On My Mind: It's Officially Spring!

Dreaming of a White Easter?
What was up with the snow flurries this morning? But wait! That's a question a newbie would ask. I, on the other hand, have learned that there is always a snow storm in NYC the second or third week of March...I think there was one in April a couple years back, though I can't be sure. Just saying - snow during spring ain't no big thing.

If you're new to NYC, you think, "Spring equinox! Yay. Time to shake out the spring dresses and pack away the wool. Time for long walks in the park!" Well, hold your lambskin a few weeks. I don't know about you, but I was still wearing my winter coat yesterday...and my hat and gloves. The weather will be in the 50's and even lower in the evenings for a while.

Blink and You'll Miss It
Spring, like fall, in NYC is a fleeting, wonderful, almost imagined experience. It lasts for maybe a week, and if you're not paying attention, you'll have missed it, finding yourself on the other side of hot and humid. But if you're stopping to smell the roses, or in this case, tulips, courtesy of the Department of Parks and Recreation, you'll enjoy observing the entire city waking from its winter doldrums.

Spring Wishlist?
Another difference between NYC and LA--in LA, I didn't shop for the seasons. Here, the beginning of spring means thoughts of shopping. But who can afford it? If I had to prioritize, this is what I'm eyeing this spring:

• The perfect raincoat. Last spring/summer was a wet one. Rain on me once, shame on me; rain on me twice, I want to look cute
• Colorful statement accessories...especially earrings, hats and shoes. I'm getting kinda sick of black, tans and greys, though somehow, in winter, they seem very chic
  
• The perfect cardigan. A little secret about myself - I'd rather be hot than cold. Which is why I hate being caught without the right outerwear when: a> the a/c is blasting in some store that I stepped into to escape the heat, b> a cold front is moving in and I'm in line for bbq or c> the sun has set and I'm people watching at a sidewalk cafe. For several seasons, I had the perfect lightweight white cardigan, but then the ultra delicate fabric turned dingy, so now I'm in the market for a new perfect cardigan--an impossible task, but wish me luck.

What are you looking forward to this spring?

Bitching About The Weather

Just for a moment, can I say I'm sick of this weather? Yeah, I know Michael Bloomberg's outdoor plants need watering, but it's May 16th, and I'm still wearing my winter clothes because it's 50-degrees out and raining without end. With wind chill, it's in the 40's. Can you believe this? All I want to do is take a nap!

Doesn't it feel like the sun's been out only a few days this spring? When, oh, when will the sunshine return? Where or where could it be? Probably in California. Oh no you didn't! Yes I did!

Maybe the gloom and doom will lift tomorrow. The forecast is for 70-degrees and sun. I'm supposed to run a 10K at 9 am. I do hope the weather is good, so I don't catch my death of cold. I haven't been training consistently, so the race is going to be painful enough without being rained on. Plus, these New York Road Runners are hard core - they just zip right past you up those Central Park Hills. I used to think a 10 minute-mile pace was pretty decent. In LA, it's all good. They pat you on the back for trying. Here, a 10-minute mile means more than half the runners in the race are faster than you. To really be respectable, for a woman, you have to run an 8-9 minute mile.

This will be the first race I've run since 2005. I was pretty serious about my running back them. Took a running class with the Road Runners and was faster than I'd ever been. Now, I'm a slow poke again, and I could quite possibly be finishing last tomorrow. See those guys in the picture? They'll have finished the race, eaten their bananas and bagels...maybe a second helping..., changed out of their running shorts and gotten on their subways home before I cross the finish line.We'll see. I keep thinking, "A for effort! A for effort!"

Either way, I'll be motivated to train better. I signed up for a few races this summer, as part of my training for the NYC Marathon. Yes, that's right. After two years of postponing my guaranteed entry, I'm going to try and run it this year. City Guy's running it too!

Nature in the City: Signs of Spring

It's perfect in New York right now. In a few weeks, it'll be hot and muggy, and we'll deal with that then, but right now, at 70-80 degrees, I'm right in my element (I'm from sunnier lands) and in the mood to stop and smell the roses...tulips in this case.

I love that the City has put massive red pots planted full of tulips right outside the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Yes, those vehicles whizzing past the red steel railing have just survived the underwater trek from Brooklyn. Apparently this is part of a NYC Dept of Parks and Recreation effort called PlaNYC, which "includes a number of groundbreaking greening initiatives, including planting street trees in all possible locations, creating 800 new greenstreets."

P.S. I was wondering why the city chose such gargantuan planters (might not come through in the picture, but they really are massive) for this little area outside the Rector Street stop, and City Guy says he's noticed that for years, the city tried to beautify the place with sculptures or other kinds of wimpy vegetation, but these decorative items would get blown away by the massive winds this area seems to funnel. Can you imagine? You're a tourist just minding your biz and get hit by an airblown pot of tulips. So, I guess someone figured massive concrete planters were the way to go.