Catching up on a hectic week

I'm sorry it's taken so long to write. The last two weeks have been really hectic, and I fell ill with a stomach bug that took the wind out of my sails for a few days. I'll try to keep this short, and save some for the post that will follow in two days.

Brunch at Petite Abeille

As I mentioned in my last post, we did end up going for Brunch to Petite Abeille on Monday, which was a holiday for President's Day. We walked to the restaurant, which is at the intersection of East 20th Street and First Avenue. It turned out to be (another) delightful little place. Very Belgian in ambiance, right down to the little boy on the table next to us who was reading Tintin in French (Herge, the creator, was Belgian, by the way). They had an extensive collection of interesting beers, but because of the lack of company (Sandhya doesn't drink beer), I abstained.

We ordered omelets for ourselves - Sandhya had a Tomato, Goat Cheese and Asparagus Omelet, and I had a Mushroom, Spinach and Onion Omelet. We've learned that to get them the way we like them, you have to ask for them to be "well done", and they were therefore superb.

Another visit to the Natural History Museum

Thus fortified, we walked further South to catch a Subway to the Natural History Museum, for our second visit (at Dhruv's request). I had initially thought that the prospect of seeing stationary animals in a diorama would have bored him to death, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how much he's enjoying them.

The Dioramas are obviously exquisitely done, and so it takes little imagination to picture the scene as actually being in say, Africa, or India. There's this one of two Cheetahs eyeing a herd of Wildebeest in the distance -- the first one concentrates intently on the herd, while the other one has turned his head slightly to the right so that he looks right at you. The look on his face is one of astonishment -- "Where did these humans come from?" he seems to be thinking. It's like you've surprised the pair while they're on a hunt.

Dhruv continues to surprise me with what grabs his attention. For example, on both our visits, he’s also enjoyed the Native American sections, something I never thought he’d be fascinated by. This section is full of miniature sets describing Native American life. He’s full of questions about each little figurine – “Who is he?”, “Why is he carrying that?”, “Where is he coming from?”.

When we last visited the museum, we weren’t allowed to see the dioramas at the Hall of Underwater Mammals because there was a lecture in progress (which we attended).  We therefore made it a point to visit that section, and enjoyed many breathtaking sights, including one of mighty Walrus resting after hauling himself onto the ice using his tusks (something I didn’t know they did). While we spent just a few hours there, it was as rewarding as the first trip, for all of us.

Going to JFK for the trip to California

On Tuesday, I found out that I had to travel to California that very evening on some urgent work. I booked myself on JetBlue that afternoon, printed my boarding card, and set out for the airport.

I went downstairs intending to take a cab to JFK, but the sight of a bus made the skinflint in me get goose pimples. I also didn’t want to get stuck in traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway. It was amazing – I boarded the M16 at 3:55 pm for a 6 pm flight, changed from the 6 to E line at 51st St, and then a fast run later (the E train was an express, with very few stops), was at Archer Boulevard (which is near the airport) at 4:40 pm. I can't imagine doing it in that time by taxi. That whole leg of the journey cost me just $2; I was surprised to find there was a $5 fare for the short journey from Archer Blvd to JFK on the AirTrain - I guess someone has to pay for the investment someone’s made in that new line.  I've traveled to NYC many times, and have always been stuck in traffic; I am surprised how easily I made the mental shift to using public transit after moving here. Bottom line, it took me 1:07 hours from Waterside Plaza to the entrance to Terminal 5 at JFK. And it cost me just $7. My CFO will be a happy man.

One thing I’m surprised and disappointed by is the lost opportunity -- unlike Hong Kong (which is one of the best) or London (maybe not as posh as HK, but the advantage is that you ride the regular Underground right from the airport), they should’ve linked the same Subway system to the terminal directly, and run a direct train from Manhattan to the airport.

Visiting friends in California

I spent two days in the Bay Area, and one of those evenings some friends called me home for a meal. Some of our other friends were also invited, and I was looking forward to catching up with them again. It was a rather odd experience to drive to Fremont, past our old house, and to these friends’ place, in someone else’s car. As I drove through our old neighborhood, it felt really odd to be seeing it through a visitor’s eyes. I can’t put my finger on why it is so, but it just didn’t feel the same. And it had just been three weeks since we had moved. Since I hadn’t given our tenants advance notice, I didn’t stop by our house.

At dinner they asked me about life in New York, and I wondered – what can I tell them that I haven’t already mentioned in this blog? The blog has helped me step in a quiet zone every weekend, and reflect on the week gone by. By writing in such detail, I know I am recording memories with a vividness that will hopefully bring them back easily when I read it many years later. But it also means that everything’s out there for everyone to read. I don’t know who’s read it and who’s not – and being inclined to avoid repetition, I say less rather than more. I hope you understand if you meet me and I am not as chatty as you’d like me to be.

Red-eye back

I knew that had a middle seat on the Red-eye back, and I hoped I would have someone small-made sitting next to me. No such luck. The window seat was occupied by a squat muscular man with a long braided beard, his tree-trunk sized arms covered with Tattoos all over. The arm rest between his seat and mine was ‘up’ and when I gingerly tried to bring it down, he had to take a deep breath before I could complete the maneuver. Thankfully I was too tired to stay awake, but when I reached New York Braided Beard apologized for squishing me too much. The tattoos were just for show after all.

Chinese Mirch

On Friday afternoon, I had lunch with an old business-school classmate, and we met at Chinese Mirch, a restaurant that Madhav Mohan had recommended strongly. It turned out to be quite a find – the food was really excellent – probably the best Indian Chinese I’ve had in the US. And it is (you guessed it) just 4 blocks from home.

Saturday Haircut

On Saturday morning, Dhruv and I went for a haircut to a Barber on 2^nd and 34^th. Despite being in the heart of the big city, the shop was remarkably personal and old-fashioned. The barbers had a strong East-European accent, and were warm and affectionate. This was the first time I was taking Dhruv for a haircut, and he sat quietly through the whole procedure, earning the admiration of all the people in the shop. “Quite a handsome young man he is” someone remarked, and I felt like bursting with pride. Dhruv got two lollipops for “being good” and they all waved us a “see you in a month” goodbye when we left. I’m sure I’ll go back.

Hosting family on the weekend

Sandhya had invited her cousin’s husband – who was visiting from Bangalore, but is normally a resident of Upstate New York, and Neetu and Ganesh, home for a meal on Saturday. Neetu and Ganesh hosted us when we came looking for apartments, and have been very helpful throughout the process with good suggestions and solid advice.

Ganesh kept remarking (and he should know) that we weren’t living a real “New York Experience” – our flat was too nice, too quiet, too big… I don’t know if he was just trying to make us feel good, but he sure succeeded.

We convinced Neetu and Ganesh to stay for dinner, and decided it was time to honor Saravana Bhavan with our first visit. They had driven up from New Jersey, so we all bundled up into their van and drove over. Ganesh’s surprise continued when he paid on his way out of our Parking Garage – apparently $18 for a day’s parking is a steal in New York. His second surprise came when we went to find parking, after dropping Sandhya, Neetu and the kids off at Saravana Bhavan. We made a left turn, and Lo! Behold! A parking spot two cars away from the restaurant corner! It seemed a little small, but a tight parallel parking challenge has always gotten my juices flowing, so I jumped out to help Ganesh tuck it in. Another surprise! The drive in the car just ahead of us had just got out of her car, and she asked me “Would you like me to move my car?”. “Of course!” She moved it ahead a bit, and we parked easily. As we were about to pay, she said “Oh no – it’s free after 7 PM and on weekends!”. At that point Ganesh would’ve just fainted – nice people, easy parking, and free? Now that’s not New York.

The dinner wasn’t anything to write about, so I won’t. We must try Pongal and Tamil Nadu Bhavan (which are nearby) to find a really good South India food joint in the area.

Late night movie

Dhruv wanted to go to New Jersey for a sleep-over with Nandini (Neetu and Ganesh’s daughter), so after we finished dinner, they all took off. Sandhya and I walked to the AMC Loews on 2^nd Avenue. They were showing “Gran Torino” and “The Reader” but since “The Reader” was first, we ended up seeing that. Our first movie in New York – and a good one at that – we had seen Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” a day earlier, and both of us felt Kate Winslet’s performance in Reader was much more deserving of an Oscar. Turned out we were right.

We walked home at around 1:30 AM and I must confess to being prepared to be mugged, but thankfully no such thing happened.

Liberty Science Center

Sonia had asked us whether we were interested in taking the kids to the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. Neetu and Ganesh had also expressed an interest in going there, and since Dhruv was already in New Jersey, it worked out perfectly. Sonia and her kids, Sandhya and I, drove to the center directly. Neetu and Ganesh joined us there with Nandini, Dhruv and little Mythili.

The Museum has a very new look, and I’m told it re-opened recently after an extensive refurbishment. For Dhruv, the high point of the visit was the fact that there were several dogs (puppies and adult dogs) roaming all over the Museum as part of the seeing-eye dog program. He could pet Golden and Black Labs and German Shepherds, to his heart’s content.

For me, it was the 3D movie on “Going to the Moon” which was part animation, part movie – but which really came to life because of the 3D.

However, on balance, I found the museum quite expensive and the other exhibits quite ordinary. Having visited the Exploratorium in San Francisco a few times, I wasn’t terribly impressed. No membership here!

Oscar Night and Eating “Out”

Neil Lamba was in town again, and I went to his room in the Hilton on 6^th Avenue to have a drink and dinner with him. Dhruv and Sandhya were tired and stayed home – it was also a school day for him the next day. We are still getting used to the time-zone difference for live events between California and New York. Oscar night in California meant getting together with friends for a Chaat party that started at 5:00 pm and went till around 9:00. Here the Oscar celebrations started at 8:00 pm with a school / work day the next morning – a whole different (and less fun) experience!!

Neil had a couple of his pilot colleagues in his room, and we had a good time watching the Oscars. As we began to feel hungry, we caught a gap between the major awards to hop outside for a bite to eat, intending to eat at one of the many Falafel carts that dot the streets of New York.

Quite an amazing site greeted my eyes – if you’ve seen the Hilton on 6^th Avenue, it is a really impressive building located in the middle of one of the nicest parts of midtown Manhattan. On the street right beside it, are a few Falafel carts – and one of them had at least 30 people (I’m not kidding, I counted) standing in line, waiting to order. It was cold, late, and yet there they were, waiting to get their dinner from the little cart, in the middle of all that glass, steel and concrete. People from all walks of life – nicely dressed and in jeans. Neil remarked that that guy must surely be mixing something in his food to make people want to do that.

Scoring a hat trick

While this has been a moderately busy week, the last several weeks have raised the bar for that description to a whole new level.

It started with a bang of sorts, when childhood friend and Air-India Captain Neil Lamba came to visit us. Neil flies the Air India 777 on the Mumbai-New York non-stop leg, and was in town on a 4-day lay-over. He was staying at the Hilton on 6th Avenue, and came home on Monday evening. IIMA class-mate and Bay-Area friend Manish Subramanian was also in town, and had been salivating on reading some of my previous posts that mentioned Kathi Rolls.

First Zipcar experience

We therefore decided to pick up K-Rolls from the Priya-and-Tanmai recommended joint - the Kathi Roll Company. My Zipcar membership card had arrived in the mail, so we decided to check it out by renting a Zipcar for the Kathi-Roll pickup run. As Neil arrived, we were all dressed up and ready to go out - so we promptly turned him around and went down to the basement parking garage. Zipcar had a few parking lots just inside the garage, and we immediately found our car, a Scion xB - a boxy car that was designed by Toyota to appeal to the "next generation". I held my Zipcard to the windscreen, and the doors unlocked. The Keys were on the dashboard, and we were on our way in a few minutes.

The route was quite straight-forward - across on 34th street, then right on Madison, left on 39th street, to the place. We passed the store without noticing it, and by the time I realized this, we were on a part of the street where the width was down to a little more than one lane, because of construction equipment on both sides of the street. I put on my hazard lights and tucked the car into whatever space I could find, and dispatched Sandhya to pick up the Kathi Rolls (we had ordered beforehand). She was back pretty quickly, but by that time, we had been honked at by several cabbies and sundry others trying to squeeze by in the little space we had left them.

From there, I made two right turns to get back onto Park Avenue, and as we were driving South, began to relax. I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw the impressive South facade of the Grand Central Terminal. I guess I can put a check-mark against "Driving down Park Avenue" in my list of things to do in New York City. Overall, I don't think I did too badly. I must've been honked at so many times that I lost count (it sure felt like every honk was directed at me), but at least we didn't get scratched or pulled over by a cop.

Sonia and JV also joined us for dinner, and we had a nice evening. The Kathi Rolls were excellent - and even two hours after picking them up, they were soft and delicious. Thanks again, Priya and Tanmai...

Busy work week

I've been settling into a good routine at work, and this week had a meeting at 383 Madison Avenue (the old Bear Stearns building). I was running a bit late and took a cab; the cabbie took me just past the UN building on the way to the meeting. I've been there before (inside too) but the area is still impressive, and makes one pause and take a deep breath. The tall, black Trump Tower next door is also quite distinctive.

After my meeting, I walked in that area a few blocks, and happened upon the really impressive St. Patrick's Cathedral. St. Patrick's is on 5th Avenue, surrounded by all the fashionable stores that 5th Avenue is famous for (Saks is a block down). It was at once out-of-place and at the same time somewhat reassuring - an ornate neo-Gothic structure in the middle of all that steel and glass. A reminder of man's higher calling and instincts in the middle of the relentless pursuit of mammon. A symbol of solidity in the midst of all that is ephemeral. I must come back and spend more time inside - one doesn't only have to go into cathedrals in Pisa or Paris, right?

Play-dates and dinner

A few weeks ago, we met up with a couple who were a year junior to me at business school. He was in my dorm, and we were therefore quite close. They live in the Upper East Side, and have two children, a boy who is exactly Dhruv's age, and a daughter who's a few years older. Their son and Dhruv hit it off really well when they first met, so Sandhya fixed up for them to meet regularly for play dates. She took Dhruv over during the week, and returned really late, because it was apparently impossible to get him away. They came home for dinner on Friday, and we had a lovely evening with the three kids entertaining us with their antics. This couple has their kids hooked on board games, and brought a few along. We spent a few hours after dinner playing Charades and Taboo with the kids - a wonderful way to build their vocabulary and creativity without making it seem like work.

Princeton outing

Sandhya's been reconnecting with school friends through FaceBook, and one of those friends organized (on short notice) a get-together at their place, which is near Princeton. Sandhya keeps complaining that we're always meeting my school friends, so this was her opportunity to 'show me'.

We caught the bus across town, and then took an NJ transit train from the New York Penn Station below Madison Square Garden. They seem to have upgraded the interiors since the last time I was there, and also replaced the coaches with newer ones, and the experience was really pleasant.

An hour or so after boarding the train in New York, we pulled into the little platform of a station at Princeton. We didn't have time to potter around, but that didn't stop the mind from wandering. I wondered - is this the same station where Leo Szilard alighted when he came to meet Einstein and convince him that a nuclear weapon was a possibility? Where did John Nash see the pigeons and make his discoveries? We must come back with more time on our hands and explore this great university town at leisure.

Sandhya's friend picked us up and drove us to her house in Monmouth Junction. Another friend was driving up from Philadelphia and came a few minutes later. While the three of them chattered away about their school and the intervening 20 years, the husbands sized each other up. It turned out that one of them and I had several friends in common, and the afternoon went pleasantly by.

Their house was really nice - large, with a huge yard, three-car garage, comfortable basement and a wonderful common park-like area in the back, where I can imagine all the neighborhood kids playing in the summer. As perfect a slice of suburbia as it gets. The sort of place we lived in back in Fremont (kind of - our place was much smaller). Did I feel a twinge of regret that we weren't in a place like that? After all, we could have chosen to live in New Jersey instead... honestly, I didn't feel even the slightest twinge of regret. These friends wistfully spoke of wanting to visit the city but never finding the time, and I'm happy we're not doing the same thing - I know we're capable of it, because that's exactly what happened in Fremont. We visited the SF MOMA once in the ten years that we lived in the Bay Area.

We spent the evening with a cousin who lives nearby, and her husband dropped us off at the Edison station at 9:30 at night. We were back in the city around 10:30 PM, and 34th street was bright and cheerful. There were hundreds of well-dressed couples bustling about (it was Valentine's evening) and there was an energy in the air that was refreshing.

Central Park Zoo

We woke late on Sunday to another perfectly clear, but cold, day. Since it's been forecast to snow during the week, we decided to make the most of it, packed a light lunch, and set out for Central Park. The Pakistani lady we had met in the elevator (her name was Mrs. Mirza) told us that it was open during the winter, and so we headed over - taking the bus and subway and then walking seven blocks to the zoo.

We became members of the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) - which gives us a year's unlimited access to 5 sites in the area, including Central Park Zoo, the famous Bronx Zoo, and an aquarium that's supposed to be good (but not as good as Monterey, apparently). So that's my hat trick: three weekends, visits to and memberships for three major attractions here - the Museum of Natural History, Met and the Zoo.

The zoo was really lovely - small and compact enough (I bet you didn't know Central Park had a zoo) that we kept a half-eye on Dhruv most of the time. The first attraction was a pair of Sea Lions that were not more than 5 feet away from us at times. We also saw them being fed, and Dhruv was understandably fascinated by it all.

We then went over to see the Harbor Seals, and as he was watching them, Sandhya asked him to turn around... and he turned to face a really impressive Polar Bear! He went berserk at that point, as did the 15-odd 5-year-olds who suddenly showed up. There are several places to watch the bear, and the kids kept running from place to place as he moved. He was on dry land all the time, and all the kids were encouraging him to jump into the water. Sandhya and I had seen a Polar Bear swim in Singapore Zoo many years ago, and the sight is extremely impressive. After a few minutes of walking around, he finally decided to take the plunge - and Dhruv and I ran downstairs (from where we could view him underwater). We spent the next 15 minutes watching him paddling up and down, and occasionally go down to the bottom for something.

He then disappeared behind a corner, and we thought that that was the last we had seen of him. We were turning to go away, when we heard a huge gasp of excitement from the crowd that was in the area where the bear had disappeared. We ran there, to find that the bear had wedged himself between the glass and a rock, and was towering 10 feet above the crowd, his head and shoulders out of the water, gazing curiously at everyone. You can see from this picture that he caused quite a big commotion. Dhruv had gone ahead, squeezing his way through the adults in the crowd to get to the front. He made his way back, eyes wide open in excitement: "Appa, I touched his paws!! Really!!" This truly was the high point of his day, and he spoke about it all evening, including on the phone to his friends in California.

From CentralParkZoo

While the Polar Bear took the cake, the Penguins were equally impressive. The enclosure had glass and water, so we could see them standing on land, and then swimming in the water. It was really amazing to watch them dart at high speed in that small enclosure, then leap out of the water, and dive back in again.

I've always been conflicted about "patronizing" a zoo through my ticket dollars. Are we encouraging captivity - which is cruel and inhumane however well its done, or is the education our kids get from encountering live animals worth it? I can't say this visit helped me move the question along in any way. The almost plaintive look in the polar bear's eyes, or the similarity between the Penguin enclosure and the enclosure in "Happy Feet" make me pause. Dhruv's excitement at seeing these animals up close... the fact that he's developing a real empathetic understanding of them as living beings... the struggle to reconcile these goes on.

Tomorrow's a holiday for President's day, and we're thinking of going back to the Museum of Natural History. But first things first, we're planning to have a nice Brunch at Petite Abielle (sorry JV, we'll do it again when you're here)... more about that next week...

Settling down to a routine

This post first appeared at Water, No Ice (www.waternoice.com)

In a previous post, I've mentioned a friend whose wife was a child psychologist. They lived in another building at Waterside, and had invited us to dinner on Sunday evening, which was at the same time as the Super Bowl. These folks had recently moved to the US from India, so I wondered aloud whether it was to be a Super Bowl party. "They've called us at 7:30," Sandhya quickly corrected me, "that's too late for a super bowl party."

Thankfully, things were informal enough that I mustered the courage to ask my host whether we could check the score from time to time. He was most gracious and we finally ended up watching the most exciting parts of the game live, in their bedroom.

Other than Sonia and JV (my classmates from business school who live in Waterside), there was a young American couple, lawyers both, who stayed on the Upper West Side. It was initially a bit awkward because the rest of us had a lot of common ground - JV, Sonia and I went to school together; our host and I had worked together. Sandhya connected with the others because of the kids' schools and shared shopping trips. In the Bay Area, most, if not all, of our friends have been Indian, which means our skills at making small talk and breaking the ice were rusty. Sonia showed us how, and conversation flowed quite freely after a while.

It turned out the lady had gone to Columbia, while the guy had gone to a lesser known school in New York. Looking back, I’m embarrassed by how differently I reacted to the two of them – and I immediately began quizzing her about Barack Obama’s digs in Columbia and other interesting aspects of the campus. I have to watch this tendency carefully in future.

Settling down to a routine

Since it was our second full week, we began settling down to a routine. I’d get ready before 8 am and drop Dhruv off at the school bus stop. Sandhya would pick him up at 3:30. I began settling into a routine with respect to work too. I don’t have a formal office in New York and therefore work from home, something I haven’t done before on a regular basis. Getting ready before 8 am allowed me to sit at my desk and begin “working” soon after returning from dropping Dhruv off. I frankly find that the act of getting ready and sitting down to work has a satisfying discipline to it; waking up and thumbing a blackberry and then slipping into work in one’s pajamas somehow doesn’t cut it for me, but is quite often what a lot of people do, I believe.

We also signed up for the gym downstairs. It is really nice, with many different exercise rooms with all the latest equipment, a nice heated indoor pool, and various programs. I have decided not to sign up for a squash club – they’ve turned out frightfully expensive in New York, compared to what I was paying to play at Stanford. I was rather surprised, assuming that the abundance of courts would mean reasonable fees – I figure that it’s probably because the game is ‘elitist’, clubs with squash courts charge a hefty monthly fee, and per-hour court fees on top of that. I’d also have to travel a fair distance to get to any public court, which proved to be another damper. So some days of the week, I go to the gym for half an hour after dropping Dhruv off. That time of the morning is late enough that the office crowd is gone, but not late enough for the late-morning crowd. Perfect. Now I have to figure out how to enjoy working out in a gym (I’ve always hated it).

Sonia and Sandhya drove out to Jackson Heights during the week on an ‘Indian groceries shopping trip’. Also known as “Jaikishen Heights”, this part of Queens is a virtual “Little India”, apparently. It was in the middle of a work day, so I couldn’t join them, but will hopefully do it someday soon.

The last bit of unpacking

We finished unpacking this week, and put away all the boxes that we’d used to bring our stuff to New York. A new experience for me is putting the trash down a “trash chute” in the “trash room” that’s on each floor. We were supposed to leave our boxes, flattened, in that room, and that is what we did. I must say that I’m a bit disappointed in the level of recycling that I see in New York. There’s a small bag for metal stuff, and people are supposed to leave paper and glass on a little shelf in the trash room. Both of these have such little stuff every time I’ve looked that I can only conclude that most people don’t bother. Back in the Bay Area, our “grey bin” of recyclable stuff was always at least equal to the “blue bin” of trash. It could be structural, in that older buildings (this one is 35 years old) are not equipped to encourage recycling as much as newer ones are, but it’s still disappointing, all the same.

I had ordered a pair of speakers for my stereo system, and they were delivered this week (because they were large and heavy, I didn’t bring my speakers from California). There are a few activities that seemed to tie a bow to the unpacking process. Hooking the speakers up and having the house fill with music was one of them. Hanging up the paintings and family photographs we brought with us was another. We were now ready to host our first guests.

First guests

FaceBook has been wonderful for letting people know what’s going on. Take a holiday? Just post photographs on FaceBook and everyone gets to see them. Simultaneously posting this blog on FaceBook has been surprisingly useful – a lot of people seem to have read it, and know what’s going on in our lives.

A really old friend from University called during the week to tell me that he was in town. He used to live in New York, but had moved to Mumbai a few years ago, and was back in town on business. He therefore became our first guest to dinner, and a bottle of California Pinot Noir was opened in his honor. Sonia, JV and their kids came for dinner on Friday evening – and were our first formal dinner guests. Quite fitting, given the big hand they’ve had in our moving to Waterside, and the help they’ve given us in settling down.

Signing up for Zipcar

One other thing that we’ve done which should prove quite interesting, is signing up for Zipcar. Zipcar, for those of you who don’t know, is similar to other car rentals, but with some major differences – they are mainly in urban areas, rent cars by the hour, have several locations around the city, and have become quite the rage with the urban yuppie set. A few days after signing up, I got a card in the mail, which is supposed to unlock the car you’ve reserved (nobody mans the Zipcar lots – the cars are just parked there). Zipcar has 6 parking slots in the garage downstairs, and it should prove quite convenient if we need to get anywhere – for a short while, or even for a weekend. It’s so convenient, that there is a Zipcar location at the IKEA – you come there by public transit, buy your stuff, pick up a car, drive home, and drop off the car at the nearest return location. You pay for the hours you reserve. How cool is that? I’m looking forward to trying it out soon.

Becoming weather-wise

We had excellent weather this weekend – the temperatures were in the 40s on Saturday and 50s on Sunday. While this week had been clear, it was really cold – I had gone out to run some chores in Wednesday, when it was 24 degrees, but with wind chill, felt like 15 degrees! I’m still trying to calibrate what I wear with how cold it is – and haven’t quite figured it all out. Gloves for example – what seems quite warm when you leave the apartment turns out to be completely inadequate after 10 minutes outside. You dress planning to take a bus / subway, but end up walking, and freezing as a result.

A relaxed Saturday

I woke on Saturday determined not to let the excellent weather go waste. When I asked Dhruv what he wanted to do, I was surprised to hear him say he wanted to go to the “dinosaur museum” – I was really afraid he’d be tired of the museums. When I suggested that this weekend we could go to a “Mummy Museum” instead (the Met), he sounded quite excited, but wanted to go on Sunday.

He and I then decided to go swimming. This proved to be quite interesting in more ways than one. The pool is downstairs, but in a separate building – so you have to step outdoors for 30 feet before you’re inside the warm environs of the health club. So unlike our trips to the pool in California (swimming trunks and flip-flops), we had to bundle up in our warm clothing, get across, then change in the changing room.

We showered and made our way to the pool – the changing room was a short distance from the pool itself, and a cold draft made both of us shiver. We dropped out towels on a beach chair, and I dipped a tentative toe in the pool, hoping that it would be warm (I’ve jumped once too often into a pool in Fremont where the water was freezing, despite the sunshine). It turned out to be a wonderful 85 degrees. It was a really surreal experience to soak in this relaxing warm water, while looking out through the window at the patches of dirty black snow on the ground around. I could see the East River too, and shuddered to think of the cold breeze that’s almost constantly blowing at this time of the year. The pool was empty -- I was really surprised to find just two other people – a mother and son – on a Saturday afternoon.

Eating out

When Sonia and JV came home on Friday evening, we spent quite some time grilling them on good places to eat in the area. Sandhya and I are pretty meticulous about making notes, and we soon had a long list of 2-3 recommendations for each cuisine that we like.

Having worked out on Saturday morning and swum in the afternoon, I felt like I’d earned a good meal. Never one to turn down such an opportunity, Sandhya brought out her list, made a few calls, and we had soon narrowed it down to Café Mogador, a Moroccan Restaurant in the East Village. They didn’t take reservations, so we decided to head out early, before the dinner rush.

I locked up the apartment and found Sandhya in the elevator in conversation with an elderly Indian-looking lady. Turned out she stayed on the same floor and had been there for the past 29 years! And here I was complaining about being in the same zip code for 10 years! Her husband had been with the UN, and was now retired. They were from Pakistan. She generously offered to help Sandhya settle down, since she knew the area well, and we promised to drop in sometime, before saying goodbye in the Plaza. I’m looking forward to meeting her again, and also meeting her husband. She seemed really friendly, and interesting.

We took a bus down to dinner – it’s funny how I can’t think of any other way to get around. I have to be careful, however – we’ve occasionally caught Dhruv trying to flag down a cab – he hasn’t quite got used to this idea of walking and riding in a bus yet. The more we travel around by public transport, the less I feel like we need a car here. We decided to leave our cars in California, since we’re planning to go back there in a year’s time. However, at the back of my mind, I always said to myself “We’ll go to New York and see if we need it or not.” After two weeks, the needle is swinging further away from “Yes, needed”. And with the weather getting better, taking public transit is going to become easier. Zipcar’s always there for those times when we really need a car.

The restaurant turned out to be delightful -- a few steps down from one of those classic East Village streets, with beautiful walk-up buildings on both sides. It wasn’t quite crowded, and we got a table easily. We were really thankful that we came when we did, because 15 minutes later, there wasn’t an empty table in the place.

Two Japanese couples sat between us and the street window, and the table next to us had a really gorgeous African-American woman and a white (female) friend. The guy at the table behind us was explaining how he uses Slingbox to stream stuff from his Mac to his TV. Academic types (elbow patch and all) sat across from us. Our waitress had a strong accent – Irish, I think, completing the scene.

The prices were reasonable, there were some nice vegetarian options on the menu, and the staff were friendly and nice. As recommended, Sandhya had a Pistachio Martini, which turned out excellent. I had a Mango Martini, which was good, and then a glass of Spanish red wine. Two hours later, we had worked our way through a wonderful meal of Red Lentil Soup, Moroccan Grilled Cheese, Falafel, Cous-cous, and a lovely dessert of Khadaif.

We took the bus back (of course), and walked the last two blocks home. A heavy meal was well digested by the time we got home. No wonder people in the city seem so fit – I don’t think I’ve seen a single overweight or obese person here.

Sunday at the Met

We got out of the house late on Sunday, and reached the Met by around 12:30 in the afternoon. There’s something wonderful about going to one of the greatest museums in the world without the pressure of “seeing everything worth seeing” in the 8 hours that you have. As we were leaving, I suddenly remembered to take a camera – the previous weekend, I had forgotten to take a camera to the Museum of Natural History, and wondered why. I guess it’s because when you’re in the same city, have taken a membership to the museum, and intend to visit it frequently, it becomes an educational outing more than a “touristy” one. Ergo, camera forgotten…

Walking to the Met from the 77^th Street Subway Station, we passed these wonderful old Upper East Side houses – the quiet elegance a testimony to the “old money” that resides there. Then you suddenly come up on 5^th Avenue, Central Park and the Corner of the Met. A bright and warm day put the Cherry on top of this Apple Pie.

We quickly signed up for a family membership, grabbed a map of the place, and went into the Egyptian Art section. We spent an hour there, sampling things here and there, showing Dhruv the mummies and sarcophagi, and boy, did he enjoy it.

We then had a quick lunch in the cafeteria and headed over to the European Art section – we had decided to do only this and the Egyptian sections this day.

It turned out to be everything I’d hope for, and more. I didn’t know where to look or sit. Van Gogh’s brilliant Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, where the small dabs of paint come together for amazing effect as you step back? Or the brush strokes in Wheat Fields and Cypresses? Or Monet’s Lilies, or the Regatta at Sainte-Adresse? Gauguin’s Tahitian women? Renoir’s Girls at a Piano? Picasso’s Blind Man’s Meal? Truly, that one section of the Met has so much that I can spend each weekend of the next one year there and yet not be satisfied.

 

A quiet week ended on a high note with a very satisfying weekend. Dhruv is keen on going to the Museum of Natural History again next weekend, so we’ll probably go back there. The MOMA and Guggenheim beckon, and of course, we have to return to the Met. So much to do, and so little time! I fear that our weekends will become so hectic that we’ll begin to dread them. We must pace ourselves so that everything is digestible enough to not become a chore. We have to settle down to a routine that's anything but!!

An eventful first week

This post first appeared at Water, No Ice (www.waternoice.com)

This week has been so filled with new experiences that most of the early part of it is a blur. I actually had to check my calendar to make sure it had only been a week since we arrived in New York. Yes it was.

Settling Dhruv into school

Our first major task this week was to settle Dhruv into school. As I mentioned in my last post, we had a meeting with the Admissions Director scheduled for Monday, and we rode the M16 cross-town bus to our appointment. Riding public transit regularly has been the single biggest change so far, from checking schedules prior to departure (Google maps' "Public Transit" feature has been really useful -- I don't think I even noticed it in the Bay Area) to waiting for the bus, queuing up to get in, swiping your MetroCard to pay the fare, giving up one’s seat for old ladies, pressing the "tape" to ask the bus to stop...  a whole slew of fascinating new experiences that become more familiar with every passing occasion. 

Steve Zownir, the Admissions Director, turned out to be an affable, tall, middle-aged man, with an easy-going manner with children that caused Dhruv to warm up to him immediately. After a few minutes filling out the paperwork, he informed us that Dhruv was going to be in "Jon's" Kindergarten - and he then proceeded to take us to the classroom, to introduce us to Jon. Jon was also very friendly, speaking first directly to Dhruv, introducing himself as "Jon" and specifying that he expected the kids to call him just that -- Jon. And they called California 'relaxed' and the East Coast 'stuffy'? The classroom was your pretty standard Kindergarten classroom, colorful, warm and welcoming. Dhruv immediately recognized some of the books they were reading, and seemed to look forward to attending school. The class itself was away at the library, so we didn’t get to see any of the kids.

Mr. Zownir then showed us around the rest of the school. The playgrounds were rather disappointing, compared to what we had in suburban Fremont -- a small area, hemmed in by chain-link fence and tall buildings. The cold weather and dirty snow lying outside the boundaries of the playground did nothing to enhance its attractiveness. I tried to picture it filled with laughing, playing children, but could not. Mr. Zownir also took us to one of the other kindergartens, where there were two boys who would ride the school bus with Dhruv, to introduce him to them. One of them also lives at Waterside, so hopefully they'll make friends and we can schedule play dates. 

On balance, we were quite happy with the school. The environment seemed safe, warm and welcoming. The teacher seemed likable enough, and Dhruv seemed to like the place.

We walked home, stopping by a cafe to grab a Bagel each for breakfast. Sandhya joked that in 10 years in the Bay Area I had never had a bagel for breakfast, and here I was having one on the first Monday in New York. Well, you have to do as the locals do! I had an onion bagel, toasted, with just butter. And in case you're wondering, it was dee-li-cious.

Walking around, you begin to develop a sense of the city’s rhythm. Walking up or down-town, you realize that if you jay-walk one intersection, you’ll catch a “Walk” sign on the next. Walking across town, you catch a “Walk” every time.

Starting trouble

As the sun set on Monday evening, Dhruv began whining about not wanting to go to school. We cajoled him into postponing the discussion and managed to put him to bed. The next morning was no better - in fact, he was positively in tears. We dressed him and fed him breakfast with great difficulty, and then got on the bus for the short ride to school. On the bus, we ran into a friend's wife and her two kids - one of them was in the same school, in the 4th grade. That seemed to reassure Dhruv a bit.

The school has two yards - a large one for the older kids, and a small one for the kindergarteners. As we stood in the small yard waiting for his teacher to open the door to the classroom, he started crying again and hugging us tightly. Several other kids gathered around, puzzled, and asked him what was wrong. One of them encouragingly said "but we only do fun things in school!". None of that seemed to help.

The door opened and Jon came out -- and Dhruv's crying became even louder. Jon said that we could come into the classroom, although we were hesitant -- these things are best done quickly, and surgically, and we didn't want to prolong it any longer than we should.  We remembered Dhruv's first few days at day-care -- he would cry as we approached the day-care, and for a few seconds after we left, and after that, he'd have a ball. We hoped that this would be the same. So steeling ourselves, we left him there, said goodbye quickly, turned, and walked out. It so happened that we had to drop off some paperwork in the office, and so ended up standing outside Dhruv's class on the other side -- Sandhya saw Jon signal to her to everything was "ok" and that gave us some relief.

He came home that evening quite cheerful -- Jon had told Sandhya that "Dhruv's California teacher must really miss him, because he's the best student in my class" and he was all aglow as a result. The one thing that really caused us to feel miserable was that he hadn't eaten the lunch that we had packed for him. Since school was just 3 1/2 hours in California, he never had to have a full meal there. Here, since school is from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, kids eat a lunch in the school Cafeteria or bring lunch; since the menu doesn't have a vegetarian option on most days, we pack something for him. One of Sandhya's friends in California, a teacher, told her that this was pretty common - kids don't eat on the first few days, or eat just one thing (Dhruv had only eaten the cookies she had packed). We resolved to pack only one thing - lunch - for him.

I hoped the cheerful mood would continue, but as evening approached, he began whining again "I don't want to go to school tomorrow...". He whispered in Sandhya's ear: "Nobody likes me. They all look at me funny. Nobody wants to be my friend". Our hearts really went out for him. The children in his class had probably all made friends, and a new kid coming in mid-year was probably not very welcome. Unlike the Bay Area, there was just one other Indian kid in his class, so he was an oddity is more ways than one. I recalled my own days as a child - my father was in a transferable job, and we moved a few times, and always in mid-year. "Was it as bad as this?" I wondered. What if he doesn't settle down at all? Will it be bad enough that we have to move back? 

Snow showers (our first) were forecast for the next morning, and I slept fitfully.

The forecast turned out correct, and I decided to take a cab instead of the bus (which involves a short walk from the stop to the school). I asked our friend's wife whether she'd like to join me, and she agreed. As the cab pulled up, Dhruv climbed in first, and she and her kids climbed in behind him, leaving no place for me in the back seat. I then proceeded to get into the front with an extremely agitated East European driver - agitated because Dhruv was howling from the back seat, thinking that I was leaving him alone. The driver proceeded to let fly a stream of choice Russian (or so it sounded) invective, and I was really afraid he'd stop mid way and tell us to get out of his car - into the increasing snow flurries. By putting my hands through the gap between the front and rear seats, I managed to console Dhruv enough that the bawling came down to a whimper, and that's how we rode all the way to school.

At school, a teacher's helper was taking all the kindergarteners and escorting them inside -- as soon as she saw Dhruv, she bundled him up and told me I could go - Dhruv reached out pleadingly but I steeled myself to say a crisp "Bye" and left. On the way home my friend's wife (who is a child psychologist, by the way) consoled me the best she could. I must've looked more worried that I actually was. 

Again, that evening, he returned home cheerfully. He seemed to have enjoyed school, and I began to hope that the crying was at an end. While giving him a bath that evening, he whispered in my ear "Do you know what a girl said to me in class today? She said 'I love you, Dhruv!'". 

I was kneeling down applying cream on his knees and almost lost my balance. "What! That's wonderful! What did you say? What was her name?"

"I don't know her name... I said 'Thank you!'" he replied.

"You must find out her name tomorrow", I said. "That's really nice of her to say that".

"Sure" he said, moving on to other topics.

The sun comes out

Day 3, Thursday, was like a switch had been thrown. He woke cheerfully, and got ready all by himself, had his breakfast, and cheerful skipped down the stairs to the bus stop. He chattered happily all the way, skipping along, waving to every dog that he saw. My heart was filled with pride at how quickly he had adjusted to the new environment and relief that it had been so short. After a day of snow showers, the sun was really shining today in more ways than one.

I decided to pop the other big question: "Dhruv, are you ready to go to school in the school bus?" My heart was in my mouth as I said it.

"You mean, alone?" he asked.

"Yes", I said. "We'll drop you off at the bus, and it will take you to school."

"Sure", he replied. And then just to make sure that I didn't doubt his sincerely, he looked up at me and said "See? I'm even smiling when I said it".

I wanted to bend down, grab him and crush him in a big bear hug at that point.

We reached the school yard a few minutes later, and he waved goodbye, told me I could leave, and ran off. I couldn't resist quietly watching him for a while longer, and saw him chatting with a few other kids, and then all of them went to a patch of snow and began playing around in it. He seemed genuinely happy, and I felt like a weight was off my shoulders. The move to New York was going to be a good decision after all.

He went to school by the school bus on Friday, and returned home cheerfully in the evening. On Fridays, they have cheese pizza in the cafeteria, so he didn't carry lunch. He also found out the name of the girl who told him she loved him - Minnow (I think) is her name.

IKEA shopping

On Monday evening, at short notice, we decided to go and buy all the remaining furniture we needed at IKEA in Brooklyn. This meant taking the Number 6 Subway line to Bleecker Street, and then changing to the F line. Bleecker Street! Made famous by Simon and Garfunkel's song of the same name!

Voices leaking from a sad cafe

Smiling faces try to understand

That's what is so special about New York. Everywhere you go has this sense of... well, history is too weighty a word... it's just special - a uniqueness and excitement that's hard to describe, but difficult to ignore (if you’re looking – New Yorkers don’t seem to realize it).

A gentleman I asked told me that IKEA had a shuttle between the station and the store, and we should look out for that. We found the shuttle and made it to the store, where we had about three hours before store closing to buy everything we needed. Thank goodness for the research we had done online, because we generally knew what we wanted, and quickly went through the store noting aisle and bin for self-service pickup. Check out, then wheel it to the delivery counter, and they said it would be delivered the next day. Yes, we could definitely get used to his home delivery thing. No more struggling to tie down unruly mattresses to the top of a borrowed minivan, and then trundle slowly along the freeway, watching all the cars whizzing by look at you...

Assembling furniture

The IKEA folks delivered right on time, and I began assembling stuff right away. The funny thing about IKEA furniture is that it has this "it's not me, it's you" precision about it. If something seems wrong, you can be sure you've made a mistake. Just once in the past 10 years have I found a place where they had made a mistake (drilled the holes on the wrong side of a board). Thankfully, I assembled most pieces without major mistakes, and a day or two later I basked in the warm sense of achievement that comes from building something constructive with your hands. 

While assembling furniture, the mind fills with thoughts. Thoughts and voices from times past - most often, my father - with advice and admonishments.

"A good workman always knows where his tools are." -- this comes to me just as I'm hunting for the hammer that I used just 15 seconds ago... No, I'm not a good worker by any stretch of imagination...

"Always use the right tools" -- just as I've ruined a screw by using the wrong size screwdriver and setting the torque too high. Sigh...

Union Square, Macy's

I had a business meeting in the Union Square area on Friday morning, and Sandhya made me meet her at Macy's at Harold Square after that, to buy a much-needed warm woolen overcoat. It was fun to try to figure out the right Subway line to take (I installed a really cool app on Sandhya's iPhone, called KickMap, which gives you a very useful map of the NYC subway system) and I met her at the store. 

It was huge. It advertises itself as the largest store in the world, and I think they're right. Seven floors of one whole city block, no kidding -- someone can spend a lot of time, and a lot of money, in that one place. It's a direct bus ride for us, which makes it particularly convenient.

Health club hunting

On Friday evening, I decided to go and try to find a squash court that I could play at regularly. The New York Sports Club (NYSC) at 86th and Lexington Ave on the Upper East Side is supposed to have a pretty good court, so I decided to go there. There was a Best Buy there too, and since I needed speakers for my stereo system, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. Waterside Plaza runs a shuttle bus every half hour - alternately to Union Square and Grand Central, so I used that to get to Grand Central. 

The bus dropped me off around 6:30 PM at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 42nd Street, and I walked the few blocks to Grand Central. Waiting to cross 3rd Avenue, I looked uptown and Downtown, and I got one of those New York sights that fills you with joy and excitement. Brightly lit, and tastefully decorated store-fronts all around. Look up to see offices brightly lit in the buildings all around. Look around and see smartly dressed, fit, people all around you - purposefully going about their business. Cars and taxis up and down 3rd Avenue as far as the eye can see. The occasional Bentley passes you in the street - reminding you that this is a city with some of the richest people in the world. Intimidating and exhilarating at the same time.

My trip uptown turned out quite a waste of time - I got neither the speakers nor the membership, but I increased my familiarity with the subway system (taking an "express" instead of a "local") and was also surprised by how dramatically the city changes complexion from one neighborhood to another.

An active weekend

Dhruv had received a Toys 'R Us gift card from Sandhya's cousin before we left Fremont, so we took him to the Times Square store on Saturday morning. It was a direct bus ride and a short walk, but it was bitingly cold (forecast maximum, 26 deg F). The store is quite amazing, with a Ferris wheel indoors to boot. The poor child had such a difficult time trying to decide how to spend the "budget" we gave him, but finally settled on something that he liked. We also did a little shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and then rode the subway and bus back home. We're really getting comfortable about the public transit system now, and my green conscience is really feeling much better as a result. I think I'm going to miss not having such transit options when we are back in Suburbia.

On Sunday, we decided that Noble Tasks Should Not Be Delayed, and signed up for an annual membership at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). A taxi (we missed the bus by 2 minutes) and subway ride later, we walked into this magnificent museum on Central Park. Dhruv had a real blast going around the exhibits, and we just spent three hours there, taking in a few sections slowly and deliberately. It was really satisfying to see him take it all in - jaw dropping in wonderment at the enormous skeleton of an Apatosaurus / Brontosaurus, or the teeth of a T-Rex. This is what we moved for - for easy access to these great institutions, and we think we've made a good start.

That's the plan with the AMNH and the Met - visit frequently, a section at a time, instead of packing it all in and getting so tired by the afternoon that it seems like a chore. That should be the advantage of living in Manhattan, and we intend to leverage it to the hilt. 

This has been a long post, and a very eventful week, and I mentioned in the beginning. I'm thinking of writing more frequently, so that these posts are shorter, and easier to read - let me know whether you think that's better that this sort of long post once a week.