George Saunders On Kindness

Everyone could use an occasional refresher course in how not to be a jerk, and today I found this video that animates the commencement speech George Saunders gave last year at Syracuse. It's about how if there's one goal to shoot for, it should be to be kind to people.

I'm a Syracuse alum and I also took one of Saunders' classes when I was a senior, so these sorts of things thrill me in tiny, inexplicable ways.


If you've never read a book by George Saunders, you could start with Tenth of December
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We Are Ready For This Half Marathon!

This year I am running the New York City Half Marathon with my friend Jen. Jen and I went to Syracuse together, sure, but we actually met before the school year started when we both went up six months before the semester started to try out to be cheerleaders. Turns out we were both way to tall/large to be included on the Lilliputan squad.

After the tryout, I figured that would be the last I would see of Jen, since Syracuse is a big school and there were about 2,000 freshmen that year. She was also admitted into the esteemed Newhouse School, and I was an education major. (My dirty secret is that I transferred into Newhouse sophomore year.) Then, during Opening Weekend, I brought some bags to the trash room and I saw some collapsed boxes that had a Maple Grove, Minnesota address on them.

I thought, "That girl Jen, from cheer tryouts was from Minnesota. Hmmm." I walked over to room 301 in Day Hall, just a few doors down from my room, 309 and checked it out. It was the same Jen. We've been friends ever since.

We went to SoHo today, first for lunch at The Dutch. I love that place. The other woman you see is Kristin, who played hoops for Syracuse when we were there. The best part is that Jen picked the place without knowing that it was cool or that I liked it. All my friends have such great taste. And yes, it was snowing. Grrr.


Snowy SoHo

A Few From The Weekend

It was 1,000 degrees in Manhattan this weekend, but I left the house nonethless.
Saturday: A kid's birthday party at the Beekman Beer Garden. This place is amazing. Even though you have to walk through that wreteched mall at Pier 17 to get to it, it has great beer and an expansive menu. Pulled pork! Fish tacos!
It's a good place to take out of town guests, especially with the amazing backdrop of the waterfront.

What is this mythical place you call...Brooklyn?

Later that same day some old friends from Syracuse washed up on shore, and we headed to STK in the Meatpacking. On a Saturday night. Because we are masochists. The food was outstanding, though, especially the side of truffle mac and cheese bites. Make sure you get a table on the roof.

This is what one wears out to have steaks on a Saturday night. The necklace: Baccarat. The dress: Filene's Basement (RIP), the clutch, H&M circa 2008.

With Jen and Kristen. I've known Jen since we were 17 and we tried out to be cheerleaders at Syracuse while we were still in high school. We did not make it. At 5'6 each, we were way too tall. Then she ended up being randomly placed on my floor freshman year. Kismet!

The Singles!

I get very excited when people that I know write books. The Singles was written by Meredith Goldstein, who worked with me at the Daily Orange back when I was at Syracuse. This book could fall easily into the chick lit category -- the plot surrounds the angst of going to a wedding alone -- but it's way more evolved than that. Also, there are numerous Syracuse references throughout, including a few people's real names. Amazing.

Buy a copy here.

Syracuse Pin Stripe Bowl!

Christmas break is turning out to be full of activities. Between a trip to Pennsylvania and the Syracuse Pinstripe Bowl, 2010 is closing up action packed.

Obligatory Velazquez/Pauline shot


Old skool Syracuse Peeps


Yay! It's Scott!


Pre-game dancing at Billy's bar


Yankee Stadium as football field


Very cold people. It helped that we beat Kansas State 36-34. Great game.

A Busy Pauline is a Good Pauline

Recreational activities kept me busy and away from the blog today, but at least I'm here now.

Yesterday, as we all know, was Mother's Day. I hope you all did something nice for your Ma. Le Doug and I took La Madre to brunch at the Grand Hyatt in Greenwich, which turned out to be a curious affaire. Brunch at the Hyatt is always a good idea, especially if you have to impress someone. The service is great, you can eat in the atrium with all the birds and trees and there is more food than you will know what to do with. I recommend the dessrt table.

The stakes go up on Mother's Day because everyone realizes they have to do something nice for their mother. The Hyatt realized this and turned their grand ballroom into an enormous Mother's Day event with about 300 tables for families. It looked like a giant wedding, complete with a jazz quartet in the middle of the room and the desserts were on a stage in the front. Bloody Marys were served at a station right as you walked in. The food was in the corridor. I really wished I had taken a photo of it, because I've never seen so many people crammed into a hotel ballroom, yet not complaining at all. The service was even pretty good. Most importantly, La Madre was happy.

In unrelated news, here is a story about one of my old professors from Syracuse, Robert Thompson, and how journalists always call him for quotes. It's not the most original idea for a story, since pretty much everyone knows about him, but I must give Syracuse a link. And for the record, I got a B Plus in his class, The Golden Age of Television. In it we watched old episodes of Hill Street Blues, where the cops actually sweat, and Twin Peaks, which still doesn't make any sense to me.

A Random Weekend in Syracuse

A few weeks back Cara had this crazy idea to go up to Syracuse University, where we went as undergrads. Thing is, she didn't want to go on Homecoming when other old folks like us would be there. She wanted to go on a random weekend, when hotel rates would be low and the kids would just be scampering about. I hadn't been up in over five years, so I hopped into the car and drove up with Cara and Julie.

Given that is was November, it was gray in Syracuse. After checking into the hotel out first order of business was the go to Wegmans and picl up some supplies.

For a grocery store in a crappy town in Central New York, Wegmans had a lot of newspapers.


Cara really liked the melons.


Then we hit the candy aisle, where things got a little saucy. You really haven't lived until you've been spanked in a grocery store.


We hit the hotel bar late night, where some creepy guys who were also up on a random weekend tried to pick us up. Who could blame them, really? Hotties.


Cara and Julie hold up the bar.


The next morning we decided to loaf around campus. This was the view from our room at 8:30 AM.


It really wasn't cold enough for that jacket. Force of habit, I suppose.


...and we're walking...


Rain and all, it was still a nice day by Syracuse standards.


Eventually we made it over to Comstock Avenue, where the three of us used to live in the Alpha Gamma Delta House. It has since been closed due to alcohol violations (big shock) and is slated to recolonize in the next few years. In the meantime, the University is using it as a women's dorm. We decided to investigate.


We had heard through the grapevine that dorky female engineering students were living there, as well as a fraternity. Instead, we were greeted by these nice girls, all freshmen, who wanted to know all about the house, who had lived there, etc. None of them were dorks or engineering students. They were only allowed on the ground and top floor, and not in the basement, where there are more rooms as well as the elusive chapter room where we would circle each other's fat and put pledges in coffins.


Cara, Julie and I upstairs where men were never allowed. While we were there talking to the frosh, a guy slipped out of a girl's room at noon. Awesome.


More of the house. This is staircase that descends up to the second floor. The house was desgined by the Alpha Gam founder, an architect, so that 30 girls live on one floor. There is one huge bathroom and about 15 bedrooms. On weekends, craziness ensues.


When the sorority moved out in 2002 International took out all the nice, fancy furniture that had been there since the 1920s so that the house would have it when they regrouped. In its place, Syracuse put in all this crappy dorm furniture. Nevertheless, try to picutre this room with Stickley couches, lamps and tables, a Christmas tree in the corner and hung over girls in pajamas on Friday mornings.


Heading down to the street. We were very happy to see that such nice girls were living in our house. Bye Alpha Gamma Delta!


Here's where the trip gets a little lame. In true Syracuse fashion, the weather turned nasty on us and it started raining really hard. It was so bad we couldn't drive to the Turning Stone Casino an hour away. Instead, we went to the mall and I saw the Borat movie for the third time! We were forced to stay in for most of the night. Also strange, there were no kids out. None! Back in our day (late 1990s) we would have been tearing up Marshall Street in the snow! Perhaps things have tamed a bit. Losers.


Eventually Cara got a little restless.


Exhausted, she and Julie took a snuggle while we watched the first Back to the Future on TV.


On the way home on Sunday we hit this nasty bit of fog right outside Cortland. Central New York, why do you suck so much?


The whole set can be found here.