Free Summer Nights

After attempting to start a business for a year using our own capital, Casey and I learned to be really cheap. I guess "frugal" sounds better, but let's be honest, we were just cheap. Many of our dinners consisted of beans and rice, we refused to pay for even basic cable, and we rarely ventured outside of our apartment to see movies (unless it was a matinee at the dollar theater). Unfortunately there aren't dollar theaters in New York... a discount theater here would probably sell tickets for $9. On the bright side, however, there are plenty of free activities, especially during the summer. There are free concerts, film festivals, yoga, dancing, and best of all, people-watching. You may have to (get to?) enjoy such entertainment with a few hundred / thousand other New Yorkers, but your wallet's gratitude makes up for it.

Concerts in the Park

The New York Philharmonic offered 5 free concerts in parks around Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs this summer. A typical concert would last from 8-10pm, but I'm pretty sure people start showing up at around 5 or 6 to get good seating. Being the punctual adults that we are, Casey and I made an appearance at around 9:15, only to find that Central Park's Great Lawn was completely packed. According to the NY Phil's website, as many as 200,000 people show up to the concerts each summer, with over 14 million total in attendance since the series began in 1965. I guess we should have been expecting the crowds, but it was still impressive to see so many people squished like sardines onto the field, and even more impressive how respectful and quiet the audience was. 

Since we were quite (un)fashionably late, we ended up wandering to a bench behind the Great Lawn that was set back from the crowd. Unknowingly, we actually selected a an acoustically-pleasing setting - somehow the music echoed off the trees just right and we could hear the orchestra perfectly, without the noise from the rowdy attendees in the back. After the concert ended there was a fancy fireworks show, which we missed most of due to our nestled position behind the crowds. We did see a tiny dog making a bee-line out of the park in fear of the noise, but weren't quick enough to grab him. Here are a few shots from the night: (my pictures weren't great; these people did a better job)

A blurry shot of the castle

A spot close to our hidden bench that is eerily vacant

Back side of The Met

Stay tuned for the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, free yoga sessions, and dancing on the Hudson River! 

Smoothielicious

Something I was not expecting about living in the northeast is hot summers. One reason to vacate the south, I thought, was to avoid the 9 month stretches of 90+ degrees. Well, the summers here may not drag on for three quarters of a year, but temperatures can still (and often do) break the dreaded triple digits. Add to that layers of humidity, car exhaust, and a few million other bodies, and you feel like your right back in Texas. Plus, most apartment buildings in the city are old and have window units instead of central air, which gets the job done most days except for the absolute scorchers.

There are very few pools in the city besides the ones on rooftops of luxury apartments, and the scattered public pools NYC has to offer are usually pretty crowded. Some people venture to the public beaches in the surrounding areas, which I've been told are equally as crowded and in my mind are filled with people like the cast of Jersey Shore... No thanks.

Oasis of relaxation? Maybe for some...

Instead of going for a swim somewhere with hundreds of other greasy, sunscreen-drenched bodies, I prefer to cool down by eating cold food. As the temperature outside climbs, ice cream trucks and snow cone carts pop up all over the city. Mister Softee, a chain of soft serve ice cream trucks, in particular seems to be on every street corner. The stuff isn't half bad (as a self-proclaimed connoisseur of ice cream, I can't say it's my favorite), but the name always makes me giggle, so it gets points for that. Another place well-known for its cold treats is Eataly - an Italian restaurant / grocery store / experience that is pretty unique. According to their website, they have "real Italian gelato made with the best ingredients from near and far" ranging from Rochester, NY to Bronte, Sicily.

There are times, however, when I don't feel like spending $5 for 2 ounces of ice cream. On these days of frugality I turn to my own creation: my world-famous smoothie. Ever since we got our blender as a wedding gift almost two years ago, I've had a slight obsession with making smoothies, and now all but refuse to drink a one made by another (objectively inferior) person. The blender and I have had some good times together. Twice now (both times within the past few months), the removable plastic insert that fits into the blender's top has not been securely locked into place, and has fallen inside while the blender was on. I'm still finding little spots on the walls, ceiling, and microwave since these smoothie explosions. A few other times I stuck a spoon too deep into the blender, causing a similar (albeit smaller) explosive event. But the blender, being a faithful appliance, has not given up on me yet.

Back to the smoothies. They have given me such great memories that I thought I would have to share the recipe. It's simple, inexpensive, and health (in moderate portions). Here are the ingredients:

Summer Smoothie

(makes two servings)

1 Large Banana

4-5 Strawberries

Handful of Blueberries (20-25)

1/4 Cup Non-Fat, Plain Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Milk or Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter (optional)

3/4 Cup Ice

The peanut butter is optional, and adds quite a few calories, but I usually keep it in because it adds protein, flavor, and thickness. I try to buy peanut butter that only has "peanuts" as ingredients - no added salt or sugar. (Jiff isn't the best option, but will still totally work). I use Greek yogurt because it has the lowest amount of sugar of the yogurts I could find, and the smoothies are sweet enough on their own. Also, Greek yogurt is a little creamier and adds and interesting texture. 

One reason I like making smoothies so much is that you can use up fruit that is a little too ripe to eat by itself - instead of throwing mushy bananas away I usually just blend them up! You can mix up the fruit too if you like. Peaches and nectarines are great add-ins.

Directions are pretty self-explanatory. I always start with the fruit, add in the milk and yogurt, and blend for about 30 seconds. While the blender is still going, I add in the peanut butter and blend for another minute or so until smooth. Next I add the ice, use the pulse mode for about 20 seconds, and then puree for about a minute. That's it! Sometimes I'll add a few extra blueberries to the top - they make for a nice little treat when you're drinking it.

The final product, in all of its glory

For the health conscious among us, here is the nutritional info (serving size = 1/2 of the above recipe)

• Calories: 170
• Fat: 5g
• Cholesterol: 4.3mg
• Sodium: 91.1mg (6% RDA)
• Potassium: 466.2mg (10% RDA)
• Carbohydrates: 28g
• Dietary Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 6.7g
• Vitamin A: 6%
• Vitamin B6: 26%
• Vitamin B12: 11%
• Vitamin C: 45%
• Vitamin D: 16%
• Vitamin E: 7%
• Calcium: 15%
• Iron: 3%

Fit for the Blogosphere

It is official: we just received our housing offer from the school! I can say with certainty that we will be living in student housing in the second week of August. The date has been set, the forms have been submitted, the signatures complete. All that's left is to pick up the keys.

Perhaps this doesn't seem a blog-worthy topic to most folks. I wouldn't have thought that a year ago, after finding an apartment in Albuquerque, the first thing I would do would be to write about how excited I was to find an apartment. But in Albuquerque, finding an apartment involves walking into a leasing office, looking at floor plans, bickering over an acceptable apartment size ("those 50 extra square feet will pay off in the long run honey, I promise..."), and handing over a small security deposit and application fee. I think in New Mexico we paid a non-refundable $150 application fee and a $200 security deposit. Which I thought was steep at the time.

Finding an apartment in New York is a completely different animal. And when I say animal, I don't mean the cute little fuzzy chinchilla featured here. Apartments are turned within days in this market, sometimes within hours. Submitting an application is a frighteningly costly ordeal that leaves you riddled with guilt, doubt, and fear. Brokers are rarely people you can trust, and even if they are legitimately good people, you end up not trusting them anyway after you see their fees (which are typically 10-15% of your total rent for the year). And then there's the application fee (sometimes hitting the $1,000 mark) and security deposit (1-3 months rent), after which I don't know how anyone has money left to buy furniture!

Anyway, Casey and I are incredibly fortunate to have student housing as an option, which removes all of the normal nastiness of the NYC real estate market. The only downside -- no pets (I can hear Casey letting out a sigh of relief from here...). For those of you who are interested in viewing our future abode (and maybe your future hotel!), I've included some pictures from the housing website below. I'll post more later when we move in, and until then, stay happy!

Exterior of the building

Friendly doorwoman

All of the latest trends in home furnishings

A friendly reminder to study

I don't think these guys come with the apartment

Place to get your sweat on

Cajun Cookin' in the Shoebox

Casey and I try to cook from home as often as we can since restaurants here are crazy expensive. One of our favorite recipes is red beans & rice, which we love because it's simple, healthy, and (best of all!) inexpensive. Here are the ingredients (this makes about 4 servings):

1 lb kielbasa

2 cans red kidney beans, low salt

1 can diced tomatoes, low salt

1 large green bell pepper (or 2 small)

1 white onion

1 cup brown rice

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Ingredients for our red beans & rice recipe 

Back in Albuquerque, Casey and I would cook together... one of us would usually cut up vegetables and the other would measure spices and start cooking. Here, however, we have about 1 square foot of counter space to work with, making cooking more of an individual activity. Plus it can get dangerous having knives fly around in such a small space! I've developed other interesting habits after living here for six months, and not all of them are bad. For one, I wash dishes as I go, instead of after I'm through cooking - partly because there isn't any room for dirty dishes except the floor (which I have used in the past...) and partly because I would run out of dishes otherwise. I also have learned to use every surface as workable space, including the top of the microwave and fridge, the sink, and the stove top when it's not on. One habit that hasn't quite stuck yet is removing the dishes from the oven before pre-heating. I usually end up remembering about 15 minutes later, and trying to play Operator with the pans I've left in a 350 degree oven. Fortunately they are pretty durable! 

The one upside to having such a compact kitchen is that very little movement is required on my part. I can basically stand in one spot for a few hours and make an entire meal. Plus since I have to clean as I go, there isn't ever a huge mess at the end like I was used to last year. Lots of little interesting trade offs.

Anyway back to the recipe. The rice gets made separately and takes about 25-30 minutes, depending on how many people you're serving, so that goes on first. Next I slice the kielbasa and toss it into the frying pan for about 5 minutes, until the edges are slightly crisp. You can use turkey kielbasa to cut down on the fat content - I met in the middle and got a turkey / pork / beef kielbasa blend. If you use 100% turkey I'd recommend putting a little olive oil in the pan so the kielbasa doesn't stick.

Turkey / beef / pork blended kielbasa frying

While the kielbasa is cooking, chop up the green pepper and onion so they're ready to go, and toss them in with the meat. Cook until the onion has softened:

Next, add the remaining ingredients (kidney beans, tomatoes, and spices) and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve the red bean and kielbasa mix over the rice, and enjoy!

The final product!

Oh and if you like it a little hotter, you can add 1-2 tsp of cayenne instead of just 1/2 tsp. The best part of the recipe is that all of the ingredients (excluding spices) were about $15 - less than $4 per meal. A total steal for NYC!

Dynamite

The public transit system in NYC is one of the best in the world. Here's a nice little stat: 2 out of every 3 people who use public rail systems live in New York. And there's a good reason for that: the system works. Besides the occasional machine that eats your metro card (or accidentally deactivating your $104, 30-day unlimited card on its first day of use by placing it next to your phone), and a few delays here and there, the system is amazingly seamless. The massive network of buses, subways, and trains allows you to get not only everywhere in the city, including the five boroughs, but also to tons of surrounding cities in the northeast. The list is a long one, and includes places like Boston, Philadelphia, Newark, Hartford, and Washington D.C., where Casey and I will be visiting this weekend.

Not only can you travel far and wide, but you can travel with efficiency. This is something that I never understood growing up in the south. In Austin, we had two options for getting from point A to B: either you drive yourself wherever it is you need to be, or you take a bus and increase your travel time by a factor of 5. Sometimes more. Taking the bus was a last-ditch option reserved for those who were desperate - their car was in the shop and 15 people had already given them the "prior obligation" excuse. But in New York City you can save money AND... wait for it... time (!) taking public transit. This lesson has only taken me three or four times to learn - after sitting in a taxi and watching the meter run up to $15, sometimes $20 to go fifty blocks (about 3 and a half miles) I finally learned that taking the subway is almost always quicker.

There are exceptions to the rule, of course, such as when there are delays due to construction or (my personal favorite) an unknown incident involving a police investigation. They never tell you the details of any such investigations, but I always assume that it's something worthy of being on this show. It's more fun that way. Anyway the MTA's website is actually really good about reporting delays and has a trip planner that easily outperforms Google Maps, which I'm quite fond of using.

A question that people often ask me is how many people own cars in the city. According to Wikipedia, 48% of people in NYC own cars, but less than 30% actually drive them to work. Most car owners probably just use their rides to escape the city on the weekends and during the summers, when there seems to be a mass exodus of NYC natives to places like Nantucket and The Hamptons. So, if Wikipedia is correct that means that of the estimated 8.2 million people who live here, close to 4 million of them own cars. Which seems like a lot, considering that I only know a total of three people who own a car here, and I was a personal assistant for all of them. I guess I need to meet more people!

Now, back to the public transit system. Being that it is one of the best and most complex networks in the world, it stands to reason that it needs a little upgrading every now and again. As it happens, one of those upgrades is going on right now, just half a block from our little studio. The Second Avenue Subway project is expected to take 4-5 years to complete, and will bring a much-anticipated expansion of service to Manhattan's east side. I took a few pictures of the above-ground construction going on, and this guy has some awesome pictures of what it looks like beneath the surface. If you enjoy reading updates from the people doing the construction, the MTA has a blurb on the project that can be found here.

Oh, and finally, you may be wondering what "Dynamite" means. The construction crews have been doing controlled blasting for the past few months as they make way for the new subway line. As I said, we are half a block away from where that's taking place. The first time it happened I didn't know that the horn that went off a few minutes before the blast was supposed to serve as a warning, and I just about crawled under my desk / kitchen table in my office / formal dining room / breakfast nook, thinking NY wasn't supposed to get earth quakes. The dynamite blasting is pretty intense, but I admit I may have overreacted just a bit. And here are those photos I mentioned! Until next time.

Our grocery store is hidden behind this massive spread of equipment

Moving Again??

It seems like yesterday that I got a UPS shipment of 25 boxes to our little studio. And yet the time has already come for us to start packing up again. I can't imagine how New Yorkers who live in a one or two bedroom apartment move, much less an actual "house" or town home. Friends of ours recently found out that they were going to be relocated to Denver and had to pack up everything in just a week or so. It was super last minute. They have a one year old girl and a one bedroom apartment, and they had to hire a moving company to pack up and ship all of their stuff. Apparently movers in New York (and maybe in other towns too?) are a total rip off. No matter how good of a deal you think you got, you'll always end up getting screwed somehow. If they charge you an hourly rate, they drag their feet and take breaks every 10 minutes. If you are charged a flat fee, there are lots of hidden costs that spring up -- TV packaging cost, dining room table disassembly cost, mattress storage fee. Things that seem like they should be included in the initial rate, but which inevitably are not.

To avoid such frustrations (and because I'm a bit of a control freak) I decided to do everything myself, starting with finding a self-storage place. (Our current sublease ends before we'll get student housing, so we need storage -- standard minimum, one month). The first place I checked was Manhattan Mini Storage, a company with billboards plastered all over the city advertising rates as low as $29 / month. Awesome! I give them a call, ready for a great quote, and tell the guy I have about 50 cubic feet worth of junk to store. His lowest quote is $170 for a month ($159 if I sign up for 9 months!) which includes unlimited rides to and from the facility. It's worth the added cost, he says, because their units are clean and they are a family owned and operated company. Family owned? I don't care if it's my own family, I wouldn't pay close to $200 to store my junk for four weeks. Next.

After a few other calls (one had a $480 minimum for ANY storage) I finally found this great little place that brings the storage unit to you. They drop off these little closets, let you fill them with all your stuff, let you put your own lock on them, and haul them off to Harlem for storage until you're ready to get them. Then they bring them to your new place. One month for less than 70 bucks - done.

Now on to the next challenge: buying boxes. There are some companies that will rent you plastics tubs. They do everything, drop them off at your place and pick them up when you're done. Their service is a bit pricier than just buying cardboard boxes, but after my trip to Home Depot I realized why they can get away with it. New York is interesting in that, in a few square miles, you can literally buy almost anything in the world. Buying is not the challenging part. Getting it home is where the difficulty lies. I've needed to relearn this lesson more than once since moving here. I'll illustrate:

I show up to Home Depot to get my boxes as a conquistador would approach a new territory. I'm a little too confident. After all it's just cardboard, right? 

 I navigate my way to the basement (Home Depot has three floors. Or at least three that I found... probably more) and find rows and rows of storage boxes. I had done some searching online at different prices, and was delighted to find how inexpensive they were. Yes! I can get twice as many as I was anticipating. Plus, they buy back extras, and I don't want to make a second trip if I run out of boxes, right? Better get extras.

 After a few failed attempts to get the boxes to the cashier, I finally find a cart and load the boxes on. The aisles at this particular Home Depot are a bit narrower than in other Home Depots, so I almost knock over about 10 different items on my way to the register. But I make it! Someone helps me through the self-checkout, bundles the boxes together in two packs using twine, and sends me on my way.

 After knocking some woman's shoe off accidentally and stumbling down two flights of stairs, I am now at the turnstile entrance to the subway. There is, of course, a train about to leave as I approach. I stand there dumbly trying to figure out how to get my boxes through the turnstile as the train leaves. Briefly I consider chucking the whole package over the bars to the other side, but there were too many tourists around. Not that I didn't consider launching a package at one... but decided I couldn't make a quick enough get away. Anyway, the boxes were short enough to fit under the turnstile bar, but I didn't push them far enough and, after inserting my metro card and trying to squeeze through myself, ended up getting wedged in the middle of the two bars. I awkwardly moved back and forth, not sure how to get out, until someone finally pulled the boxes through for me (while laughing).

By the time I made it to the exit of the subway station, the boxes seemed like they had quadrupled in size. I lugged them up the last flight of stairs, tried to control them as they almost took flight in the wind, and squeezed them into our tiny elevator. And they have been sitting tied up since I got home, too lazy to start packing! Fortunately we don't have much stuff to pack, moving as often as we seem to.

Stay tuned for pictures of the storage closet, and eventually, of our new apartment! Always an adventure.