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Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts

November 12, 2007

The Jerkhammer

Yesterday was Veteran's Day, but the government is letting us recognize it today, which also means that I have the day off of work! Holla! I was definitely looking forward to having a nice, quiet day at home to get some things squared away and to just take it easy. Unfortunately, the construction team outside my building is not going to make that happen very easily... Let's take a look:

This is view directly outside of my window. Please take a look at the dream team. Note not one, but TWO jackhammers cracking the sidewalk. These guys have been out here for the past week and they love to start working at 7am. I know I live in New York City, but aren't there some sort of noise laws around here?!

Next we have hose guy, who diligently sprays down the cement. Granted, he's not making as much noise as the jackhammer duo, but I still hate him.

And don't even get me started on the two other guys. I don't even know what they do. Apparently they are the supervisors who look down at what's being jackhammers and give it a "yay" or "nay."

There was no real purpose for this blog entry, but I wanted you all to feel my pain. How am I supposed to watch my stories with all the street noise? Unacceptable.

October 16, 2007

Kelly Clarkson at the Beacon Theater

Last night I got to check out Kelly Clarkson's My December tour as it made its second stop in New York City at the famous Beacon Theater. I had great seats and Kelly was awesome! I've always liked her, but I definitely have a new respect after hearing her sing live. That chick can sing! Of course I took a million pix and some video, too, so here are the best ones... The first pix aren't great, but Kelly started the show on the stairs in the red dress like her album cover. It was sweet.

Never Again Clip

Miss Independent Clip

Since U Been Gone Clip

Related Things:

October 1, 2007

WHEEL! OF! FORTUNE!

I know that you are probably shocked to learn that Wheel of Fortune is one of my favorite TV shows, but it's true. You probably thought I was way too cool and awesome to like a show that is designed for a slightly older demographic, but oh no- I'm a Wheel watcher. (I really love Jeopardy, too!) I used to watch all the time with my Grandma Em and my Dad, and now I watch with my roommate Carolyn when we get home from work.

A few months ago we were watching and they announced that Wheel would be taping some shows at Radio City Music Hall, so I sent in my self-addressed stamped envelope and BAM- We got tickets! Unfortunately, Carolyn had to miss the taping because of the small business of celebrating her four year anniversary with her boyfriend (minor detail) so I invited my friends Jake, Doug and Ryan to come with me.

I wish that I had amazing news to report about the show, but I was severely let down! The taping was SO BORING! Now don't get me wrong- I'm fully aware that Wheel of Fortune isn't like Fear Factor or Amazing Race, but it was the slowest moving taping I have ever attended. I'm sure a small part of it had to do with the fact I'm slightly desensitized to TV tapings but I couldn't believe the amount of down time that went on between puzzles! The contestants would solve a puzzle (which took about 5 minutes) and then they would take a "commercial break" that lasted over 15 minutes at a time! It took nearly an hour to tape a 22 minute show. I was severely bored... sorry, Wheel.

Pat Sajack was great, Vanna looked amazing and as an added bonus it was People Magazine Celebrities Week. I will use the term "celebrities" loosely because I mean, it's not like that many A-listers are vying for a place on the Wheel, but it definitely makes for a good story later. I'm a firm believer in going through awkward/unusual situations simply to have the story to tell later. This time was no different.

So, I guess I learned that sometimes the magic of television should be left where it belongs; on television. I'll stick to watching Wheel of Fortune weeknights at 7:30pm. In case you were wondering when the taping will air, you can check out the two shows I attended on November 15th and 16th.

*Thanks to nerdgirljulie for illegally taking photos inside so I could use them!

Related Things:

September 18, 2007

Cab Fire at Rockefeller Center

I just returned to my desk after a brisk 17-flight journey down the stairs of 30 Rock after someone on my floor spotted billowing black smoke coming up from down below us. This being New York City, you can never really take a chance when you see black, ominous smoke, so everyone on my floor decided to peace out.

Nothing to worry about now. Apparently a car caught on fired outside of the NBC marquee on 50th street. Everything is fine! Check out WNBC.com for the full story and more details. Here are some photos courtesy of WNBC and my friend, Ken Donnelly

photos from WNBC.com

Photos from Ken Donnelly

September 4, 2007

Screen grabs from Ellen

Quick post- Had a chance to take some screen grabs from Ellen today. Like I said earlier, Matthew and I got to see her season 5 premiere tape last Friday. Here are the pix:

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day, everyone! I know that I'm a day late with the post, but Labor day is about not working... right? So I took the day off. It was a very long and fun weekend, which has caused me to have a heinous sore throat and major aches... awesome. Totally worth it though.

My friend Matthew came up from Philly on Thursday night and we went to see the taping of the premiere of Ellen season 5. We had to be there bright and early (6:30am... oof) but it was totally worth it! Senator Hilary Clinton was the guest for most of the show, and even for someone unpolitical like me, it was very, very interesting. There was also another mystery guest whom I cannot reveal, so you'll have to tune into Ellen today to find out!

Yesterday Kelly and I decided to get outside on Labor Day and get a unique view of New York. We rented bikes and rode around the perimeter of the city. We rode down the west side, through the financial district and to Battery Park. We then cut across through South Street Seaport and rode across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was really awesome! Here are some pix from the trip.

Kelly was ready to rock in her all-black and sport backpack

I was ready, too!

the closest I've ever been to the Statue of Liberty

Lookin' sweet at South Street Sea Port

Enjoying the amazing view from the Brooklyn Bridge

Cool shot of the top of the Bridge

We were hella' tired, but took a minute for a photo op.

I am a bike pro and jumped a curb, unfortunately Kelly wasn't so skilled and ate pavement. The lady outside McDonalds was very concerned. This was the aftermath.

No worries! She was right back on and ready to rock!

Hope you had a nice holiday!

August 26, 2007

Weekend Update

Hello, faithful readers! You can all rejoice, because after losing my camera on Amtrak I have secured another cam and have resumed photographing every little event in my life. This weekend my best friend from college, Lauren, and her roommate and my friend, Jill, came to visit NYC. Keeping the pix to a minimum, here are a few select favorites from a weekend of sight-seeing, eating, drinking and merriment:

Jill, Me and Lauren at Top of the Rock

Jill and Lauren taking obligatory shots of the Empire State Building

I took the girls up to my office so they could see where I blog... er, work every day

Lauren and I posing for our post-graduation photo in Central Park

Hope you had a nice weekend!

August 8, 2007

MTA is the devil UPDATE

UPDATE: In That's-so-ironic-I-could-punch-you-in-the-face news, after my hour-long walk to work this morning I came to home to find a lovely pamphlet in the mail.

It was an eerily timely brochure about hurricanes and severe weather hitting New York City.

Thanks for the info. There's also a handy map inside.

Now, I didn't actually read the pamphlet or map key, but I'm assuming the orange and yellow sections show the areas of total death and destruction, while the green shows areas that will be completely under water.

Perhaps after today they should have re-titled the piece "Ready New York: Slightly Heavy Downpours." That would have definitely helped out today.

MTA is the devil.

This isn't going to be a very good blog entry... I'll tell you that already. The main reason is because my brain is fried from walking 46 blocks to work. Ya, apparently there were massive storms in the NYC area last night, (which I knew nothing about because I slept like a corpse,) and most of the subway service in the city was suspended for the morning commute. Ya, that's fun. Here's the story from WNBC.com

Not only were the subways down, but that meant that all the strap hangers now had to fight their way onto the few downtown buses. I wish I would have taken photos of the 80 or so people at my bus stop that were literally clawing their way onto the back entrance of the bus. Oh, the humanity! I decided that it wasn't worth the fight, so I just walked.

Unfortunately it felt like I was walking through a swimming pool today. Check out the weather forecast for this morning. It felt like it was over 90 degrees out and the humidity was through the roof. Let's just say that it was not a pleasant experience. Now my body is in shock because I went from a sticky, humid mess to the freezing, air conditioned office. Healthy, I'm sure. It's now about a quarter to 11am and I'm still one of the few people in the office. I have no idea how or when the people coming in from the outer boroughs will make it in today. Good luck with that.

On a nice note... Yesterday the blog got the most page clicks ever! Horray! Thanks to everyone who reads and comments. I appreciate the views and the word of mouth to other people! Thanks again!

Now... to go stick my head in the bathroom sink. Peace.

July 31, 2007

Some Excellent Summer Marketing

This weekend, as I was walking to the park with my roommate, Carolyn, we discovered one thing that we were really upset we had forgotten: a Frisbee! We might not be the most athletic group in the pack, but we do like to run around and burn off some stress on a beautiful day in the park.

As we made our way to the Great Lawn we noticed how many other people were playing Frisbee... and therefore became extremely jealous. It was not fair that all these other jerks were getting to have fun while we had to just sit there and eat the pile of snack food we brought (hey, I said we weren't athletic.) Then we noticed something; everyone had the same, blue Frisbee! We then noticed that there were several of these blue Frisbees discarded around the park. Like people didn't want them anymore. Carolyn picked up the closest one and we found out that it wasn't just a normal flying disc!

The Frisbee was actually a piece of marketing material for the TBS show My Boys. I've seen a lot of promos for My Boys, and there has been a lot of hype surrounding the comedy as it goes into its sophomore season, but I officially became a fan when they saved my afternoon with a free toy. "What a great piece of marketing," we thought! I'm sure TBS spent more money on the Frisbees than they would have on say, fliers or postcards, but I doubt there was a pile of Frisbees in the garbage can at the end of the day.

We set out our blanket, turned up the iPod jams and started tossing the promo disc. So, maybe we only played for a few minutes, but it was the fact that we could play if we wanted that really mattered. I really can't remember a piece of marketing material that had such a fun impact on my day. I guess I didn't get to watch My Boys last night, but I'm going to have to check it out. It's actually getting some great reviews, and with the lack of good TV this summer it's great to see something new on the tube. Do you like My Boys? What do you think about it?

July 27, 2007

The Sandorables Take Manhattan!

It was a busy week here in Sandoratown, USA. My Mom, brother Drew and cousin Jimmy (or Jim as he is now referred) came to visit NYC for the majority of the week. We had a fun time running around the city, and luckily for me, I only had to go to Times Square once! Thank you, Jebus. I'm not going to write too much, but I will let the photos give you an inside look at our adventures.
Drew, Jim and Mom tour the TODAY Show studio