Up For Breakfast

I got a call this morning from Boaz saying that he was listening to The Splendid Table last night before bed and he heard authors and food connoisseurs, Janet and Michael Stern, raving about Up For Breakfast, this quaint breakfast eatery in Manchester, Vermont. You can listen to their review here. The outlet shops, Mrs. Murphy's Donuts, and Orvis all get a special mention, but I'm guessing they didn't see John Irving when they went. He is a frequent diner at Up For Breakfast. Many thanks to Boaz for telling me about this!! Elissa and I are heading up to Manchester this weekend and perhaps we will have to go to Up For Breakfast to try the Wild Turkey Hash or my favorite, their blueberry pancakes (Unlike Janet Stern, I don't count the blueberries). If you are looking for a great weekend trip, I encourage you to head up to Manchester, VT. Gee, I'm sounding more and more like those tv ads encouraging you to come to colonial Williamsburg. On second thought, please don't come to Manchester, VT. I don't want to have to wait for a table at Up For Breakfast nor do I want any car traffic.

The bus can be a dangerous place

I was assaulted on the bus this morning. I guess ASSAULTED is a strong word to use, but I'm going to use it anyway. The guy sitting next to me, about 35, fell asleep and must have had one of those falling dreams because all of a sudden his elbow made a quick jab into my side. Was it something I said? No, I didn't say anything. I was just minding my own business, trying to relax. After the sharp jab, I pretended nothing had happened and he started to apologize, embarrassed from his assault. "It's okay", I assured him. It was at that point that I should have faked a deep slumber and leaned my head over on his shoulder w/some fake drool. The funny thing is that I also had an incident on the ride home last night as well. The man sitting next to me fell asleep with a folder in his lap. About halfway into the trip the folder was poking my side and I sort of pushed it back onto his side until he woke up and I pretended I was asleep. I hope the bus designers at Lakeland Bus are reading this and that they'll take my stories into account when they start designing some new buses. How about some sort of divide between me and the person next to me? Give me a little button I can push that will give the rider beside me a little shock if their head or elbow is getting too close? I'm just a phone call away if you want to run some design ideas by me. I'll wait for your call but leave a message if I don't pick up as I am also waiting to hear from the guy holding my suits.

And now, I'd like to leave you with a new Wednesday feature on this blog, a random photo found on google image search.

Snake on the plane.

Did you hear about this snake on a plane? Things got so bad with this mile high couple that they had to be handcuffed and the plane diverted. THERE ARE HORNY PEOPLE ON THIS MOTHER****ING PLANE. Where's Sam Jackson when you need him?

Out on DVD today...Guillermo del Toro's PAN'S LABYRINTH which bears a similar resemblance to Jim Henson's version. This is a Must See! I also recommend Darren Aronofsky's THE FOUNTAIN, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz.

Have you seen the trailer for the new Hairspray? John Travolta creeps me out these days.

That Suit Suits You Just Fine...Shall I Ring You Up?

I hope you had a great weekend! I was busy on Saturday working Alumni Reunion Weekend and the Gala went very well at the Grand Hyatt. It was well attended and the music, food, and open bar were a hit! Even Congressman Charles Rangel (NYU Alumnus) was in attendance! I'm going to suggest that next year they let me put together a video on Alumni Reunion Weekend. That would be a really fun project and would be a great way to show alumni how much fun the weekend is.

Elissa and I did a little shopping yesterday and I stopped into a store which shall remain nameless, to look at and try on suits. The store was empty and the salesmen were actually standing outside, one with a mustard yellow tape measure around his neck discussing the weather. We walked in and they immediately followed telling me about the buy one get one free suit sale! I said that I was indeed there to look at suits and one of the men sized me up with his eyes and said "46?". Where were we? A Carnival? Was he going to guess my weight next? I'm sure he's fitted enough men that he knows these things. Next thing I knew, he was pulling out suits for me to try on and selling them to Elissa. Did he think I was going to buy two suits on the spot? I only came in to LOOK at ONE suit, not to BUY TWO. There was more pressure in that store than in an overinflated tire tube. I kept on throwing out hints that we had to go, that I was only starting to look, that I had to think it over...he didn't seem to be budging, he just kept on pulling out more suits. I think Elissa used a Mother's Day line which finally led to his asking me if I wanted to put the two suits we liked on hold for 7 days. He told me that he didn't want me to come back to find that the two suits I wanted had been sold. How nice! He cares about me! Waaaaaiit a minute... "Okay, sure" I said, just glad that we were one step closer to getting out of there. Of course, his next line was, "They'll be on hold for seven days and if I don't hear from you, you'll be hearing from me". I didn't even catch the guy's name but now he has my number and he'll be calling soon I'm sure.

Happy Monday.

Driving Mrs. Marks.

As I'm sure you know, yesterday was NYU's 175th Commencement which took place in Washington Square Park. The place was packed and Wynton Marsalis played a tune that filled the air with joy and put a smile on every face. My assigned duty was to escort Lillian Marks, the oldest alumna (100 and sharp as a tack), around from place to place. I picked Lillian up at her apartment in the morning and brought her to the Pre-Commencement Breakfast, an event for those Alumni who have graduated 50 or more years ago. I then brought Lillian to the Commencement Stage where she would sit for the entire ceremony and be introduced to the graduates. It was quite touching and if you'd like to see this moment, check out the video. ( Skip to 1:31:12 on video) After the ceremony was over, I took Lillian home and I learned all about her amazing life and her husband who passed away a few years ago at 93. Lillian still lives alone and manages just fine. She is an extraordinary woman. Here's a little information on Lillian. Today begins Alumni Reunion Weekend!!

Grad Alley!!!!

Today is Grad Alley and it's going to be crazy! Unfortunately I didn't have time to plan out a fun, exciting, humorous, intriguing, thought provoking blog. There are going to be thousands of seniors and their families at Grad Alley today, NYU's big Carnival Extravaganza! I'll be handing out free stuff at one of the booths, so if you are in the neighborhood stop by! Oh yeah, and in case you were wondering what I made for dinner last night..drum roll please...

Lemon pepper Tilapia with mushrooms and parsley, sauteed in a lemon/white wine sauce.

Looking forward to the next dinner night with Elissa. I haven't mentioned her name for a few posts now so I figured I would drop it in here.

MOVE...THAT...BUSTED!!

I always found Ty Pennington, host of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to be very annoying. He's always screaming into the megaphone, giving families a new home while making them deaf in one ear. Keeping the fad going, Ty was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. I have a feeling he's been wasted on the set of that show as well and that the "special project rooms" that he has built for families should be checked out by building inspectors. We've installed air purifiers throughout the house so Suzanne can breathe better but I was drunk and forgot to install some beams in your master bedroom suite. MOVE THAT BUS!!! I'll admit that I watch this show from time to time and will even get teary eyed. They do an excellent job of pulling those emotional strings.

And while we're on the topic of emotions and booze, are you Hooked on a feeling? I am, and so is our good friend David Hasselhoff, who has been banned by a Los Angeles judge from seeing his two daughters after a video showed David drunk. Now get this, he had his kids shoot a video of him while he was drunk so he could see how he behaved while intoxicated. Great idea Dave! Wait, wait...before I say anything more about this take a look at some of the video. McDonalds has a new spokesperson.



How about that? I knew he was on Baywatch, but Burgerwatch? I'll leave you with my themesong, you know we all have one. What's yours?