Manisha, Manhattan, and more pictures

Tonight is Kim's birthday but today was my chance to visit my local city of lights. I was inspired to act as a tourist again by my friend Manisha.* She came for an impromptu overnight visit en route from Bogota to Mumbai a few weeks ago and was so excited to be in America for the first time that this was her reaction to my license plate:


Or, likewise, at an American flag and subway car:



Her best smile though? Reserved for a post-dance party trip to a punjabi greengrocers.

[Seriously, she looks like a starving woman in a feast!]

It was a miserable day for pictures but I managed to catch a few things I'd never seen before. My favorite example? The sad panda wandering near Wall Street. Somehow so fitting...





All in all it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon, even if the weather was a bit dreary. That night was a pirate-themed birthday party for Kim in a board game bar (nirvana for Kim, let me tell you) so weather stopped being a factor. My failings at BananaGrams, however are another story entirely...

* Manisha, the best CouchSurfing host in history, with whom I stayed (you may recall) for a week in Manizales, Colombia in October 2008.

What rhymes with Polka? [My birthday, that's what!]

Through some strange circumstances I have celebrated my last three birthdays in New York. This year was no different, but (blissfully) the commute was easier.* Likewise, wonderfully, as the two usually go hand in hand I have celebrated all three with my sister. The third part of this little trifecta, though, is a bit more unusual: polka. Yes, that's right, think lederhosen.




Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's genetics. Maybe it is Kim's friend and roommate Caley, who is an unbelievable Germanophile. Even if it is a simple combination of all three, though, it is still great fun. I mean, how can you go wrong with beer, sausages, and dancing?

Added bonus: The Devil Went Down to Bavaria!


(I really wish I'd taped the version I saw, but this'll have to do...)

Oh, and did I mention THE ALPINE HORN?



* I mean it would have to be: I came in from Tel Aviv last year. [Which, in retrospect, makes this year's celebration all that much stranger.]