I must start off by explaining that the gestation of this
blog post has been similar to Shane Watson’s 2013 UK Ashes tour, plenty of
false starts that sparkle with promise but ultimately peter out. Finally, though, here is an update from the
Land of the Free.
Back in September, we attended the Global Citizen
Concert in Central Park, with Mandy and Maika.
The purpose of the event was to end global poverty but if I am being honest
that took a back seat as we saw Kings of Leon, John Mayer, Alicia Keys (firming
as the next Mrs Connors) and Stevie Wonder. Natalie, as always, displayed her
popular culture naivety when she asked “Does Stevie Wonder have any other songs
besides I Just Called To Say I Love You?”
Her query was answered by most charismatic stage presence I have ever
seen. The only thing that could have improved on the occasion would be if this
occurred:
Also in September, I changed jobs and began working at
24 Hour Fitness on 53rd and Lexington Avenue – a block away from our
place, which makes the early mornings a tiny bit more bearable. The gym has an
affiliation with Derek Jeter of New York Yankees fame (career salary earnings
in excess of $253 million) and he occasionally visits the club, which creates
mayhem amongst the members. I have been welcomed warmly by the staff and often
referred to as Crocodile Dundee, Killer Croc, Skippy and my favourite Kangaroo
Jack. My colleagues also tend to go in
for elaborate handshakes upon passing each other include fistbumps and quasi
boy-band routines. Sadly, as Ruiz says, I have white boy disease and I am
generally closer to knocking myself out than I am to appropriately engaging in their
brotherly camaraderie.
In October, the planets aligned and my little brother
Stephen and his girlfriend Carmel made it across the pond for a ten day stint. Stephen brought with him news of Wagga Wagga
and the cocksure strut of a Hawthorn supporter. He and I wagered on the 2012
AFL Grand Final with the loser having to wear the winning teams commemorative
t-shirt in a series of photos at local landmarks in our respective cities.
Stephen held up his end of the bargain and the photos of him at Robertson Oval
and the Oasis Aquatic Centre in a Swans shirt warmed my heart. He arrived in
New York with a Hawthorn t-shirt and the expectations I would reciprocate. As
you can see from the photo from handover ceremony he will be waiting some time
for this.
Stephen and Carmel traversed the city, taking in the
sights from the Brooklyn Bridge, increasing their cultural capital with a late
night viewing of the Lion King and enjoying beers on rooftop bars at sunset. If
there were to be a signature image from their time in New York, it would be
Stephen consuming pizza and hotdogs with gusto. Not since Papa Guiseppe has one
man done so much for the humble slice. The effect of his efforts buoyed the local
economy and resulted in our cistern overflowing. I’m not kidding either, let’s
just say it was far from pleasant but nonetheless hilarious – well after the
fact.
I celebrated my birthday in November by watching the
New York Knicks get beaten like a redheaded stepchild at Madison Square Garden
by the San Antonio Spurs. The dearth of a contest did not take away from the
grandeur of the location and the thrill of seeing such celebrities as Larry
David, Spike Lee and Nelly courtside. Speaking of redheads my good friend Goose
and his wonderful wife Rebecca welcomed into the world Alfie on my
birthday. I was really hoping for a
no-holds barred jelly-wrestling match with Stacey Keibler, but this was the
next best thing.
In November, we were lucky enough to score a ticket each
to the hottest Thanksgivukkah in town, at the home of John and Rony. For the
luddites out there, Thanksgivukkah is a cross between Thanksgiving and Hanukkah
– quite an event in these parts. The next such conjoint event will happen in
77, 000 years from now [Ed: True story], so we were fortunate enough to be guided
through the cultural maze of not one but two traditional US holidays. The 14-pound turkey (that’s approximately 7kg,
for those playing at home) was deliciously juicy and all attendees made pigs
themselves as expected – but the apple crisps with vanilla ice cream dessert
won hands down. Natalie’s favourite was the delectable pumpkin soup.
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[--Ed: For a full rundown of the gorgeous food at the
event, complete with a downloadable excel spreadsheet of ingredients if you
want to recreate this at home: http://eatyeats.com/2013/12/16/thanksgivukkah-recap/
]
Christmas came and went without a fuss. The separation
of church and state means that work here resumes on Boxing Day, which means
that celebrations were muted in comparison to The Prawn and Cumquat Gin Bacchanal
of 2012 (Richard Taggart and Maggie Connors I am looking at you). We did go and
see Betrayal by Harold Pinter, starring the scorching hot newlyweds, Daniel
Craig and Rachel Weiss. The latest incarnation of Bond was a commanding stage
presence radiating intent and malice, while Weiss dithered between love
interests before being left bereft of love and happiness. Ten thumbs up.
As we approach our two-year anniversary in New York in
March [Ed: and our three year wedding anniversary!], our plans are to attempt
to survive another winter (If we had a theme song, the chorus would be Ruiz squealing
“I’m freezing my f*cking face off”). For
my part, I cannot wait to see Lebron James in the flesh on January 10th,
where I can only hope to witness him scoring 135 points versus our Brooklyn Nets, like this:
We will also be returning to Sydney in late March for
two weeks for Snowdon and Rani’s wedding, Natalie’s Dad’s 60th
birthday and my Dad’s 69th birthday in Wagga. Can’t wait to see you
all!
