Thawing Out

The last week has taught me something about myself. I can't live here forever. New York had its first miserably cold days this season, just well-timed to catch me on my return from a snow-blanketed but slushy Seattle. Two nights in a row we hit 0 degrees here, with a wind chill of -10. Jessica (my college roommate), here in town on business, put me up at her hotel and we stomped around the city during this blight. She grew weary of my complaints of frozen thighs and an icebox butt, offering to buy me long underwear to combat my chill, but finally relenting to the cold, we headed back to a noisy steam radiator-warmed hotel (those of us from the Malden know this phenomenon well, and as I had grown used to the anvil chorus in my room, this hotel didn't bother me a stitch!) and watched movies and planned our next culinary adventure. One of the places we discovered is the Doughnut Plant, with its 4 flavors only - big soft pillows of fried dough (no cake doughnuts here!) covered with vanilla bean glaze, Valrhona glaze, pistachio and (the WINNER!) fresh pear glaze. Flavors change seasonally - I bet the pistachio and pear are exchanged for fresh peach and spring strawberry during warmer months. For any of you who want to try one, I promise to take you upon your next visit.

The time has also brought a few welcome changes - today was my first day of work at what seems like a wonderful little company called JetBlue Airways. Sure, there was lots of logo wear and fawning over a brand well-branded, but maybe this little company has got it right. I can't begin to tell you how many people came up to me during orientation and said, 'it sounds too good to be true, and I didn't believe it either. Just wait and see for yourself.' If you haven't flown them, check them out sometime. And don't be fooled by the Direct-TV at every seat/in-flight yoga/healthy snacks/one-class airline marketing hoo-ha. They've got a good business model, they seem to be genuinely eager to make an impact, and hell, I found out today that the CEO only pays himself $200k annually + profit sharing of $85k last year, which certainly smells of balance, even if it's not the real thing. Besides, anytime you can get 2 jaded ex-Microsoft employees in the room together (a former MSFT consultant heads up part of their IT group), giggling with delight and saying they might actually wear JetBlue logo wear, either someone's spiked the punch or they're doing something pretty cool. Now if only they would make JetBlue mittens...

Last night was also my first night in my very first New York apartment. Well, it's really just a tiny pass-through closet I'm renting from this German filmmaker chick, but it's a bed, and she's not my elderly aunt. The whole room is about 7x8, with the 'hallway' taking up about 1.5' of the 7' space - leaving me a twin futon and a shelf crammed with my clothes in about 5'. I had a nice, big room rented near the Museum of Natural History, but the guy (Woody Allen-type neurotic older OCD-sufferer) gave my room away during the holidays, and then jerked me around when I offered to rent his larger room. So I'm living in the E. Village, about 2 blocks from my great aunt's place, and about an hour commute from work. It's tiny, but I'm only here until the end of April when she goes to Germany, and I start looking in earnest for a place to share with Tyler and the dog.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year! If I didn't get a chance to see you, perhaps I will in the spring or summer, once I have a little vacation time saved, and I can begin to use those flight benefits of mine. And feel free to write or call, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth!

Take care, avoid the flu (we had it over the holidays, the ass-kicking variety), and remember, check out Tyler's band!! They're an awesome little trio with some crazy surf/carnival/jazz influences, and they're trying to get shows set up in Seattle. They're known as the Diminished Men, and you can download their music from http://www.diminishedmen.com! Play it loud, and pass it on!!!