NY Post. Bagel Shops. $1 Pizza. Dog parks. Broadway. Interesting people-EVERYWHERE. Why do I love NYC so much? All that & more. You can never be bored here. I hate being bored. I want to be able to walk for miles and see something new and different, whether it be a store or people or a park, every day I am alive. I’m a walker and NYC is a walking paradise. Even in the downpour last night, we had fun dodging under scaffolding and running across broad avenues to reach the historic and wonderful theater where we saw Kinky Boots.

Enriching my colleague’s life with a night on Broadway, he was even more amazed when I leaned over and told him that those gorgeous ladies doing the high kicks in the skimpy outfits and kinky boots were all men. Priceless. He was still talking about it the next day and really appreciated the story line and talent displayed on stage. But never, ever would you or could you experience something like that in China.  I’m glad we could share that with him.  And, yes, those were Kinky Cocktails in sippy cups.  When I die and the grandkids are going through our crap, they’ll see my collection of sippy cups from all the Broadway plays we have gone to and think their Nai Nai was pretty cool and drank ALOT.  Oh, the stories they will tell but hopefully we will inspire them to see our big, wonderful world.

Today, after work we walked around the UN area between 49th and 55th and 2nd Avenue, wandering aimlessly with no destination in mind as we do everywhere we go.  Manhattan, we love you!  When we stumbled upon the Peter Detmold dog park by the East River and 51st Street we just felt like it was home.

There were even Vizla’s playing among the many dogs with their owners chatting and enjoying the warm sunny day.  Ahhhhhhh….this is where we belong.  While there were no coal barges running up and down the river like in Shanghai, an apartment here would be awesome.  We favor a river view always, though whether we could afford one here is still to be determined.

Many of the buildings were very historic with beautiful stonework and rich details.  Doormen in their uniforms guarding the residences doesn’t bode well for affordability but does speak to feeling secure and pampered.  Many restaurants including Il Positino and other international restaurants due to the UN being so close made for a diverse atmosphere.  How can we make this happen?  Well, I have been known to be a planner and stubborn in my resolve to make things happen–it took me almost 4 years to get an international job, taking on the challenge of many different assignments to get to where we are now, so it’s in my wheelhouse to make this happen in the future for us as well.

We have no intention of cutting our current adventure short but we are restless vagabonds who long to have Manhattan as our base of operation some day, along with a nice abode in Boise, Idaho to visit often with the soon-to-be arriving Mia and her superb parents, Mike & Hannah, along with our son James who will probably stay in the damp, grey Seattle he favors.  When he graduates next year, I just may go back and get my MBA in China which could serve me well as a consultant in my future years should I go in that direction.  In the meantime, I will dream of living in the Big Apple with Thom and start saving to make the dream become a reality.  EVERYONE NEEDS TO DREAM BIG!!  That doesn’t mean, of course, that I’m giving up our VIP Membership at Dragonfly Massage in Shanghai.  A girl has to have her weekly foot massages.  I’m not a savage.