I know I've mentioned this before, but somehow I've managed to live in NYC for 9 years this August, and I have never seen anyone really famous. Yilin sees celebrities all the time, even when I'm with her. She doesn't point them out though, acting like she doesn't see them. I told her to cut the cool, and just raise her arm and point and say loudly to me, "Look it's __________ !" But she won't. After a lengthy discussion she agreed to either squeeze my arm or hand if we were in the presence of a celebrity so I'd know.
A few weeks ago I had my first sightings. We were walking to Claude's early one Saturday morning and we saw Robert Downey, Jr. strolling along, holding hands with some woman. He looked sunburned. I told Yilin that I thought his skin was red from reversing his controversial surgery (watch the trailer).
Then, not 30 minutes later, while we were seated inside of Claude's and happily feasting upon his magnificent pastries, who should walk by but Famke Jansen. She looks better in real life than in the movies, in case you're wondering.
It's about time I saw somebody more famous than Nobel prize-winning scientists.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sweat
It's been rather hot here in NYC for the past few weeks. Most of the time the temperature has been in the 80's, with an occasional foray into the 90's. However, it has been rather humid.
As it has been hot, and as I walk to work, naturally I sweat. I started off wearing a suit and tie to work, because we dress as our clients do when working at the client site. Well, after a few days I started carrying my jacket instead of wearing it because I would have sweat spots under my arms, on my chest and stomach, all down my back, and even on my arms themselves. Removing the jacket alleviated this grossness somewhat.
Yilin insisted that I wear undershirts. My initial reaction was, "No way! I'll be so hot I'll sweat even more!" As it was, I already got dressed standing in front of the AC, and stayed there, until I had to leave the apartment. So she bought me some undershirts and I tried it out. Sure enough, once I put my button-down shirt on, the sweating commences. However, the undershirt soaks it up like a sponge so that it doesn't show through my work shirt. (I'm still hotter and sweat more, though.)
I could take the subway to work, as they are air-conditioned, but the subway stations are so hot in the summer, that if I had to wait even a few minutes I would quickly be soaked. My walk is about 3/4 of a mile, so it's relatively short. Now, when I walk to work I walk SLOW. At least, by NYC standards. I see guys wearing suits and ties (jackets on) all the time while walking to work. These guys do not walk slow like me; they are in full-speed-ahead-power-walk mode. I cannot fathom why I have perspiration running down my forehead and they do not. Yilin insists that they only walk very short distances, e.g. from the subway station to their office, or from a cab to their office. Perhaps.
So now, I wear an undershirt, which almost always alleviates any sweat soaking my work shirt. I carry my jacket while I walk to work instead of wearing it. I walk very slow, and only on the east side of the street so I am in the shade the entire time. Although I might have some perspiration on my forehead and upper lip, my shirt isn't soaked anymore. The first thing I do when I get to work is go into the bathroom, run my wrists under cold water for a few minutes, wash my face with cold water, and cool off. By outward appearances, I am not sweaty or hot.
But the reality is different. The office AC is set on 72, which is a temperature that I consider hot any time of the year under any conditions. So it takes me an hour or two before I stop sweating (inside my shirt) completely. Unfortunately, although I may appear comfortable, I am not. The worst part is that sweat has been running down my back and butt crack, so now my underwear and lower undershirt are completely soaked all day long. Unlike my shirt, there is no chance for them to dry out.
I did not write this to complain, even though it sounds that way. I wrote it because I don't understand how all of these other guys do this every day throughout the summer, for years on end. Are they wearing ice packs strapped to their inner thighs? What's their secret to staying cool?
As it has been hot, and as I walk to work, naturally I sweat. I started off wearing a suit and tie to work, because we dress as our clients do when working at the client site. Well, after a few days I started carrying my jacket instead of wearing it because I would have sweat spots under my arms, on my chest and stomach, all down my back, and even on my arms themselves. Removing the jacket alleviated this grossness somewhat.
Yilin insisted that I wear undershirts. My initial reaction was, "No way! I'll be so hot I'll sweat even more!" As it was, I already got dressed standing in front of the AC, and stayed there, until I had to leave the apartment. So she bought me some undershirts and I tried it out. Sure enough, once I put my button-down shirt on, the sweating commences. However, the undershirt soaks it up like a sponge so that it doesn't show through my work shirt. (I'm still hotter and sweat more, though.)
I could take the subway to work, as they are air-conditioned, but the subway stations are so hot in the summer, that if I had to wait even a few minutes I would quickly be soaked. My walk is about 3/4 of a mile, so it's relatively short. Now, when I walk to work I walk SLOW. At least, by NYC standards. I see guys wearing suits and ties (jackets on) all the time while walking to work. These guys do not walk slow like me; they are in full-speed-ahead-power-walk mode. I cannot fathom why I have perspiration running down my forehead and they do not. Yilin insists that they only walk very short distances, e.g. from the subway station to their office, or from a cab to their office. Perhaps.
So now, I wear an undershirt, which almost always alleviates any sweat soaking my work shirt. I carry my jacket while I walk to work instead of wearing it. I walk very slow, and only on the east side of the street so I am in the shade the entire time. Although I might have some perspiration on my forehead and upper lip, my shirt isn't soaked anymore. The first thing I do when I get to work is go into the bathroom, run my wrists under cold water for a few minutes, wash my face with cold water, and cool off. By outward appearances, I am not sweaty or hot.
But the reality is different. The office AC is set on 72, which is a temperature that I consider hot any time of the year under any conditions. So it takes me an hour or two before I stop sweating (inside my shirt) completely. Unfortunately, although I may appear comfortable, I am not. The worst part is that sweat has been running down my back and butt crack, so now my underwear and lower undershirt are completely soaked all day long. Unlike my shirt, there is no chance for them to dry out.
I did not write this to complain, even though it sounds that way. I wrote it because I don't understand how all of these other guys do this every day throughout the summer, for years on end. Are they wearing ice packs strapped to their inner thighs? What's their secret to staying cool?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Yilin's Birthday
Last Thursday was Yilin's 31st birthday.
I made her pancakes for breakfast, but unfortunately we don't have anything approximating a tray, so I couldn't bring it to her in bed. Surprisingly, she was asleep the entire time and didn't hear me. In fact, she thought I went for my morning run.
After work I brought home a bouquet of two dozen roses for her. In addition, there was a flower arrangement that her parents sent. Needless to say our place has had a strong floral odor since then.
We then went to dinner at a restaurant called "Kuma Inn", that Yilin's good friend Virginia recommended. Virginia met us there, and we dined on some really good, and rather cheaply priced, Asian tapas. The restaurant is BYOB, so we brought wine with us. It was a lot of fun.
All in all, I think Yilin enjoyed herself on her birthday, which is something we should all do.
I made her pancakes for breakfast, but unfortunately we don't have anything approximating a tray, so I couldn't bring it to her in bed. Surprisingly, she was asleep the entire time and didn't hear me. In fact, she thought I went for my morning run.
After work I brought home a bouquet of two dozen roses for her. In addition, there was a flower arrangement that her parents sent. Needless to say our place has had a strong floral odor since then.
We then went to dinner at a restaurant called "Kuma Inn", that Yilin's good friend Virginia recommended. Virginia met us there, and we dined on some really good, and rather cheaply priced, Asian tapas. The restaurant is BYOB, so we brought wine with us. It was a lot of fun.
All in all, I think Yilin enjoyed herself on her birthday, which is something we should all do.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Global Warming Machine
This morning I went for a run. For the past few weeks, I've been going on long runs (at least, long for me) every few days. Six miles here, nine miles there. This week I've been running three miles every morning, something which I am trying to turn into a regular habit.
As I was beginning my run I passed a billboard that had the time and temperature displayed at the bottom. I kid you not, 5:53 AM and 80 degrees F. Thankfully it wasn't as muggy as the past two days have been, although it was a bit sticky and there wasn't much of a breeze, even along the Hudson River.
When it gets warm outside, I have trouble running. I know, most people do, but I think I have extra trouble since I am such a cold weather person. In cooler weather, I can run at such a pace that my heart rate is hovering around 180 bpm and I'm breathing pretty hard and fast. But lately I've been struggling to maintain my heart rate up above 170 and I'm not that winded when I finish my runs. Perhaps some of it is due to my lack of aerobic conditioning right now. I don't know, but I blame it on the weather. Tomorrow I am going to push myself extra hard and see what happens.
One other thing about running in warm weather: when I finish a run I feel like a global warming machine. If I am standing still, I can feel the air around me warm up dramatically, and the temperature on my skin actually feels like it drops if I take step forward. Then the air warms up again. Further more, I feel like carbon dioxide is just leaking out of my skin, nevermind pumping out of my lungs in huge volumes with each breath. It is very odd. I think I will make myself a vest that has hundreds of small plastic pockets covering it, with each pocket filled with water. I'll throw it in the freezer at night, and put it on in the morning before I go running. Maybe that will help.
As I was beginning my run I passed a billboard that had the time and temperature displayed at the bottom. I kid you not, 5:53 AM and 80 degrees F. Thankfully it wasn't as muggy as the past two days have been, although it was a bit sticky and there wasn't much of a breeze, even along the Hudson River.
When it gets warm outside, I have trouble running. I know, most people do, but I think I have extra trouble since I am such a cold weather person. In cooler weather, I can run at such a pace that my heart rate is hovering around 180 bpm and I'm breathing pretty hard and fast. But lately I've been struggling to maintain my heart rate up above 170 and I'm not that winded when I finish my runs. Perhaps some of it is due to my lack of aerobic conditioning right now. I don't know, but I blame it on the weather. Tomorrow I am going to push myself extra hard and see what happens.
One other thing about running in warm weather: when I finish a run I feel like a global warming machine. If I am standing still, I can feel the air around me warm up dramatically, and the temperature on my skin actually feels like it drops if I take step forward. Then the air warms up again. Further more, I feel like carbon dioxide is just leaking out of my skin, nevermind pumping out of my lungs in huge volumes with each breath. It is very odd. I think I will make myself a vest that has hundreds of small plastic pockets covering it, with each pocket filled with water. I'll throw it in the freezer at night, and put it on in the morning before I go running. Maybe that will help.
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