Moving Day...minus 3 days and counting...

So, we're moving on Saturday, and, even though its only upstairs in the same building, it seems like a huge deal anyway. Of course, it isn't. Considering that I already packed up a whole house last year and moved to a 1 bdroom apartment, this is a lateral move, and relatively easy. The condo we've been renting has sold, and we had the choice to stay til our lease was up (Oct.) or go now to a bigger one, upstairs, for the same price, for a year. Not much choice, really, but its cool.

I've been packing cartons all week, kitchen stuff, bathroom, & living room. All I have left is the bedroom, and the last day stuff we're using of the kitchen & bath. Not too bad. And today I went to the A & P, and asked the manager if I could borrow a shopping cart, and he said YES!

So, that will be great for just loading it up and taking it to the elevator and into the new place.

The new apartment is on the second floor, in the middle, so we're gonna be using the elevator, or walking up the stairs a few times a day. No biggie. Actually, more exercise!

And I'm thinking of other advantages now:

1. No one can look into the apartment, like on the first floor, so more privacy.
2. Still the Southern exposure that we like so much, sun all day in winter, shady in summer.
3. No more 'screaming mimi' neighbor next to us, ('though, not sure who is up there yet.)
4. Bigger living room, bigger walk-in closet in bedroom.
5. Still in the same building we like, in the back, not facing the parking lot.
6. We won't have to move in November, new yearly lease til next July.
7. The builder is moving us.
8. We're kinda doing the builder a favor, which can't hurt.

So, once we get up there, I'm sure there will be others, & I'll let you know when I know.

Gotta go pack some more boxes. Not sure how Joey will do, but he sure got used to the tiny apartment, so I'm not worried about him, he's adaptable. I guess we are, too.

So Disappointed

As if everyone who doesn't live in New Jersey already believes our state is totally corrupt, now they have many more reasons. It's so disappointing that the mayors of 3 cities are on the take, but rabbis ? I know I'm very naive, and I'm not a religious person. In fact, I don't believe in organized religion at all. Too many rules, and too much hypocrisy. But, I thought rabbis were maybe above that.

Turns out I'm wrong. The head rabbis of Deal and Brooklyn have been caught laundering money and trafficking in human organs. UGH! I was actually kind-of a member of that Syrian community for a time, being married (first time) to a Syrian Jew from Deal. Never truly accepted, I did, however, learn a lot about their customs and lifestyle. They are an extremely close-knit group, not allowing others in, and protecting their own. This is why I am so surprised that one of their own 'ratted'.

The sting that the FBI arranged employed a SY (short for Syrian Jew) Real estate developer. He was arrested a few years ago for fraud, and obviously, he made a deal with the FBI to implicate the rabbis of Deal & Brooklyn, as well as the mayors of 3 major towns in NJ.

I understand that money is the goal for almost everyone. And most people in that SY Community do have a lot of money. But I am just saddened that these supposed men of g-d stooped so low, and fell so far. It makes me kinda sick.

And it sure doesn't help our reputation in New Jersey, at all.

Tubing On the Delaware River or How I spent my 55th Birthday!

did you ever hear the song, "down a lazy river..." ? well, that's exactly what my sister* and I did yesterday! We went tubing down the Delaware River which divides NJ & PA. It was the most idyllic, relaxing, fun time I've had , pretty much EVER. (or at least as long as I can remember.)

The weather was Perfect. Like the sun was out, but not all the time, so we didn't get burnt like toast. The water was cool, & refreshing, not too cold or too hot. We had 2 big,blue tubes that we tied together (thanks Joan), & floated our way down the 5.5 miles of open river. It's actually pretty comfy with your behind stuck in a tube, legs hanging over the side, & arms flapping & paddling. yeah, it is. really. It's maybe a little unnerving wondering whether some turtle or something is gonna bite your tush. But we laughed so hard I just about peed myself, and who would've known if I did? Stopping once during the trip down the river, we made our way over to the lunch spot, to get our 2 hot dogs, a frozen milky way bar, & a lemonade! also, Perfect.

The only thing we didn't have was a camera! Because you can't take anything that would get wet, & we didn't have a waterproof camera. So, in honor of my birthday trip, here is a photo of the Glorious Queens of the Delaware River Tubing Society of 2, (OK, its from last Christmas, but we still look just as good.)

and of course I picked up a couple of the famous Delaware River stones,

so see...we really did go there!

* (I've stopped calling Lynn my sister-in-law, and call her my sister now, 'cause I think after you have a s-i-l for over 40!years, you can drop the In Law part.)

Exodus

On Friday I went to my doctor's office in Hazlet. I have arthritis in my feet,(I know, too much information, sorry,) and once in a while I get a shot. It sounds awful, but it doesn't hurt at all, and then I can walk with no pain for a few months,at least. Anyway, as I was driving down the shore, I realized that it was a Friday, in the summer, on a gorgeous day,with the forecast of a perfect weather weekend. It was the weekend Exodus of the NYC, and North Jersey, to the various beaches of the Jersey Shores. OY! the thought of the summer, Friday, Parkway traffic alone is enough to make me go Totally out of my way to get somewhere...but, actually, it wasn't bad at all. Maybe I just missed it, or it was yet to come, but I slipped through and had a pleasant ride down.

from the rt35 bridge to the driscoll bridge

On the trip back, I decided to take Rt.35 back. When I was in Real Estate, I used to like to drive up coast along the different shore towns, from Loch Arbor, to Long Branch, to Fair Haven, to Rumson, to Sea Bright, to Highlands, to Atlantic Highlands, to Keyport, and on up. I'd look at the houses for sale, and fantasize in which one I would live, if I had the money to buy one. I used to go in and see lots of them too, and drag Rich or the kids along too. I guess you could call it my Obsession!, 'cause at that time, if you were an agent, you had a universal lock-box key that could open any house on the market, and go in and see it. So, I would 'preview' them...& I would actually take customers to some of these houses, and I even sold 1 or 2 of them.

We saw a lot of really great houses, most of them near the beach or river,and I learned about some great towns too. Isaac went to high school on Sandy Hook too, so taking him to school was always a fun trip for me too,about 1/2 hour from home and right out to the tip of NJ!
Maybe in a later post I will go take some pictures of the houses and towns I liked the best.


So, one of these towns was Lawrence Harbor. It's just a kinda dinky,shore-y,town, with little bungalow houses. Not much of a town. The street that faces a HUGE bay that leads to New York is called Shoreline Circle. Back then, you could buy a little house for about $100K! But, I always got talked out of it by the kids, and my dh, because they didn't want to live there. That happened a lot, me getting talked out of houses, and some of them (like the ones we saw in Loch Arbor, or Allenhurst,) are worth millions now.

million-dollar view at shoreline circle.

Guess you can't cry over spilled milk, or lost houses. But, sometimes, you can pout. :-d

Swimming in the Raritan River (no, not me.)

There were only 2 dogs at the dog park the other day. I think they were actually bored. So, we took Joey over to the other side of the park, and he had much more fun taking a swim. :-)

movin' on up!

Well, It seems like we're moving again! I know, I know! Twice in one year is crazy!

For a long time, when we lived in the cabin, I wanted to move. I used to bug Rich about it all the time... I guess I wasn't too happy there. I mean, it was a GREAT house, full of charm and cozy as hell. But, in all the time we lived there, which was 10 years, I never felt like it was our 'forever home.' Like, I kinda felt like we were the caretakers of the cabin...keeping it nice until the next owners.

So, I wanted to sell it and move, but Rich doesn't take to change easily , and it took me a while, and then, all of a sudden, we sold it! , amazingly enough, in the toughest market ever! Literally! It was rough leaving our friends, and the kids were upset too.

And so, we moved into this tiny condo, so we could be near Rich's job, and it's cool...but I know eventually we'll buy another house, somewhere, and maybe that will be our forever home.

So, I'm checking out towns in the area, somewhat, but I still don't think it's the best time to buy, I think prices will come down a bit more. And we like living here. Edison is so convenient to everything, I can get to Wegmans, or Menlo, or the Turnpike in 5 minutes. And we've made friends here too. And we're near our brother and sister, who we enjoy being with.

Anyway, back to the point. We're moving! again! But this time, it's only upstairs in the building we already live in. The builder called Rich and asked it we could move upstairs to #119, it's a little bit bigger, and for the same price as here. Our lease is up 3 months, anyway, and we do like it here, so we said OK, if they'll move us. He was hesitant , but I know they have a buyer for our unit, so I think he thought about it (for like 2 minutes!) and said we could have 2 of his guys help us move. So, Deal Done.

The only snag is , we have to move on August 1st! Anyhoo....it's gonna be alot of packing for a few days, and then we'll be upstairs, right off the elevator. So, we'll miss our ground floor unit, right by the side door, but upstairs has it's advantages too. We can leave our windows and sliding door open, can't do that downstairs. And I love the kitchen cabinets, especially the cabinet I keep my pots and pans in, it swivels out, and for the first time ever, I don't have a lot of clanging of pots to get to them.

I guess when you rent a condo, there's always that chance that they'll sell it and you have to move. But the condo is kinda nicer than the apartments I've seen. It's new. And apartments don't usually take dogs the size of Joey. And I have a W/D, which I use daily, not usually included in a regular apartment. And my patio is light and cheery.

So, that's the story. And, maybe it's for the best, hope so. Things sometimes do have a way of working out.

The High Line

Friday was an exceptional day. I've been wanting to see the High Line since it opened a few weeks ago. It is an old, abandoned elevated train track that has been restored and made into a walkway/park for the public. They did it 'au natural', preferring to keep it rough & rusty, with wildflowers, instead of shiny and new. There are benches and bleachers and plenty of places to stop and admire the views of the Hudson, NJ, and beyond. It's in the meatpacking district, with lots of cool new buildings alongside it, and tony shops and eateries below.

So, I met up with Isaac and Nadine in Jersey City,at his condo, and we took the Path Train from Journal Square, into the city. It was sunny and breezy, just perfect. We walked the whole High Line, which took a while. It was a wonderful day to stroll along and talk, and just Be in the present.


When we were done, we stopped for refreshing sangrias, went shopping at Earnest Sewn and Rag & Bone, and ate sushi at sushisamba. I had so much fun, I love hanging out with them, they're adorable.

I've got some photos, so I'll post a few here now, and then some more in another post. The building in the second photo is the new Frank Gehry one. And the one with the staircase coming up thru it is the Standard Hotel.






the Frank Gehry building



the view west to nj





at the bottom of the Standard Hotel

more words

This morning, in the car, I was listening to the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC Public Radio, (it was a re-run,) and the topic was words and/or sayings we are sick of hearing. The band, They Might Be Giants was on, and they have a list of Banned words...

Don't Say That, Literally

Friday, May 29, 2009

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John Flansburgh of the band They Might Be Giants discusses the running list the band keeps of "things we can no longer say." (a few examples: "my bad" "don't go there" "one hundred and ten percent" and "voted off the island"...

so, without further ado, here is some of their list:

It is what it is

My bad

I'm just sayin'

Literally

Its all good

No worries

Voted off the island

OMG

F--in

24/7

Same ol, same ol

Pushing the envelope

With all due respect

Outside the box

WTF

Thrown under the bus

No brainer

A hundred and ten percent

No problem

Amazing

LOL

Dude

Don't go there

Long story short

and one of my favorites,

You go girl

And while I do often enjoy saying many of these words & expressions, I will try to refrain from saying a few of them, notably..."No Problemo."