More NY

Cab Driver: That's $10 per person


New York Born Co-worker: $10?! Are you crazy?

Lucy: It's true. They're all charging $10 per person per zone.


Cab Driver: Here, look. (handing her the sheet all of the cabbies have been waving at us.)


NYBC-W: I don't need to see any paper to know you're making a killing from this strike. You and Bloomberg! Damn millionaire making a killing trying to raise our rates and there you are right on his coat tails! I already know you're making $25 from this ride.


Cab Driver: It's $10 per person.


NYBC-W: We're all going to the same location! How is that $10 per person? You've got single moms sitting back here and we don't have money to throw around like that. God damn Bloomberg is testing us. He just wants to know how many of us will pay this stupid rate.(Mumbling) Putting my kid through college... damn $10 per head, my ass! Goddamn strike, only ones getting screwed are us working moms trying to get to work every day.


Cab Driver: Ok, ok, I'll take $5 per person.


NYBC-W: (Suddenly very sweet) Oh thank you so much. You're a good man.

I was howling. I could have never done that. Every time I got in a cab this week I didn't care what they were charging. I was just so happy to have a cab.

That was the start of my day. I later ended up working from my hotel room. Here's the view from over my laptop and out the window:

I like that view. I still can't get over the architecture of NYC. Even the hotel I'm in must have been an old tenement building. The rooms have crazy layouts and it seems no two are alike. It always makes me wonder about all the people who have lived here. Like that old building out my window, I wonder how many of her tenants I would have liked? I wish I had the chance to meet the people who designed and built that place. Granted, I might really disliked some of them but there were bound to have been a few cool people involved the in the old place. Maybe I'm weird, but that's the kind of thing I think about when I look at these old buildings.

After working for a few hours, I drifted off for a 20 minute nap. I was SO comfortable on that bed I did NOT want to get up for dinner. I eventually hauled my butt off the bed and got ready. We lucked out and found that the hotel had a complimentary town car available just when we needed it. The driver was very nice. He drove like a maniac but was incredibly calm the whole ride. I'm used to crazy cabbies that are angry the whole ride It was a nice change of pace.

A friend saw Andy Roddick signing tennis balls in front of our hotel. I hear he had a busy week. I saw Moby holding a baby outside the store I was in, in the Lower East End. I was later told he lives in the neighborhood. How do people know these things?

We had a large group planning to meet at The Social Stanton (turn down your speakers if you're at work but click on the bars to look around). I'd never been to the place before, but I'd been told it was a hot place to go. Everybody I work with seems to like the hip places. I don't. I'm a 40-year-old junior executive at a Fortune 500 company, I'm no hipster.

I was pleasantly surprised by the place. Due to the size of our party, the menu was prix fixe. Someone did a great job selecting the food for us because it was delicious. The fish tacos were yummy (not Nobu yummy, but yummy none the less). We sampled some french onion soup dumplings, thin crust pizza, ravioli, chicken and waffles (we were foolishly expecting a Roscoe's variety experience and were naturally disappointed) but the big it was the dessert. They served fresh baked cookies and warm donuts with dipping sauce. Holy crap, what a great idea!!! We loved them. It would be a fun idea to try at a family gathering some time. (Or maybe a craft day!)

I rarely drink so I wound up sitting at the dry end of the table. One co-worker is pregnant so we wanted to get her home at a decent hour. We stepped out of the restaurant and a cab dropped someone off right in front of us. I decided it was good pregnancy karma working on our side. We got back to the hotel around 9:30 and I couldn't be happier.

I leave early tomorrow morning and, as usual, am happy to be getting home.