Hipster Austin

Comment 1 Standard

This weekend I met my girlfriend Monica (famous for classtechtips.com – educators and parents please check it out) in Austin, Texas after her week with a successful group of Apple Distinguished Educators.

Never did I think that I would be in Texas and it actually wouldn’t feel like Texas.

I arrive Thursday evening, drop off my stuff at the hotel and head to the (in)famous 6th Street where live music resounds from the venues.  As soon as I turn the corner onto 6th, what else – but an Irish pub.  I sit at the bar, order a Harp and some chicken tenders (as recommended on Four Square) and wait for the music to start.  Before it does, two older gentlemen sit beside me. One from the Pacific Northwest, the other clearly from Texas. Waco, specifically.

At first I am somewhat dumbfounded by this man’s accent.  I thought if I had to listen to this accent all weekend I might need ear plugs – no offense, but it’s tough to bear when you are used to fast talkers without twang or whatever it was. After a drink they and some small talk, they were on their way and I was on mine.

Friday morning: Monica and I met in the lobby of our hotel and before long we were headed out for our Austin adventure.

Concierge(s) suggest some ideas for us – almost no accents.

Is it hot? Yes, we’re in Texas but not as hot as the heat wave I left behind in New York. Now we should be on our way to hearing some drawling and some Wranglers.

First stop: State Capitol building. Quite impressive.  It’s 14 feet taller than the Capitol in DC. The star in the center of the dome is 8 feet, cool.  Tour guide: Not a Texan. She says y’all only because it’s in her script, plus she says it like I try to. Definitely not a Texan.

Image Image 1

Next stop: Back to the hotel pool for some sun, swim and Pina Coladas (those were for me).  Any Texans with drawls and twang?  Not the servers, nor anyone I heard talking.

Night stops: Iron Cactus – no accents. The Blind Pig – awesome hillbilly bartender with an accent.

Saturday morning stops: We head out to the SoCo district (South Congress) for some market and boutique shopping.  Cool hipster-nearly Brooklyn vibe? Definitely. Do I feel like I’m in Texas, no! Where are the fried chicken and BBQ joints? Where are the cowboy hats and trucks? But there are a lot of what I like to call “toaster campers” which house the food trucks that do serve tacos, tacos, tacos!

Image 2

Saturday afternoon stops: As recommended by the virtually unaccented concierge, Monica and I head down to the west side of East 6th Street where the “grown-ups” hang out. We make our way along and stop at 2 great tap houses – again, no accents were had by the staff. What is up?

So what is my point? Well I have many but the main point is – turns out Austin is pretty hipster a little too “progressive” to the conservative state of Texas.  They are practically what Canadians think of Quebec. So in my opinion, very few stereotypical Texans live in Austin, in my weekend experience anyway hahaha!

Where are all the people with the drawls, the y’alls and golly gee’s?  I have no idea, I just know they are not in Austin!

Feel the Love <3

Leave a comment Standard

“When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go downtown
When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know, downtown

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares

So go downtown
Things will be great when you’re downtown
No finer place for sure, downtown
Everything’s waiting for you…”

You’re feeling lonely?  Like life is too noisy?  You have too many worries?  Well what I think Petula Clark actually meant by downtown was Laughing Lotus Yoga Center… seriously!  This place is one of my sanctuaries in the city.  As soon as you walk in you will see this…

IMG_3722 IMG_3723

Still feeling lonely?  Do you feel the love yet?  Then you turn the corner to see a beautiful mural in the hallway…

IMG_3721

How do you feel now?  Serene?  I feel enveloped by love when I walk down this hallway.  The desire to feel calm, peacefulness and know that there are many others seeking tranquility in a hectic place is all I need to keep me coming back.

This mural has not always decorated the hallway.  I’ve watched the studio blossom into this beautiful space where the yoga family at Laughing Lotus are committed to uplifting spirits. Although the studio has been open more than a decade, it continues to evolve into a haven for the yoga community in the bustling city.  I’ve been coming to the studio since the fall of 2011 and have seen the paint colors change, new draperies on the huge windows, new places to store mats, a cleaning station, and more.

Due to my limited attention span I continue to take the magical Lotus Hour class that is offered multiple times per day.  I’ve taken classes with many instructors, all very knowledgable and well-studied in their practices.  I always enjoy the little anecdotes and intentions before our chanting and Ohm’s to open class.  The center also offers tons of workshops and dance parties continuously, some of which I’d like to participate in at some point.

Need some love?  To settle your worries?  Go downtown to some place that makes you feel loved!

P.S. You can check out the sister studio in San Francisco if you’re there!

Day of Discovery

Comments 2 Standard

Sometimes a semi-unplanned day turns into an eventful one.  I was quite delighted to find that although I pooped myself out today, I had a pretty good time making some discoveries on this semi-unplanned day.

Discovery #1: I love Central Park more each time I go.

I planned a slightly different route today, starting up at the Jackie Onassis Kennedy reservoir and thought I’d end somewhere by Victorian Gardens at the south end of the park.  Although the heat wasn’t in full effect yet, I just found I couldn’t quite fulfill my planned route today, which is a rarity for me.  It’s usually more a mental preparation for me to run than a physical one so I thought it would be no problemo.

IMG_3675

Not so today.

My body and mind were ready to be done at about 2.25 miles.  At first I struggled with this idea of stopping before I reached my destination, trying to will myself to go on since I didn’t have much farther to go.  But I just stopped and walked and discovered I was really happy to do it!

IMG_3677

The park was not full of tourists yet; but nannies and their charges in their little toddler groups singing with a man and his guitar, park workers watering the grass, people walking their dogs, birds and insects making their sounds.  It was beautiful.

Discovery #2: The Rain Room installation was not where I thought it was, but in fact where it should have been.

Good thing I teach grade 3 because apparently I cannot read functional/informational text well hahaha!  I read in not one, but two magazines that this quite spectacular installation called the Rain Room was located at the Museum of Modern Art’s PS 1 location in Long Island City.  I guess I couldn’t distinguish headings in the magazine, no big deal.

When I arrived at PS 1 at 11:30am, a half hour before the site opens, I was stoked that no one was there.  I had my book and a shady spot to stand to kill the mere 30 minute wait.  Although I was super excited no one was there, I thought it was really weird considering I kept hearing about these 6 or 8 hour lines to get in… Whatevs.

IMG_3679

Well, when I walked up to buy my admission I asked the girl where this amazing installation was located and she simply said it was at MoMA in Manhattan. Um, what?!! Okay…so… I was already there and PS 1 had been on my list of to-go for the last few summers.  So I went in and saw some crazy weird contemporary art (me don’t get modern art).

IMG_3687 IMG_3688 IMG_3689 IMG_3694 IMG_3695 IMG_3697

Discovery #3: There is in fact a piece of the Berlin Wall not so far from where I live and no idea.

Is it a somewhat random area of the city like the other parts of the Wall I’ve seen?  Probably.  It’s not near the German consulate or mission, it’s in a lovely little public rest area with a waterfall, near a restaurant (not German), in between two buildings.  I discovered while walking to the correct location of the Rain Room 😉

IMG_3701 IMG_3705

Discovery #4: The hype for something is usually over-hype.

The Rain Room is pretty cool but would not wait 6 hours to experience.  I don’t do lines generally, but thought I should wait since I had already waited the 30 minutes earlier at PS 1.  I was happy with the general viewing , which was a 20 minute wait. It was enough for me to see how it worked, but didn’t need to be in it.

IMG_3712 IMG_3713 IMG_3717

I hope you’ve made some of your own awesome discoveries today (besides the fact that I like writing in lists and short paragraphs!)… and if not today, then tomorrow. Cheers!

Running Late! Literally!

Comments 2 Standard

I usually have pretty good timing for getting to races at just the right time.  I don’t like to hang out too much before it starts because then I obsess about stupid nonsense like getting too hot or if I’ve got all my tinkles out.  This morning was no different.  Started out well – walked to the downtown 6 which was just pulling into the station as I walked in, planning on transferring to the Q at Union Square then off at Prospect Park stop.  Google maps told me 50 minutes.

I’m waiting on the platform with a bunch of people, runners included, when an N train pulls in on the opposite track of the Q track.  I already know the N DOES NOT go to Prospect Park but I saw a few people get on and so I quickly ask what stop they are going to.  The super-smart looking guy, but I gathered not so common-sensically smart afterwards (as I become at this moment) says that they are going to get off at Atlantic Pacific station then walk the rest of the way.  I have no idea the distance from Atlantic Pacific to the Nethermead area of the park obvi, so I jump on anyway. They must know what they’re doing right?  Wrong!  I found out once I’m ON the train that they don’t know either…

We hop of the N at 7:36 – the race starts at 8:00…

IMG_3667

So the one guy and the girl say they are going to do a ‘lite jog’ to the park, obviously me and smart/not-smart guy decide it’s a great idea.  Well, their lite jog was my running pace! We ended up being late because we had to ‘lite jog’ a distance of  2ish miles to get to the bag check and then head over to the start line…. In the end my 50 minute trek to Prospect Park took 1 hour and 25 minutes and my 5K for Sandy turned into an unofficial 8-9k… Not complaining!  My own stupidity! I already knew that I should have stuck with my original travel plan the second I stepped on the N train.

At least I wasn’t one of the dummies who was late because they didn’t use this for bag check! Come on… we all know why these are used now. #BostonStrong

IMG_3669

By the way, the race was great! #MLBAllstar5k

 

Lip Gloss Lover

Comments 2 Standard

Happy Friday!

For me Happy Friday began at 4:30 this afternoon since I had to attend a workshop on the new teacher evaluation system today! Booooo! It was waaaay to much information and way too many acronyms for a Friday in July. The only acronym on my mind was TGIF! …. So…. I want to talk about lip gloss instead.

This is where my plug for products begins.

I love lip gloss and chapstick. I don’t feel complete if I don’t have one or two on me at all times. I’m a firm believer in the idea that if you like something or it fits right, you should buy it in every color. So I did. A couple of years ago I bought a set of Snap You’re Fab Lip Gloss by Smashbox at Sephora. This was a holiday set that I think cost $45. I like gloss with a wand and sponge brush so this fit that description, as did the array of colors that I can wear on my face.

Smashbox-Snap-Youre-Fab-3

I LOVE these glosses.  My favorite is “Radiant”, the second from the left.  It goes on my lips every time I leave home, unless I’m running, then that’s just a chapstick with sunblock!  I think I’ve use almost all the colors, even the red.  The nice thing about this red is that because it’s a gloss it’s not so drastic like a red lipstick. I love that look, but I cannot get away with it!

If you are looking for a good gloss that has a nice subtle color but does not gather that scummy layer inside your lip, try out the Smashbox glosses.

Honorable mention: NARS!  Another great gloss, fab colors, wand with sponge brush but, I found it would leak a little.  It’s a little more liquid in contrast to the Smashbox gloss. These are $26 each.

2ad94f49-3682-459e-b790-383936c3f56c

What are your faves?

5 Things That Mad(k)e Me Smile

Comments 2 Standard

Smiling is infectious.  Smiling feels good on your face, and it looks good too.

I find myself smiling tons of times a day and today was no different.  Here is my “Made Me Smile” list for July 11, 2013!

1. Cute, teeny kids going to summer camps.

Early in the mornings during the summer, instead of taking their kids to school parents take their kids to summer camp.  There are tons of camps and kids of all ages go – little 3 year olds to teens.

My smile comes from those little teeny kids in their matching camp tees going to camp like the big kids.  They are nothing short of completely adorable.  I would never take a pic of somebody’s little cutie so I googled one for you as an example heehee!

2. The San Remo

Strolling along 5th Avenue at about E 100 Street you will see these iconic beacons of New York  history.  Situated on Central Park West at abut 74 Street, you can see these towers from many points in the park.  The focal point of many artists paintings and photographers photographs, this apartment building screams “Live Here!” but of course only if you are one of the 1%… or maybe 2%.  A couple of summers ago I took a drawing class in the park and these towers were our muse.  How I love old NY townhouses, old gorgeous apartments and buildings – your beauty and intricacy makes me smile.

Image

3.  Really nice bus drivers.

These are pretty hard to find.  On my way home from curriculum planning at school today I hopped on the M1 on 5th Ave at 96 Street (which means I walked 15 blocks first then decided to take the bus :/).  So anyway, usually bus drivers are pretty quiet when you get on and only make the necessary stop announcements if you’re lucky.  Not this driver!  At each stop the driver addressed specific people about the stop they wanted to get off at and where they should catch the transfer bus or subway.  AND he sounded so sweet!   This driver made me smile for making people’s days a little easier in their adventures in the city.  That’s the attitude every bus driver needs.

4. Picking up my number for the MLB Run for Sandy race.

This smile actually stems in two parts:

partly because the running community is awesome – people full of positivity and high levels of endorphins!

partly because I am participating in a fantastic and very meaningful event.

ImageImage

5. Camomile tea!  My reflux was bothering me today, first time in quite a while… So I got out my mason jar of camomile tea bags, turned on the Keurig and made some hot tea on a hot and steamy afternoon.  A cup later, feeling better which means I’m going running soon (another thing that makes me smile!)

Image

What made you smile today?

Guilty No More :)

Leave a comment Standard

It is not healthy to hold that guilt that many of us feel.  It wears you down like a stress on your soul.  So today I felt guilt free, and I don’t even feel guilty about it.

Let me tell you why.

Every summer I dedicate time to go into school to plan for the upcoming school year.  In the past, planning had taken up to 3 weeks of my summer mental relaxation time.  Fortunately this summer all parties involved know that one week will be plenty.  While the planning time is necessary (added bonus to doing summer work for the DOE is that you do get paid – say what?), the fact I have to go to the place I spend a very wearing day of the 10 months of my year – in July is enough to trump out most guilt I would feel for the rest of the year.

Ten months of my year are spent teaching underprivileged, under cared-for, under-loved yet entitled elementary students (the use of the word entitled here is very loaded and I’ll leave it open for your interpretation).  Every one of those days I go to work is a day that I strangely look forward to (well… usually anyway, and not until I’ve fully woken up) despite the overly taxing expectations and demanding environment.  The dedication, time, skill, and nurturing we (teachers and school staff members) put forth in our daily routines should entitle us a golden ticket to a guilt free life!

So please indulge me in a couple of pleasures I encountered today on my lovely stroll home, of course after I had my lobster roll lunch at Luke’s Lobster and a freaking delicious Rootbeer Float frozen yogurt at Yogurt-land!

YES! This is Rootbeer Float, New York Cheesecake and Orange-sicle frozen yogurt topped with cookie dough and Heath of course! 🙂

Image

I also love watching these talented people! #newyorkdogwalkers

Image

And Just in case you need a huge stone mermaid (?) head… inquire within…

Image

Image

Please enjoy some guilt-free time!

CitiBiking

Comments 2 Standard

Today was pretty awesome, a nice mix of work and fun (happy hour, bike ride and She & Him at Summerstage in Central Park).

But here’s what is on my mind at the end of the day:

After a nice refreshing afternoon beer at Ulysses on Stone Street with my usual happy hour girls, we walked over to feel the river breeze near South Street Seaport.  Among our many topics of conversation, our last revolved around the CitiBike program and biking/bike riders, etc.  So as our conversation was wrapping up and we were getting ready to part, I decided to bike home along one of the city’s Greenways from downtown to my Turtle Bay street.  (Thanks Kristen for showing me the map otherwise I may have ended up on the highway a couple of times!)

The three of us bode our farewells then I walked over to get a bike from the dock at Wall Street Ferry Terminal.  About 5 minutes into my ride I get onto a nice stretch of Greenway nearing the Williamsburg Bridge.  I passed a few runners and bikers, sections with benches for viewing the river, nice little garden areas, basketball courts and soccer areas, and all the apartments that line the other side of the FDR.  I reach for my phone to snap a shot of the bridge to capture a piece of beauty. It’s then that I realize that only 9 short months ago, this entire area was under water.

Image

I suddenly felt guilty.  Here I am, riding along, enjoying myself in this section of the city that had been engulfed by storm surge during Hurricane Sandy.  So many people displaced and stranded, without power and normal life for days.  As I kept riding, I was envisioning the enormity of the area that had been taken over by water.  Four of the five miles I rode were flooded areas.  I still cannot even imagine seeing the water that high, taking over the streets of Manhattan as if no one lived there.  I felt guilty that I haven’t participated in some sort of Sandy rebuilding project.  These areas of Manhattan have been functioning for months but there are so many areas in Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey that are not.  Yes I donated items as a part of a school collection, and yes I am running in the MLB Run for Sandy this weekend at Prospect Park…. but shouldn’t I do something else?  Are my small contributions enough?

My CitiBike ride turned out to be more important than exercise today.

I’m Back! Follow Me?

Comments 3 Standard

UPDATE!!!

Ok so!

My first blogging experience didn’t last long… at all so  I’m giving it another go!  I started this blog in 2010 before the start of the 2010-2011 school year which was not smart on my part, so I decided what better time to restart my blog than in the summer of 2013 with a new name and vibe!

Yes, there will be some stories of teaching once the 2013-2014 starts however I wanted to write a few times a week about daily life.  My ADD won’t let choose one niche for my writing so the topics will be plentiful!

Some topics may include and are definitely not limited to: running, cool products, traveling, crazy events and/or people, some cool pop-up art exhibit I walked by on the way home, feelings that have been elicited by current events or teeny-tiny city-life craziness OR big craziness like when the man hole exploded outside my apartment – hence the new page title “Jibber Jabber & Happenstance”.

Sooooo, my writing will vary day to day because the beauty of life is that each day is different from the previous.  I look forward to sharing my jibber jabber and happenstances with you!

Stories and comments are welcomed 🙂

Tammy

Need I say more?

IMG_3518

PS – Previous posts are from September 2010!  Didn’t want to delete the memories 😉

Posted by: Category: NYC

Second Week – Finito!

Leave a comment Standard

Wow, two weeks down – 38 to go! Not that I’m counting…

So the 2nd week of school deemed to be fruitful. Although we had a few vomiters here and there throughout the school, we were able to really get some routines solidified.  It was great getting our new technology program started. This year our school received a Federal grant for technology and assessment purposes.  All students in 3rd and 4th grades are working on Reading and Math for 30 minutes each a day.  The program seemed to be quite a hit this week. The program is currently our means for assessing the kids. Hopefully it will give us some accurate baselines.

I have to say, the vote we took at the end of last school year to change our Friday schedule to end at 2:20pm has so far been amazingly wonderful! We are all smiles as Friday approaches of course.

A few teachers from my school and couple former co-workers went for a nice little Happy Hour event in my neighborhood amongst the crazy Midtown East UN Assembly days.  The streets have been full of Secret Service vehicles, men with machine guns and headsets, streets barricaded and closed for the transport of President Obama.  Strangely, the travel route for the President happens to be on my street, so it feels a little prison-like when I walk out my building at this time. No worries though, I can handle it a few days a year.

Stay tuned for the completion of Week 3!