Happy Leap Year

For someone as obsessed with dates as I am, August 30 was a horrible day to get married.

I recognize the day Paul and I had our first date, the day we got engaged and, of course, the day of our wedding. Don't get me wrong- we don't really celebrate any of them. We usually go out to eat for our anniversary, but we haven't exchanged presents since our first one.

But I can never celebrate our half-anniversary (you know, like a half-birthday), even if I wanted to. By my count, Aug. 30 is one of only six days that doesn't have a "half." So Leap Day is as close as I come, every four years.

So today is 4 1/2 years (minus one day).

Photos from the Museum of Natural History

(If you watch the Colbert Report, you'll get the last photo. Although I'm not sure what type of "friend" I am to Paul!)

Museum of Natural History

Ever licked a meteorite?

OK, me neither. But I got my picture taken next to the one that Steven Colbert licked.

Paul's friend Bill and his wife Leslie were our guests this past weekend. Leslie gets free tickets to many museums in New York through her work, so we all went to the Museum of Natural History. I'd been wanted to visit for awhile, so I was pretty excited.

The visit was even better because The Colbert Report featured his visit to the museum last week, so a several of the exhibits (such as the meteroite) were familiar.

Surprisingly, I really liked the many halls of stuffed mammals placed in dioramas. It really doesn't seem like my thing-- especially since I don't really care for the outdoors. But as I told Paul, I don't mind nature when it's indoors.

Leslie took pictures, which she'll be emailing me. I'll post some when I get them.

View of the bridge

Paul and I walked by the shore of the bay last Sunday-- something we hadn't done since his mom and sister visited us in November. The weather was mild, and the walking/running path was more crowded than I would have expected. I wonder what it will be like when it's actually nice.

The bay is about a 15 minute walk directly east of us. Walk north and you'll get to a pier where you can see Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Walk south, as we did, and you can walk underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Either way you'll see plenty of cargo ships and boats-- this time we saw a cruise ship.

The path also has plenty of benches. I see it as a lovely spot to read this spring; Paul wants to train for the marathon there.

As you can see from the photo, we got to the bridge just as the sun was setting. Last night I saw it from a different angle, at night.

Paul's friend Tom is here for the weekend, and we met up with one of his friends who lives in Queens. We ate at a nice Spanish restaurant in Chelsea, and then he drove us home at midnight.. It was the first time I'd been over the Brooklyn Bridge in a car. If I hadn't been smooshed in the the middle of the backseat, I'm sure I would've enjoyed the lovely views even more! As it was, I could still see the lights from the Verrazano twinkling in the bay. It really was a beautiful sight.

A Tuesday for the books

It's not everyday you see streams of toilet paper flying outside your window.

That was the scene today, about a block away from the Giant's ticker-tape parade in Lower Manhattan. The streets were crowded when I got to work about 9:15. A few of my co-workers had trouble making it to the building less than an hour later.

All morning through the early afternoon, horns and the crowd's chanting buzzed through the windows. Confetti -- shredded documents, not the pastel papers you see at parties -- flitted through the sky. A few whole pieces of paper drifted to the ground, and toilet paper streamed out of high-rise windows.

The whole thing seemed to come straight from the 1940s, but ticker-tape parades supposedly have a longer history than even that. New York's first was to celebrate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. This was the first, however, since 2000.

Speaking of old-school, I voted in today's primary with a mechanical lever machine. I didn't know anybody still used those! I was in college when I was first eligible to vote and had to vote absentee. By the time I had my own permanent address, I was using electronic machines.

Not only is it Super Tuesday, it's also Shrove Tuesday. I always got donuts at Schuler's in Springfield on this day, and I miss it now. Instead, we're going to Little Cupcake- the best substitute.

Super Tuesday times two

I'll be the first to admit that I only watch about two-- if that-- NFL games per year. And I watch the Super Bowl just as much for the commercials as for the game.

Nevertheless, it was pretty exciting around here when the Giants won last night. People piled out of the nearby bars, hollering and chanting. Cars were honking for hours after the game ended. By about 10:30, I was almost wishing the Giants would've lost. Still, I'm pretty accustomed to the noise now, and it didn't even keep me up last night.

The ticker-tape parade for the Giants is at 11 a.m. tomorrow and will pass about a block from where I work. One of my co-workers said people will start lining the streets at midnight tonight. Our supervisor gave us all letters today that say where we work in case we have trouble with the authorities and getting through the crowds. Hopefully we won't need them.

Of course, tomorrow is primary day in New York as well. A story from the Associated Press speculated that the parade will hurt Obama's chances here because his supporters tend to share the same demographics as people who would celebrate the win. Probably won't make a difference-- Hillary's up in the polls anyway.