Our first day in NYC

February 2007
Hello all!

Sorry this is a somewhat generic message...I am SO behind on keeping in touch with all of you that it seems overwhelming. Dave was supposed to write our Christmas letter this year but, as you may have noticed, it didn't get done. He says he is already working on one for this Christmas, though!

Anyway, so many of you have tried to keep in touch with me and have sent me emails, etc. THANK YOU! I am just now getting my feet on the ground.
Ok, so here's what's going on:

In December, Dave graduated from the watchmaking program at OSU. He passed his final with flying colors, of course. He was then offered his dream job with Patek Philippe in NYC. They are like the Rolls Royce of luxury Swiss watches. (If you've never heard of them, it's because you (and we) will never be able to afford one). Anyway, it was a very unique opportunity and actually an honor that they would even hire him straight out of school. They are also just a great company to work for. Very nice, very professional, etc. They take pretty good care of their employees. SO...

Here we are living in New Jersey. We packed up quickly and left Tulsa on Jan. 10th. We were hoping to make a leisurely trip 'cross country, visiting all our friends along the way but, if you remember, that's when a huge ice storm hit the midwest on Jan.12th. SO, we hustled as fast as we could to leave OK and get to NJ before the storm caught up with us!

We are renting a lovely house in a town called Waldwick. It is on the NE side of NJ in Bergen County. Dave takes the bus to NYC everyday and it is about an hour and ten minutes from door to door. Patek only requires a 35 hr. workweek so Dave is always home in time for dinner, etc. Which is good since many wives I talk to say their husbands commute to the city and don't get home 'til 7 or 8pm. Bergen County is very pretty; LOTS of trees, kind of hilly, lots of little lakes and ponds. I haven't been crazy about the cold temps. but spring will be here soon and I think it will be beautiful! The kids have enjoyed playing in the snow, sledding, etc. Something they haven't done sine we lived in Michigan.

I am teaching classes at several local gyms and trying to get my name 'out there' as a personal trainer. My most popular class so far has been Zumba ( Zumba.com ) since no one here had even heard of it yet. I am already pretty booked up with classes so that, and unpacking, has kept me busy busy busy!

Last month I gathered all my courage, loaded up the kids and went to NYC for the first time! We took the bus in and then took the subway. I figured out the subway all by myself with only a few mistakes here and there. I had nightmares the whole night beforehand that the subway was really crowded and I would get off with two kids and somehow leave one kid on the train and it would leave the platform with me screaming, etc. It was a great night of anxiety driven sleep. ANYWAY, it all worked out well. We finally got to the TODAY show just 15 min. before they finished up. We were able to stand outside the window and peek in at Martha Stewart cooking something and then Ann Curry interviewing some lady in a green sweater. That's about as exciting as it got, though.

Then we went into Dave's building which is right next to the TODAY show. He's on the 9th floor and had to come downstairs to get us past security. The security isn't just for Patek Philippe, of course. There's a Citibank in that bldg. and also the Dutch Embassy and probably other important stuff, too. Not to mention a dentist...he must be a dentist to the stars because I don't know how else he could afford the overhead costs in a bldg. like that. Anyway, we got to see EVERYTHING there was to see at Patek Philippe. Dave's boss showed the kids some interesting watches, etc. I nearly gasped when he handed a $60,000 watch to Peter to 'play' with. I was so afraid he would drop it!

Afterwards, we went to lunch at McDonald's (of all places) then Dave went back to work. I took the kids to Grand Central Station which we all thought was really cool. I've only seen it in the movies, of course, so the first thing that really struck me was all the people that were in there! I guess when they shoot a film, they somehow empty the place out as much as possible. Then we went to the Empire State Bldg. We didn't actually go up since it was a 2 hour wait...we just walked around the lobby and took pictures, etc. The kids especially enjoyed the King Kong display.

Then we took the subway to Central Park. We walked around a bit 'til we found some playgrounds where the kids had a fun time. I liked the playgrounds because they were fenced and gated so you don't have to worry about your kid somehow wandering off into the city or something. Our playtime was cut short by Caleb's need to go to the bathroom. Which is a serious problem, actually. I couldn't find a public restroom anywhere . SO, we took the subway back to the bus station because that's the only place I knew for certain we could find a public restroom! Someone told me later that you just walk into the hotel(s) and act like you belong there and it's usually not a problem. Any suggestions?

After that we went to meet Dave in Times Square which was CROWDED. I had one kid in each hand and one kid holding onto my belt loop on the back of my jeans...just to make sure I didn't misplace someone. They walked, of course, with their heads and eyes turned upward the whole time looking at all the huge tv screens, etc. So I had to literally pull them through Times Sq. until we could meet up with Dave at ToysRus. It felt like I had been walking uphill for two blocks.
Anyway, the toy store there is pretty cool. They have a full size ferris wheel right inside the store. They also have a huge dinosaur from Jurassic Park, that really does look very real. It roars and moves it's head, tail and even eyeballs around. Also, they have entire Lego creations of the Empire State Bldg., Statue of Liberty, and much more. It was really cool. After that we headed back to the bus station and got home in time for dinner!

I was really proud of myself for surviving my first day in the city, especially with 3 kids in tow! They had a good time, too, but need to learn a few more lessons about being in the city. Like: hustling on and off the subway train quickly, getting OFF an escalator quickly so 20 people don't bottleneck behind you, same for going through the subway turnstiles, AND last but not least NOT getting smashed by a revolving door. Peter and Caleb both had a very bad experience with the revolving door at the Empire State Bldg. Luckily it was a manual door so it did stop (after they were smashed). SO, we'll just have to learn to be a little more city savvy and have some practice with those darned revolving doors!