym for the rest of December. Getting out into the country is a lot of fun. The quiet is good for the mind. Later today we are headed to Wegman's and Target! YAY!

This is a bird's nest we found in a tree, made out of everything from plastic bags to fabric to, of course, sticks.

Flying The Coop

Thanksgiving Turkey, originally uploaded by mommawants1more.

Everyone I know is slowly trickling out of the city for Thanksgiving this week. Have you left yet? I'm here until Wednesday-ish. Then off to Easton, Pennsylvania!

I will post photos as I have them.

My Paternal Grandmother, Juliet Suter Millard

My Maternal Grandmother, Juliet Suter Millard, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

If anyone ever wondered what I would look like with extra short hair, check out this shot of my paternal grandmother, Juliet, circa 1943 or so.

The good looks, they are genetic.

I Am A Little Concerned About The 6 Train

The 6 train has reached new lows, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

Four times in the past 24 hours I have been majorly delayed by the 6 train, going both uptown and downtown. Twice I was actually stuck on the train, between stations.

It started Friday morning at 77th Street, when I was trying to get to work. Basically, the train never came due to "signal problems." I left and hopped a bus to 59th Street, then took an N train to 14th Street.

On the way home I got stuck in a tunnel for over 20 minutes, again because of a "signal problem." We were literally 50 yards outside of Grand Central station.

This morning, again, I had to walk to work from Murray Hill because there was no 6 train. Heading back home after some shopping, something went wrong with the brakes on an uptown train, and we all had to get off while they fixed it.

I understand that the subway runs on an antiquated system, but in the nine years that I've lived in NYC I've never gotten stuck in a tunnel. With the recent cuts to service that the MTA recently announced, I also don't expect things to get much better.

It's also futile to suggest that the Second Avenue subway would solve these transit issues. Guess what, kids, the Second Avenue subway is never going to happen. It's like the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause: people tell you it's coming, but deep down you know it's nothing but a fairy tale.

If you need me, I'll be on the bus. I get lots of reading done there.

Good Times At The Alliance Francaise

If you like wine and want to learn more about it, your first stop should be the Alliance Francaise. They have all sorts of wine events, and tonight there was a large party in honor of a new crop of Beaujolais. It was crowded and loud and felt a little bit like a frat party for wine. I waited in line for a long time for some cheese. But overall it was a very good time. Stay tuned for the monthly wine tastings in the winter. They're not for the casual bouveuse.

Charlie Rose was a guest of honor (?!?!) and was inducted into some ancient Order of Beaujolais. I kid you not.


I have to offer a grande j'excuse to the ladies at the Trois Petits Couchons table. I know I loitered a lot, but only because the pate was so good! (And again, it was nearly impossible to get to the cheese table.) I am totally ordering some for Thanksgiving.

Also: The big winner in wine tonight was Laboure-Roi, who had a light, but still peppery Beaujolais that I couldn't get enough of. It got to a point where the winery owner knew my name, and gave me a card so I could order a case or so for the house. Methinks he was trying to distract me from emptying the small supply they'd brought to the party.

From The Archives

NYJL Homecoming, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

I just found this shot from the New York Junior League Homecoming party this past October. Good times, great oldies.

Which Homeless People Do You Give To?

Last night I was walking in the West Village, en route to The Chuckle Hut at Paris Commune. Out of left field an older guy came up to me and told me he needed a huge favor. He started talking frenetically about how he was some sort of costume designer on Broadway and had just locked himself out of his apartment, complete with his wallet. He talked and talked and told me that he didn't need me to watch his apartment or anything, he just needed $20 cash for cab fare so he could get to the theater and get his spare set of keys.

He seemed like a nice enough guy, albeit a little tweaked out, but I didn't have any cash on me, so I couldn't help him out. He turned and left in a huff.

Here's what I don't get. If he had to get to the theater, any taxi would have taken him there and back to his place if he just explained the situation. Why did he need my $20 to get to Times Square, which wouldn't have been enough anyway?

I'm beginning the think he was just some crazy guy, especially since I googled the name he gave me and he certainly is not the costume designer for the show he said he was. But what if he was legit? Was I being a typically cold New Yorker for not helping him out?

Where In The World Is La Pauline?

Two Maps and a Compass, originally uploaded by retro traveler.

Whoo! I've been away from the blog, haven't I? It's been so ignored that even my mom called to see what was up.

I'm here, albeit a little busy lately, although with what I'm not sure. Real estate keeps me very busy, and I'm still teaching my writing classes. (Two this fall.) Junior League claims me on Monday nights and the rest of the time I like to go to the gym, and yes, even watch Charm School: Rock of Love with some regularity.

Speaking of the gym, this evening I went to get my run on, when the guy at the front desk reminded me that 76th and 1st was not my "home gym", 23rd and Park was, and that technically it was "illegal" for me to work out on 76th and 1st before 8:30 p.m. If I wanted to make 76th Street my home gym, I would have to pay $40 to switch.

Why would I be charged $40 just so that some gym manager can hit two keys on a keyboard and make 76th Street my home gym? They're not offering any more value, and half the time no one cares or bothers me about my home gym status. New York Sports Clubs, are, by nature, crappy gyms to begin with. 76th Street is particularly a pain, given all the stairs you have to climb just to get get from the cardio to the weights to the locker room.

I'm going to avoid switching as long as I can. Do other gyms do this? What is the point of charging someone to change their status? Is the $83 a month I give them not enough? Someone, please enlighten me.

Perhaps This Is A Trend?

Today I got an e-mail from one of my clients who had given me a listing about two weeks ago. His apartment, an amazing 820 square foot one bedroom in prime Murray Hill on 35th and Madison, had been on the market for sale with another broker for over six months. It had a doorman, a proper foyer and a sunken living room with a dining area. The open kitchen was modern with granite counters. He had finally gotten one low ball offer on the place and was willing to turn it down if he could find a solid person to rent the place for a year or so. I would have one week to find said person.

I took the listing and a few of my colleagues actually did take people over, one of which was considering renting it. When my client called me back, he said that he accepted the offer to sell apartment after all, and the buyers were putting money in escrow.

It was a shame. My client, we'll call him Mike, spent a few years working at J.P. Morgan, originating loans. Needless to say he was one of the first to go when all the sub-prime nonsense hit the fan a year ago. And so, for a year he putzed around his Art Deco gem of an apartment, the one with the original parquet floors and working fireplace, trying to find a job. On nice days he sat on the roofdeck and gazed at theEmpire State building, or the Chrysler building, depending on which way his chair was facing. Finally, he found a new job, but it was with a small bank in Chicago. A regional bank in the Midwest is a far cry from J.P. Morgan in Manhattan, but I guess ya gotta make a living.

I've started to wonder if there are others out there like Mike. Guys (and gals) who worked in these investment banks, collected the big checks, only to be left out in the cold once the layoffs came around.

When I first met Mike I could tell he didn't want to sell the place. He had only been there for two years! Guys like Mike are the real estate equivalent of the Girls Who Were Sent Away in the 1950s and 60s when they got pregnant. Guys like Mike bought trophy apartments with their bonuses, only to have to sell them for peanuts, quietly and discreetly, as they were forced out of town for another, less glamorous job.

Maybe it was a need for closure that made Mike accept the offer. Maybe he needed the dough. I wonder, though, how many other people from places like Bear Sterns and Lehman, will have to leave town and their real estate conquests behind, not to mention large parts of their egos.

Pauline at Capitol, originally uploaded by thomasr9.

Hi everyone!

Sorry if I've been away from the blog, but I've actually...been away. I spent the weekend in DC for a wedding, and before that, well, work was busy.

I'll be back to blogging in a bit. Very soon. Like, later tonight.