Exploring

Three weeks and feeling quite at home in the city now. Have had some concerns, but manageable. The other night we came back to the apartments to find that the elevators weren't working. Ok, so do we walk 14 flights? No, apparently the stairs only lead to outdoors for fire safety reasons. My son was getting very antsy. Thankfully we only waited a few minutes before the elevators started working again. But it got me thinking....we would have to hang in other areas of the building or go back out when this happens. Not a very warm and fuzzy feeling...lol.

Parking and traffic has not been too bad. My commute back and forth to work has been good, minimal traffic delays. I have a parking spot in the complex garage, so finding a parking spot is not a problem.

My son and I often take daily walks around the area. We spent some time at the Philadelphia Free Library on Vine Street the other day. What a great building! I spent a lot of time there as a teenager, so it was a walk down memory lane for me. We got familiar with the layout, I renewed my library card, picked up some movies, books, and information on the free events hosted by the library. This weekend we plan to tour the Historical State Penitentiary grounds nearby and visit his favorite museum, The Academy of Natural Sciences. He seems to be enjoying himself and adjusting well.

Exploring the city on my own is always a plus. The other night I went for a motorcycle ride with my honey. The weather was great, a perfect night for it. We checked out the Rum Bar & Lounge too. What a great diverse crowd and great music! We danced all night...one of my favorite things to do! We also took a trip to the Reading Terminal Market, one of my favorite spots. Got lots of goodies!

Now that I have been here a couple of weeks, the feeling of home has started to kick in. I am also a big observer so feeling more comfortable about observing my surroundings and people. So I will share with you some of my observations. I understand my observations and perception of those observations often reflect a lot about the observer, and where I am in my life as the observer, so here it goes....

The other night while at Vango, I noticed a woman celebrating her birthday on her own. She had a cake, a bottle of champagne and a nice plate of yummy seafood! Some of us made it a point to say hello, happy birthday, and converse with her. I was very happy for her to be able to go out and celebrate on her own, but for a moment I felt a bit lonely for her. Why was she celebrating alone? Maybe she wanted it that way.....or maybe her friend or friends couldn't join her on that particular night. She left much earlier than we did, but she made a big impression on me.

She reminded me of a woman I saw on the train on my way to NY a couple of months ago. It was during the Christmas season while my son and I took a day trip to NY. She was sitting on the train with her head against the window and I noticed tears coming down her cheeks. I couldn't help but cry quietly with her for a moment. I wondered what was going on with her? Had she lost someone she loved, did a relationship end, was she or someone she loved sick? I didn't want to disturb her. All I could do was smile at her to let her know I was thinking of her. It was Christmas time, a time for joy, of spending time with family and friends, of celebration, but she seemed very sad. I think of her often still wondering why and hoping she is much happier now.

So glad to be able to share my experiences and thoughts with my good friends and family. Please feel free to comment when you can.

Settling in....

So, it's almost 2 weeks since the move and all is well. Still have some boxes to unpack, but mostly nonessentials. I have been driving into work and I have to say, so far so good. The commute has only been 35-45 minutes and with no major traffic problems. We have been enjoying the city and neighborhood by taking walks. My kid has been pretty happy and that makes mommy very happy.

Last week we went to the movies on Delaware Avenue after having dinner at a great Chinese restaurant in Old City. We took a nice night walk downtown and yesterday we walked around our neighborhood. We got some groceries at the WholeFoods. We also found a restaurant nearby with YUMMY BAKED GOODS....Oh Yeah! Good food and sweets make me very happy.

We haven't had the chance to try out the indoor pool in the building yet. Apparently, it's being repaired, but hopefully it will be ready soon. I think that will be a way for my kid to make some new friends. There are a couple of activities we also want to do hoping to make him some new friends. Management has a party for tenants once a month. Also, there's a bulletin board and we may invite some parents over for a meet and greet.

I have been enjoying the city on my own as well. The first weekend in the city was quite busy. Been spending a lot of time with my honey and friends enjoying what the city has to offer. For a Valentine's Day celebration my honey and I went to Estia, my favorite Greek restaurant by the Avenue of the Arts. We then saw the Parenting 101 show at the Kimmel Center.....Hilarious! I recommend it to all the parents, grandparents, and anyone considering being a parent. You may reconsider after watching the show...lol.

We also went to see a Hypnosis Comedy Show, which started us out as participants, but I guess we were too uptight to be hypnotized because they told us both to sit our butts down after a few minutes...lol. Those that did participate did some very funny stuff. Not sure if they would want it on camera though....lol. I believe they videotaped the whole thing too. Good blackmailing material...lol.

Last night some of us checked out Vango, a funky restaurant and dance place. When we arrived around 7 there was no one there. We had a yummy seafood dinner and then people started arriving around 9. The DJ started playing some great soft soul music and then graduated to fast dance music. Thursday nights seem to be a good night, not too crowded, but enough people to enjoy some good mingling and dancing.

Boy....I'm tired already..lol. Not really. Have another busy week ahead and looking forward to every minute of it.

Finally Moved In!

The last couple of weeks have been very hectic, but I'm finally in my new apartment. Woohoo!! I love my new place! Have a balcony and a nice view of the Art Museum. Managed to unpack the essentials with the help of some friends. Still have some more to do, but got a lot done.

My son seems to be adjusting well. He actually admitted to me that he likes the place. He does miss the house and his friends though. I told him he will make new friends and can visit his other friends soon.

I decided to go out for the first time as a city gal and meet some friends, of all places, at Le Bec Fin. I had never been there before.
What a treat! My friend Carmen runs a meetup group so I decided to meet up for drinks and some food. I decided to walk from my apartment to Le Bec Fin, which is about 8 blocks away. It was cold and windy, froze my butt off, but enjoyed the walk nevertheless.

Ok, so those of you who know me well, know I hardly ever drink. But I decided to celebrate last night and had myself a glass of raspberry champagne......Yummy!I even got to sit close to Chef Georges Perrier for a bit. He was at the bar having hors devours and a drink. The bar tender was experimenting with new drinks for the Valentine's Day menu, and we all got to try the concauctions. We even helped with naming some of the drinks, Aphrodite and Eros, the his and hers drink for the Valentine Day menu.

Instead a full course meal, we ordered from the bar menu, and you would never guess what I had?! Sliders and fries! Yes...burger and fries at Le Bec Fin..lol. But they were the best I've ever had...I swear...lol!! We laughed about having a McD's meal at Le Bec Fin. We had a wonderful time, made new friends. It was a great evening in the city!