Guggenheim Museum NY

As a special for the month of May, Bank of America offered their account holders free admissions to selected musuems in different states. The Solomon R. Guggenheim museum was on their list and I had been wanting to go see this place but never got around to it somehow (I kept getting distracted by central park's activities and the METS).

So last Sunday, I finally went.

I have heard so much about how brilliant the building's architecture was for so long. I was gravely disappointed (actually that was also the reason why I nearly walked right pass it without realising I was already there!!) when I got there and found scaffolding outside the ENTIRE place. Even the museum's name plates at the front had been removed from the concrete wall!! It was still open and had exhibitions inside, but outside - NOTHING to look at!! I asked the lady at the ticket office and she said they were renovating the exterior and it would be like this until mid next year at least. Oh dread. I hope they finish the renovation before I leave NY. I'd at least like to see it once in its full glory!

Since I was already there (and it was free), I would have to take a look around at least.

The inside of the museum was beautiful and I am glad I took the time soak it all up. The building was in the shape of a giant spiral. So it was completely open in the middle of the museum, with a glass skylight right at the top so natural light filled the interior. Each of the 6 exhibition floors led to the next much like a giant continuous inclined ramp (there is an elevator should you want to make the trip quicker back to the ground floor). There were annex galleries on each floor with permanent exhibitions of Kandinsky, Picasso and Van Gogh works.



The weekend that I went they were featuring the work from sculptor David Smith. So on every floor of the museum, there were some weird and wonderful metal sculptures on display.


Fig 1. "Australia"? Hmmmm... Fig.2 Sculpture "Australia" Fig. 3 Hudson River Landscape

I say weird and wonderful because personally, I am not much of an art buff and I don't pretend to "get" or understand modern art (and thus I don't appreciate them all that much). My opinion was that if some of the "art pieces" in there got placed in a junk yard, I wouldn't be able to pick it from a pile of compacted scrap metal. Sorry.

However, even for someone with no appreciating for what "art" might be, some of the pieces were simply spectacular in their shapes and form. A pile of twisted metal rods and blocks came together somehow to became this spectacular 3-dimension "thought" that just seemed to leap out at me. I have to hand it to the sculptor - no way from looking at the 2D drawing in his sketchbook could I have predicted how in awe I was with the actual 3D sculpture.

With that said, I wasn't transformed into an instant modern art fan - so I actually managed to go up the 6 levels in relatively little time. In fact, the people watching was more interesting as some obviously had no more clues than I did, even with their audio commentary guides. Most of us "tourists" pondered together which parts of the metal pile were suppose to be what according to the title of the pieces.

I did spend much longer looking at the Van Gogh paintings they had (I love Van Gogh's brush strokes and use of colours for some reason unknown...), and the Kandinsky I almost dare to say I "liked" because of the vibrant colours and lines.

Boston

I had a project up in Boston so I spend the last week up there.

Boston is roughly an hour and a bit by flight so I think I actually spent more time at the airport waiting to go through check-in and security than actually on the plane itself.

For the week that I was up there, it was foggy and drizzling most of the time. But on the weekend, the weather was beautiful! The sun was out both days so I suspect I actually got a bit of a tan (yap that's me - 20 minutes out in the sun, I got tanned). Boston was easy enough to walk around. They also had the "T" - essentially the public train lines, which I relied on heavily since I didn't have a car.

I visited Feneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace, located near the Boston City Hall. Quincy Marketplace was basically a very large foodcourt, with carts and stalls selling souveniors and other goodies on the outside. You could find a lot of shops selling clam chowder and lobster roll.

I went out for a visit to MIT and Harvard in Cambridge. There wasn't anything much around MIT on the weekend, but the buildings and MIT grounds were grande and magnificant. I walked around the courtyards and the gardens and even sneaked into one of the hallways inside (I am sure I could be counted as a traspasser, but hey, I am harmless). MIT was located right on the water front so I took a walk along the waterfront that looked back towards Boston city. It was a very pretty place.

In contrast, Harvard Square was buzzing with life in comparison. It was full of people - tourists, students, local shoppers alike. There were a lot of people like me, who just HAD to visit Harvard and you could tell they were all from out of town. The dead giveaways? Speaking in a different language, holding a camera and a map trying to figure out which way was what. There were some very trendy shops there, complete with the best burget joint ever (Apparently, it is voted the Best Burger in Boston, no kidding). Prices were not cheap, considering there was a student community there, but I guess it is Harvard. I am dining on expense so what do I care right... hee hee hee.

Of course, since I was in Boston, of course I had to eat lobsters. Ever since I was a kid, the only thing I knew about Boston was that there were lobsters there (I had no idea about MIT or Harvard as a kid, food comes first and I don't even know how I came across that piece of information). So I was pretty excited to finally be IN Lobster-land (incidentally, Boston's nickname is actually beantown, as in baked beans, which I had no interests in). Sure enough, there were lots of lobster souveniors. You can even get lobster shaped gummy candies, chocolates, hat, kitchen mits, pencils, etc.

Another spot I absolutely loved was the Boston Public Gardens. Its Spring time in the States and the wonderful colours in the garden just had me snapping away like crazy. There were also these really cool Swan boats on one of the lakes. I am not sure if it was meant to be a summer thing or that I went too late in the day, I saw them but they were all chained up and sitting in the middle of the lake with no one riding them. Oh well.

I also managed to walk over to the North End, which is also know as Little Italy in Boston. I stumbled upon an Italian cafe/restaurant on Hanover Street, which was lined with eateries and boutique shops with imported Italian goods. The lobster ravioli there was to die for (of course, the cute bartenders and servers there were drooling materials as well...mmmm)

WTC and Jersey City

This month I spent a few weeks working at a customer out at Jersey City in New Jersey. If you remembered, I checked out an area called Weehawken in New Jersey at the start of last month when I was looking for a place to stay. Jersey City is on the water's edge and right across from downtown Manhattan.

To get there, I catch the E train (the subway) all the way to Chambers Street stop, which is also the site where the World Trade Centers used to be. From there I transfer over to the PATH (which is New Jersey's subway, connecting NJ to NY).

During morning rush hour it is quite a sight. There are these big long escalators, very much like those at Parliament Station in Melbourne and they are jammed packed with people who makes the commute from NJ to Manhattan daily. Everyone is rushing, running up not wanting to waste another minute.

The PATH used to be totally underground and on top of the station, my relatives told me that there once were floors of shops, eateries and offices above. When they saw the pictures I took above, they said that the escalators are actually the originals from before. It was certainly very surreal sitting in the PATH train as it makes its way down the big hole in the ground before heading into the subway tunnel.


The part of Jersey City that I was in was pretty much just full of office buildings and not much else. You do get a very good view of Manhattan across the Hudson River.

Shop up a storm!

Ok girlfriends, after a month or so of serious research, I would like to share a discovery on shopping in New York with you - the secret of designer bargain shopping. I have never "researched" into this area until my cousins (bless them!!) revealed their secrets to their success.

The trick is: Outlet malls!!

As with most things in the US, these malls are SERIOUSLY big. I am talking "walk until you have worn a holes in your soles" big. It is basically a day trip if you can handle it. You will also need a strategic plan before you start. There are so many shops at those places you really need to work out which ones are the "must sees" vs the "check out if time permits".

Some places are more organized than others - at least you should be able to find sizes according to displayed areas. There are others which reminded me of Dimmeys (sorry, no offense) but instead of the generics, the merchandises are your big American brands (you know which ones I mean - I don't want to advertise here, but think Collin Street shops and DJ end on upper level of Chaddy, Melbourne people).

You know you are in the right place when you see designer handbags piled high in a heap on a discount table and designer jeans jam-packed on cloth racks like K-mart displays

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with K-mart, I am just trying to say it is not like the designer boutique shops where you walk in and there are like 10 items on the wall hung like artwork - I often feel too intimidated to even touch anything in those. At these places, you can throw on all the fancy stuff but feel just like you are in your local shopping centres.

Needless to say - I ended up spending my money on my research trips, hee hee hee. Hey but everything was a bargain!! :)

Rejoice!! My SSN battle is finally over!

I am happy to report that my drawn-out "battle" with the SSA has finally come to a close. I received my SSN card in the mail yesterday. I reckon I should take a picture with that card as a keepsake.

On a second throught: probably not a good idea, since if the photo gets leaked out, people will know my SSN and can do all sort of things with it... hmmm

I have also found a place to call home (at least for now). It is located in a suburb called Forest Hills in Queens and it is about half an hour on the subway from midtown Manhattan. Not all bad considering it is close to the airport as well, which is what I need. Ok so no view overlooking Central Park in the Upper East side, I am still working towards that - will start buying lotto here.

So I am really truly getting settled into New York now! The next task for me is to find my way around the city to the FUN stuff (like food, theater, bars n' clubs... did I mention food?)

Signs of Spring

After weeks of miserable weather in New York, there are finally signs of spring here!

On the weekend, it was good enough weather to go outside wearing t-shirt and a thin hoodie (ie. a hooded top, I learned that from my cousin).

As the weather warmed up, the colour on the street also became more vibrant - this goes for plants as well as people. 2 weeks ago, all you would see in the subway was a sea of black - black coats, black pants, black shoes, black beanies and scarf and black gloves. It was like a train full of people attending a funeral. Now I am seeing petals, some green and pink and sometimes even eye catching orange and red.

5th avenue was lined with flowering Magnolias as well as varieties of cherry blossoms. Birds were chirping, kids and parents were out and about. Central Park was buzzing with activities - cyclist, rollerbladers, street buskers, tourists (as per usual), and everyone out enjoying a nice day out.

It happened to be Greek Independence Day on that Sunday as well so there were parade floats going down Lexington Ave all the way down to the METs on 5th Avenue and 82nd street.


But New York's weather is just about as predictable as Melbourne's.

Last Wednesday morning when I went to work, I debated with myself if I should bring my long coat as it was already very warm in my suit. At around mid morning, I happened to look out the window and it was snowing like there is no tomorrow outside! The flakes were about the size of cotton balls!

Seriously, it looked like a blizzard with the wind blowing against the building. Then just as sudden as it started, the sun was out again by the afternoon and when I finally left work for the day, you could not possibly know that it snowed in the morning. The snow has melted away and the ground was completely dry. Apparently this happens, even in April.

St Partricks Day

One of the biggest "party" in town recently was the St. Patrick's Day celebration. New York is full of people of Irish decends (check out the movie Gangs of New York to refresh your memory).




The St. Patrick's Day parade in New York is one of the biggest SPD parades in the world. It takes place every year along 5th Avenue from midtown all the way up towards Central Park in Manhattan.

The parade started a little past 11am two Fridays ago in a nice chrispy cold morning under a sunny sky. The cold obviously didn not deter thousands of spectators (some local, some obviously tourist) from lining the street. 5th avenue was a sea of green and orange. Some people were busy scambling for a good spot along the barriers; Some obviously started the day early and were very "merry" already.



People wore big green top hats, glittering clover headbands, flashing buttons, orange boas and even Brave-Heart style face paint (Yes, I knew Brave Heart was about Scottish). The atmosphere was amazing.

The parade itself consisted of a mixture of Police Departments, Fire Departments, Army and Irish bagpipe marching bands (yes yes, men were wearing kilts; No, no wind so I didn't manage to see anything under the kilts). Hiliary Clinton made an appearance in the parade as well - I only knew it was her because of all the secret service agents surrounding her (and the lady next to me exclaimed "There's Hiliary!!").



Later on that day in Manhattan, you could see a lot of "green" people wondering around the streets.