PERSONAL NEWS #260

October 2^nd, after my private yoga class with Fabrice at my apt, I took car service into lower Manhattan to put in 4 hours of work at the office.

October 3^rd through 7^th, I put in the OT with my job, as it’s the “mini tax season” until the 17^th.

October 8^th, I met up with my friend Yvette in Manhattan for an afternoon of “photo adventures” at Roosevelt Island and Sutton Place.  [Weather wasn’t the greatest, but we made the most of it.]  I haven’t visited Roosevelt Island since 2004 and many changes were happening at the southern tip of the island.  The nicely situated Four Freedoms Park, which is a memorial to FDR, and it looks like some work is being done to the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital.  Afterwards, we had a so-so lunch at an upper eastside Asian restaurant, and then strolled around the classy neighborhood of Sutton Place.  At 1^st Avenue and 53^rd Street, Yvette and I crossed paths with actress Scarlett Johannson.  She was walking with a friend.  Then Yvette and I had a refreshing drink at Starbucks, before my friend jumped on LIRR.  Back in my hood, I had a private yoga class with Fabrice at 7pm, and then rested for the evening.

October 9^th, long busy day of hanging out with my friend Dennis.  I took MetroNorth to White Plains and from there we drove around the area of Warwick.  Around there we went to the annual Sugar Loaf fallfest, which was very enjoyable, and I purchased a lovely pair of handmade fingerless gloves.  Afterwards we drove to WestPoint for our 2:30pm 2-hour tour of the academy and grounds.  Fascinating tour and our guide, Anne, was very informative, humorous and charming.  From there we drove up to the top of Bear Mountain, as the sun had come out, but it was still abit windy and chilly.  Views from Bear Mountain were lovely.  Then it was on to Nyack for dinner at an “all you can eat” Sushi buffet.  Good food, but we ordered way too much, and very full by the time we left.

October 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th and 14^th I put in for overtime with my job, as it’s the “mini tax season” until the 17^th.

October 12^th, I had an appt with NYU Dentistry for more crown / post prep work.  Learned that my last two payments was reduced to one, plus about six more visits and I am done.

October 15^th, after doing chores, laundry and assisting Dana, my cleaning lady, I headed into the office for more overtime work during “mini tax season”.

October 16^th, after my private yoga class with Fabrice at my apt, I headed into the office for more overtime work during “mini tax season”.  Spent the evening chatting with friends on the phone.

October 17^th, I had to work the last day of “mini tax season” until 8pm, which meant I didn’t get to celebrate my 58^th birthday.  Though I did pick up some Insomnia double chocolate brownies to enjoy and I received about 88 birthday greetings on my FB page.

October 20^th, after work I had a physical therapy session for my ankle and foot.

October 21^st, I took a much needed vacation day from work to recover from the mini tax season, take care of errands, chiropractor appt and have dinner with friends to celebrate my birthday at a Thai restaurant called SongKran.

October 22^nd, after my private yoga class with Fabrice at my apt, I took care of assorted errands and did several loads of laundry.

October 23^rd, I joined my friend Judith for a movie and lunch at Nanoosh.   The food at Nanoosh [Broadway and 68^th Street] was delicious and fresh.  The film we saw was an excellent true story about Phiona [“The Queen of Katwe”], a girl from poverty who becomes an excellent chess champion. I highly recommend it.  Also, I firmly believe this film deserves some Oscars.

October 26^th, I had an appt with NYU School of Dentistry for more crown / post prep work.  I also made the final payment for all the dental work I’ve had done this year.

October 29^th, I joined my friends Cielito, Roland and Elliott in heading up to Peekskill, NY for a Halloween party, private screening of the film “We Are the Hartmans” and a fundraiser regarding stopping of the horrific Spectra pipeline near Indian Point nuclear plant.  We had dinner in Peekskill at a good Mexico restaurant called Ruben’s Café.

October 30^th, I strolled around the lovely and delightful Brooklyn botanical gardens on a sunny, warm afternoon before joining my friend Debbie for tea / dessert at the Cocoa Bar in Park Slope.  Afterwards, on our way back to Debbie’s apt, it clouded up quickly and rained on / off.