Live Music ... at McDonald's

McDonald's second floor piano player

McDonald's in New York City is like Starbucks: there's one on every corner. But the one nearest my work is a little different. It has a live piano player during lunch.

The McDonald's is on Broadway in Lower Manhattan, and an easy walk from the 9/11 Memorial and the Century 21 shopping mecca. Therefore it attracts a lot of tourists. But, of course, it counts many nearby workers as customers, and the live music certainly makes it stand out from the other nearby dime-a-dozen restaurants.

The pianist isn't playing Mozart are Beethoven -- but instead she often plays songs I recognize, like "Moon River" or some tune from West Side Story. But just as often it's something nice and pleasant that I don't know. Whatever it is, it's better than Lady Gaga or whatever radio station Wendy's has on.

Finally, a New Car

Our new car

Our first big purchase together -- even before Paul and I were married -- was a car.

After we were engaged but, I'm almost certain, before I had graduated from college, we picked out a five-year-old navy blue Saturn. I made the down payment and Paul made the monthly payments before our accounts were merged with our marriage.

A few years later we bought a Camry, which we then proceeded to sell a few days before we moved from Columbus to New York in 2007. The Camry was a much nicer car, but the Saturn's drawbacks made it the perfect vehicle for Brooklyn. It was comparatively small (that is, easy to parallel park) and already nine years old. We didn't much care if it got a few bumps and scratches, and indeed I barely flinched when one day I saw a baseball-like crater on the roof, probably caused by something falling from a tree.

Paul had talked about replacing the '98 Saturn for several years, and my negative feelings toward the project turned into indifference several months ago. But not only do I barely ride in the car, I also don't really care about cars in general. If Paul wanted a new one, he was going to have to do the legwork.

He did.

On April Fool's Day we drove our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta home from a dealership in Queens. Paul was certainly spurred by March's positive pregnancy test to get a newer, safer, more reliable vehicle, but he was also tired of his coworkers' jibes. One, hearing about the new car, said it was about time -- the Saturn was decreasing the property values of whatever neighborhood Paul happened to be driving through at the time!

In any case, Paul's happy with the purchase. And even though I've had only a handful of rides, I am, too. Sunroof, heated seats, CD player -- very luxurious compared to a car whose main feature was a cassette tape deck.

The old Saturn

My Morning Sickness: More Than You Wanted to Know

I was completely unprepared for morning sickness.

Obviously I knew about it and expected it. But I had no idea that it would make me feel like I was about to die for a good three weeks and would make me feel miserable for a good three weeks (and counting) after that.

I missed three days of work but should've missed more. During the worst days I couldn't eat a thing, and whatever I did manage to force into my stomach came right back up. There was a day or two I spent more time at work in the bathroom than at my desk.

Unfortunately, the morning sickness was unpredictable. Sometimes I'd be sick right away in the morning or as soon as I got to work and then be fine for the rest of the day. I eventually had a gauge: If I had to run to the bathroom three times before noon, it was going to be a bad day. The record: Six times before noon. That was a really bad day.

Also bad -- anytime you're puking into a plastic grocery bag on a subway platform.

When the morning sickness began, I couldn't help but have two questions. One, why does anyone have a second child? And two, how does anyone have anorexia? As the vomiting has decreased, I guess I can answer the first question. I'm still not sure about the second.

I lost seven pounds in about two weeks, and I tried to keep my spirits up by telling myself jokes. What's the best way to lose those last few pounds before swimsuit season? Get pregnant. How can you wiggle into a pair of skinny jeans? Get pregnant. But really, I wasn't laughing. The morning sickness -- all-day sickness, really -- was all-consuming. In that it felt like it was consuming me from the inside out.

My nausea continues all day, although I act on it only a few times a week. I think the end is in sight. I know other women have had it worse, and all I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't know or have nearly enough sympathy for you!

(On a side note, sometimes the absence of a blog post on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday isn't because I'm sick. In the case of this post, I pressed the "save" button instead of "publish" -- you really should have seen this post last Friday!)