Anticipation Flu?

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Sue In The City

Since this past Saturday I have been plagued with body aches, fever, the sniffles and generally feeling like death-warmed-up. Now I really don’t think of myself as a sickly person, but it seems like I was really sick not that long ago – in fact, it was just before the New York Half Marathon. Now, less than a week before our long-anticipated trip to Brazil, here I am again…in bed, feeling like I got run over by a bus!

The timing on this flu is not great at all – we are scheduled to depart for a nine day trip to Brazil on Friday night. Three days in the Amazon, staying at an Eco-Lodge and then the rest of the days in Rio de Janeiro. And even if I get over mine, it would absolutely suck if John caught my bug and had to feel this way on a plane (or in the jungle).

So in order to minimize his chances of getting infected, John has been abolished from the germ-infected bedroom and has spent the last two nights on the sleeper sofa, which he says is not all that comfy after all. We have bottles of hand-sanitizer stationed all over the apartment and a container of anti-germ wipes in the bathroom. Here’s hoping that many bottles of Gatorade, many doses of Dayquill, Nighquill, Sudafed and the daily dose of Iron will have me up and running in time for our flight to Rio on Friday night.

But why do I seem to get sick every time before a long-anticipated event? Could I be suffering from a newly formed disease called ‘Anticipation Flu’? Not many studies (other than my own, based on the Half Marathon and Brazil, in fact) have been done on this new disease, but it seems that the effects are definitive and real. I’m hoping that this round will work out as well as the Half Marathon one did. If not I’ll just have to throw myself in front of an Amazonian Anaconda.

Betacup – an easy way to do good

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Sue In The City

I just pledged $20 to help fund Betacup, a project that my good friend Marcel is involved in. Betacup is looking for innovative ideas that will replace the wasteful paper cups that we use so many of (over 50,000,000,000 a year, in fact!).

If you could spare some $$’s, please follow the link and make a pledge. Also, let me know that you did so I can let Marcel know you did too. By helping each other, we help the world, right?

What NOT to do in Times Square

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Sue In The City

So after the show yesterday, Sam and I went for a walk through Times Square. It is always such a treat to experience this noisy, people-thronged, tourist-trap through the eyes of a visitor and we’ve had two opportunities to do so recently – first wit my cousin Justin’s visit last week and then yesterday with Sam.

Part of what makes New York so fabulous to live in is the safety, and I know it sounds unbelievable to those who haven’t been here yet (and those who lived here ten years ago!), but I feel so safe walking by myself in the city. There is a very visible police presence everywhere and being a cop is such a matter of patriotic duty they get a lot of respect. In addition to looking out for the safety of tourists and locals all over, they are also a huge source of information (Sorry officer, but do you know how to get to so-and-so?) and they are always pleasant and helpful.

So imagine my delight yesterday when I finally saw someone getting arrested in Times Square! Finally, a real criminal getting the New York law in action treatment! (Sorry, this sounds very rude of me, but it was truly a first for me.) We arrived on the scene shortly after this police van had apparently pulled in front of the alleged suspect (love my cop-talk!) and two cops had this guy in a vice grip, leaning against the van. One arm up in the air, the other against his back, the suspect had purple hair, was wearing a purple shirt and these baggy jeans that the cool ghetto kids wear. And he was swearing. A lot.

Sam and I stopped in our tracks and took in the scene. So there’s the police drama going on in the background, and directly in front of it is this bridal couple pretending to run through Times Square for their photographer, with thousands and thousands of people walking by, taking photos of the wedding couple, the suspect, the buildings, the lights, the people… It was truly like something out of a movie.

And I thought to myself that if you had to get arrested, Times Square would probably be the very, very last place on earth to do that in. I mean, considering the high volume of tourists with cameras, you probably don’t want to have your face attached to the body in cuffs? Our suspect soon figured that out too and asked the cops to pull his shirt over his head to protect his identity! This is when I figured ‘what the hell’ and pulled out my camera to get in on the photo-snapping action too.

Alice in Chains?

This was such a ‘New York Moment’ I couldn’t stop giggling!

Nothing Compares To Hugh

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Sue In The City

My former Cape Town flatmate Sam came to visit me from Ft Lauderdale where she now lives and, as per the usual visit-from-Sam ritual, we decided to go see something fabulous on Broadway. The nature of New York’s Broadway scenes is such that you truly can go see a new show once a week and never run out of options – it’s amazing.

A Steady Rain

The press has been rampant with reviews (both good and less good) of ‘ASteady Rain’, a new play with a twelve-week run featuring Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Daniel Craig (Bond, James Bond). It’s not easy to get tickets for this show, but Sam used her whit and charm (and flirted shamelessly with the ticketing agent) and secured us two amazing seats in row H, right in the center of the row. After a quick brunch yesterday morning, we made our way down to West 45th Street and got in line to grab our seats.

I was glued to my seat and the 90-minute performance (featuring only the two actors and minimal stage props) went by in a flash. A Steady Rain tells the story of two Chicago cops who are lifelong friends and their differing accounts of a few harrowing days that changed their lives forever. It was fantastic! And yes, Hugh Jackman is even more beautiful in real life than he is on stage. Daniel Craig is also quite the looker, but has grown a mustache for the play which is somewhat less becoming…

At the end of the play they auctioned off their (unique-to-this-show’s-sweat) undershirts at $4,000 each to raise funds for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS and they were selling a photo opportunity with the two of them at $1,500 each. (Never had my credit card burnt such a hole in my pocket, I’ll tell you that!).

Hugh Jackman coming out of the theater (Blue cap & scarf on the right).

Cooking – the healthy Christmas gift

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Sue In The City

For Christmas 2008 John and I received a voucher from his brother and his wife to attend a couple’s cooking course at the Institute of Culinary Education (or ICE as it is known around these parts). It seems rather crazy that it’s taken us this long to get around to going to an actual class, but I guess that says quite a bit about how crazy / busy / manic this past year has been (AND we’re in November already – how did that happen?).

We finally booked our place, opting to go for the ‘Everyone Cooks Everything: Healthful Dishes‘ course and signed up about six weeks in advance. Apparently all we had to do was show up ready to cook and be hungry. Yes, you actually have to prepare and cook your own food and then serve yourself, sit down and eat your own concoction! All this over the course of four hours on a Sunday evening. So we were sure to have a late breakfast and no lunch and by the time we caught a cab to head downtown to the school, John and I were both feeling less friendly and in need of some serious nourishment. (Enough said, right?)

Two chefs in the kitchen Luckily, we got right into it after a quick menu discussion with our chef. Eight couples (some married, some mom-and-daughter partnerships) started chopping shallots, adding a dash of this and a splash of that and soon all the gas burners in the test kitchen were going and delicious aromas filled the air. Our menu consisted of Bibb Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette and Asian Pears; Cedar Plank Salmon with Blood Orange Glaze; Roasted Asparagus, Peas, and Basil; Herbed Quinoa (a weird but strangely delicious newness for me); and Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with Strawberries Soaked in a Balsamic Reduction – possibly the reason why we chose this particular course. I have discovered a love for Panna Cotta recently and could never have imagined it this easy to make. (If you don’t like Panna Cotta and get a fancy dinner invitation from me, you might want to reconsider…it’s bound to make an appearance somewhere! Ha ha!)

After making the Panna Cotta, we put together the salad and then all sat down to eat it before getting the vegetables and salmon going. We finished the meal with a big sit-down dinner with wine and fascinating conversation – what a great experience!

So if you find yourself stumped for a creative gift idea this year, take it from me…the recipients will truly appreciate this one (even if it takes them eleven months to use it)!