Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Riche people in New York

Greetings, and a Merry Christmas Week to You!

I am on my fabulous Christmas vacation in Manhatten. I'm benefitting from one of those odd frugally-rich situations. Captain Awesome sublet an apartment from a friend for a couple months, and has lots of too many air miles to fly his offspring around with, so we are all here, crashing at his flat.

And watching hours of Disney Channel on the sublet big-screen t.v.

Other than the relatively cheap free flights, apartment we had to have anyway, and television viewing, everything else has been properly expensive. The adorable little neighborhood restaurants, relatively pricey. Shuttling around town on the subway--family too large to fit in taxi--adds up. Christmas tree lights and paper towels in city hardware store, probably more than I'd pay at home. My children look absolutely adorable and might be passing as privileged natives of the casually-dressed juvenile variety. Though at one point I did look at them all and realize, of course they might be passing at natives: all but one are wearing shoes and coats and hats and pants purchased in our nouveau-riche era.

What else? We went to the Toys R Us at Times Square, so the children could buy presents for each other. Toys R Us has a ferris wheel inside, of all things. Parental executive decision is that the line is too long, so we didn't do that. And an animatronic dinosaur rex, that was cool. Captain Awesome, his usual awesome self, managed to find a cash register with almost no line behind the dinosaur. As opposed to the snaking huge long line to the other cash registers in front of Terrible Rex.

More and more I have less and less to say on my blog here. Money changes the context, but most the things on my mind are almost unrelated to money, so they're out of scope of this webspace. I'm less shocked and dazed by my life these days. So, here is ordinary in an extraordinary context: Awesome is having a hard time sharing his apartment with us, though he invited us all here. And when I first arrived I discovered he and his friend decorate in high geek--cables and cords and connections snaking all over the small space, files and electronic storage and in-process projects laid everywhere about. Which I had immediate affection for, being a technophile girl, but nevertheless started bargaining for some space to put the kids suitcases or give them some table room. A sort of ordinary, inescapable marital clash. But in Manhatten. Where with all the city has to offer, we are punctuating our adventures with television.

4 comments:

Heidi said...

How fun! Christmas in Manhatten! What memories you'll be making. Merry CHristmas!

Messy Jess said...

Oh, I'm soooo jealous! We used to spend Christmas's at the Carlyle and went to Macy's to see Santa and have our picture taken. Horse Drawn Buggies... take them to the muesuem and there is a rad science building- I'll get back with you on the name...
There's so much to do! Take some pictures!! There is a restaurant named Googlies? Awesome Food...
Have you thought about getting a limo to escort you around? Too much fun!!
Have a Merry Christmas!!

karen said...

Christmas in Manhattan - it doesn't get more charming than that. We have a son who lives there, but we're meeting him in Las Vegas this year right after Christmas. Definately not as charming, but still fun. Have a great time! And PS: I hope you'll still keep up the blog. I'm kind of hooked on it.

smart mama said...

oh oh- must hit akendiz turkish resteraunt while you are there near the moma- my boys favorite

i love the city that never sleeps- it always feels like a slightly alternate universe