We've been living on the Upper East Side (UES) for about nine months now. It's taken some time to get use to the place. Not that there is anything really wrong with it, it was just that we loved where we lived in TriBeCa. However, the past week has added a bit of color and adventure to the neighborhood -- some good, some strange, but definitely colorful. I've broken the story up into three parts for easier reading. Enjoy!
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The Spooky!
Halloween on the UES is like Greenwich Village for little kids. Translation, rockin' cool party! I know we have a lot of kids in our area, but I do think a number of them took the 4, 5, or 6 train just to trick-or-treat here. The little kids wore amazing costumes, no K-Mart plastic here. Many of the parents, me not included, were dressed up as well. KZ was a Butterfly Princess -- not a stretch, but a character she could get into. I was a Tired Mom of a Butterfly Princess, and Jeremy was a Wall Street Bankster. I knew KZ's school had a party, and our building would have trick-or-treating, but the stores and restaurants are what took me by surprise. We could hardly move down the sidewalk on our way home from school around 5:00 pm. Every store, restaurant, nail salon, and business in general was giving out candy. Some even had staff standing on the street as kids lined up. Some poor business owners had signs up saying, "Sorry, out of candy. :-(" or "Trick-or-Treat Hours from 3-5". I didn't see one store that wasn't into it. Since KZ had a party at school, and was going to have another one at our building, I decided only to hit a few strategic places, such as my manicurist, L'Occitane, and the Two Little Hens Bakery for fresh baked cookies. They did not disappoint.
As we got closer to home, I noticed that most of the larger residential buildings were having parties in their lobby ... pizza, candy, drinks and entertainment. Some of the doorman, whom I see every day while walking the dogs, invited us in. I politely declined knowing that our building would be having something similar. They did, but since we have a very small lobby, it got kind of crazy. KZ was not deterred by the crowds. She walked into our lobby and said, "Hi, everybody. I'm KZ, and I'm here!" It was a proud moment for me. After the small party, we went upstairs for a wardrobe change to a different fairy (not butterfly) princess outfit, which enabled her to fly from floor to floor collecting her candy ... which we will be eating well into Thanksgiving week.
I was totally blown away by how the neighborhood got into it.
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The Speedy!
The weather was perfect, for spectators and runners alike, at this year's New York City Marathon.
Now you want to talk about a cool street party for spectators and runners -- welcome to Marathon Sunday on the UES! The local pubs had DJ's blasting music. People were stacked up four deep along the course just to cheer. The little kids were playing in the streets! It seemed as if my entire neighborhood was into it.
The marathon runs down 1st Ave, which is one block to the west of our place. 86th Street was closed off, with plenty of police around. Therefore, almost all the little kids who were not paying attention to the race were all playing in the street. This really only happens once a year. New York isn't a place were kids can just play in the streets. But the bikes, trikes, skateboards, scooters, and little feet rushing around was a happy site to see.
The major drawback of Marathon Sunday is that we really cannot leave our area. We cannot cross 1st Avenue from approximately 10 am to 5 pm, and there is only one other block to the east before we hit the FDR Expressway. We are locked in. Some people who just can't handle this, leave for the weekend. However, the majority stay -- play in the streets and cheer. And cheer we did. We ran out of the house to see the leaders. It is always cool to see people running faster per mile over 26.2 miles than I can run over 26.2 feet. But after they flew by in a blink, we went back inside to watch the finish on TV.
When we knew that the 4 hour finishers, or mid-pack people, would be coming around, we went back outside. We were lucky enough to find space along the fence for all of us. KZ brought toys and some Halloween candy. She had a little picnic in the perfect weather as Jeremy and I cheered our lungs out for two hours. From running the Paris Marathon, I knew that the French yelled, "Allez, allez, allez!" which means, "Go, go, go!" I made sure I yelled "Allez, allez, allez!" for each person who identified as French. And there were a lot of them. I could hardly talk after all the cheering. Of course, if a person had a name on their shirt, I yelled that too. I know from experience that even if the runner does not acknowledge the cheering, it really does give a lift to their spirits. At the 17.5 mile point, where we were, it can get ugly. I saw grown men crying. Others, cramping, and a number who just started walking. These people I feel for. But the ones on their phone ... please! I can understand listening to music on an iPhone, but even the weight of an iPhone is too much for me. I just couldn't do all that training (or maybe they hadn't) to just phone it in, so to speak.
I was totally blown away by how the neighborhood got into it.
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And Just Plain Sleazy!
With the time change comes darkness earlier, as we all know. This is nothing new, but this is the first time that I've noticed how clearly I can see into other people's apartments at night. In our last apartment, we were high up, and there really wasn't anyone close to us. I couldn't just look in and see what they were watching on TV, so to speak. Well, oddly enough, I can here. I'm not a voyeur, but I do like to keep my blinds open to see the lights of the city. If I cannot see stars at night, then I want to see a million little windows.
I might just have to start closing the blinds.
There is this guy, and yes, I do believe it is a guy unless it is a woman with a really short haircut and a strap-on, who likes to have sex in front of his windows with bright lights on in the background. I cannot "see" details, and I'm not looking to, but all I see are silhouettes. The first time I noticed this, I was sitting in one of our chairs in the living room, watching KZ watch her Strawberry Shortcake DVD. It was approximately 6:00 pm. I just look up, and bam ... what the what am I seeing? It is kind of like watching a train wreck. You don't want to watch, but then again, you're like, is this for real? My first reaction was, omg, this person doesn't know what they are doing. But then when it happened the next night, and the next night, and even one night he raised his arms in a Victory V, I thought I was going to hurl. Now, I'm not even sure if this is against the law. I would think, but then I don't know. I'm not looking for the show ... trust me, it is just plain creepy, but it seems that it doesn't matter what time of night it is, as soon as it gets dark, he gets busy. It could be 6 pm or 10 pm. So far, KZ has not noticed that anything freaky is happening. But I do think if freak-a-zoid boy doesn't move, I'll have to bring the blinds down. I don't want to see it, nor do I want to be distracted by trying to avoid my windows. We had blinds installed in the summer to keep out the heat of the sun. I never thought I would have to use them to keep out the heat of an exhibitionist.On top of it, I'm not sure if he is looking into other people apartments. And that really weirds me out, especially with a small child.
I was totally grossed out by how this neighbor gets into it.
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