Adventures in London: Issue 71

It is Thanksgiving week and even though the Brits don't celebrate the day, that doesn't mean that us Ex-pats cannot celebrate. A number of people have asked us, "What is Thanksgiving all about?" Aside from knowing that it was meant to celebrate the harvest between the Pilgrams and the Native Americans I really did not know much more than that. So in case you too are curious, here is what I've learned. The "first thanksgiving" happened in Plymouth in 1621 (actually the first was in 1619 in Virginia, but Plymouth sounds more official). Since 1863, Thanksgiving in the US is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November (in Canada, it is celebrate on the second Monday in October - don't know the reasoning for the difference). Historically the day was to give thanks to God, but in 1941 it was made into a secular federal holiday so now we just celebrate the Macy's day parade, american football and having a a table full of food and family.

In 2009 on the Landor Plantation of Clapham North, a baker's dozen of ex-pats from all over gathered to celebrate a Midwestern Thanksgiving. Our table was a mix of Brits, Aussies and Yanks who all had one thing in common - we were all ready to eat! Good thing there was plenty of food for all of us to enjoy. Lindsay and Hannah went all out with Turkey, green been casserole, corn casserole, beet and goat cheese salad, and sweet potato bake. I contributed to the table with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and thanks to Lindsay for finding fresh cranberries, I was able to make cranberry sauce. Note to self for next year: remember to bring back more Thanksgiving fixings for the table. Going local on the stuffing wasn't too bad, but I would have rather had stove top stuffing or made my own using pepperidge farm croutons.

I did remember this year to bring back Pumpkin Pie mix which thankfully meant that Natalie made delicious pumpkin pie and pumpkin squares with a dollop of icing. It was a delicious Thanksgiving Saturday. It is hard being away from the family during this time of the year and I especially miss being home this week. Unlike years at home when my general contribution was to open the can of cranberry sauce, make the rolls, 5-cup salad and set the table, this year I was forced to actually cook (which I was pleased to do). I don't know how mom & bhai would make 12+ dishes on Thanksgiving day just them. Truly amasing when you look back and think about it. Maybe next year I will attempt to host Thanksgiving Dinner. I am scared of cooking the turkey, but I think I can overcome that (or everyone will just have to settle for pizza with their stuffing and mashed potatoes).

So in the tradition of playing the "what are you thankful for" game... here is my answer. There are a number of things that I am thankful for. I am thankful for the support of my family, the friends (near and far) in my life, my nephew not forgetting who I am, my mentors who want to see me grow in every aspect of life, and for the discovery of new loves in my life. I am also thankful for my new espresso machine, for my new boots and jumpers that I bought while I was home, my computer and cameras, and my new duvet cover. What were you thankful for this year?

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with your family and friends.

Miss you all and love you more

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 70

There is not a lot to report from this week. It was pretty much spent getting over jet-lag and catching up with work and friends. Oh! And it was spent finding any excuse for a delightful beverage from my new coffee machine. A couple of days before I left for NYC, my new coffee/espresso machine arrived in the mail. Rather timely as I had given up caffeine, but thankful they made decaf capsules. I absolutely adore this machine - it is not quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be like the other capsule maker where you hit a button and go. Instead it is like a traditional espresso machine it up to you to determine the milk and espresso levels. Brings me back to the days of working at the Barnes & Noble cafe at BU :-)

Oh those where the days. I miss working there, having my friends come in and hang out, watching the highschoolers visiting on Open House weekend, creating new coffee-cocktails and yeah the 30% discount. It was nice to have a carefree job, talking with people and making friends with the regulars. Anyway, back to my little red buddy - I feel like he/she needs a name (and a gender). If you reading this, please help me. As a reward, when you come to visit, I will make you a tasty drink!

This week I went to a new restaurant in SoHo called Hummus Bros. It is...well...a hummus restaurant. The menu is a selection of different flavours of hummus, white/brown pita and delicious side dishes of tabouleh, falafel salad, guacamole, and spiced hot cider. It is a low key restaurant with amasing food and atmosphere. Definitely need to take my sister-in-law and mom here when they come to visit (am planting the seed now for another Sevak Europe vacation this summer) and of course anyone else that wants to make the visit to London. After dinner we walked around the neighborhood and saw that Christmas lights are already up on the high street. I guess that is what you get when you live in a country that doesn't have the Thanksgiving pause after Halloween. It made me smile though to see the lights up. There is just something about Christmas decorations and lights that make me smile. Remember staying up after Mom would go to bed back home to set up and decorate the tree, fireplace, kitchen, foyer. I loved hearing her glee when she would come down in the morning to the Christmas fun (that also meant pancakes and bacon for breakfast).

Over the weekend I did what every 15 year old girl did - watched Twilight Sage:New Moon! I am not going to ruin the movie for anyone who has not seen it (or read the books). I will recommend seeing the movie as it is a set up to the chapters to come. Just like fellowship of the ring, this sets the basis for the next 2 books. That said, I will say reading the books I was a Team Edward girl, but after watching the movie I am almost on Team Jacob. After what Edward did, what would you do? Would you just go back like that? I don't know if I could, I mean I eventually would (if I was truly in love with the person), but I would not be able to just let them back in. For those of you who saw the movie, what did you think of it?

Anyway, that is all for me. It has been a lovely week and I am looking forward to enjoying more weeks like this.

Hope you all are well. Miss you truly and dearly and love you with all of my heart.

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issues 60-69

I struggled a lot with the soundtrack this time around. Normally I have a song in my mind and it is just about fitting the photos to it. These past 10 weeks have been a sincere mix of emotions of highs, lows, joy, sadness, accomplishment and disappointments.

The song selected is called "Happy Feet Blue" by jazz artist Wynton Marsalis. I think the title says it all. This period may be what people call the "blues", but I haven't forgotten my happy feet. They are always with me.

I hope you enjoy it.

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 69

So I am back in London and returned to work. It was a nice time away from London and all, but as Nelly once sang - all good things come to an end. A number of you have expressed your concern and worry over the last couple of weeks about my well being. I appreciate it, but I can assure you that there is nothing to worry about. I am making progress on getting to the bottom of what is going on. It is just a slow process in this country. There is an answer to every question, and a solution to every problem - there will be a rationale to all of this. During this entire process, I have spent the time reflecting on lifestyle and doing my own investigation on what could be causing these episodes. You will be happy to know that by cutting out caffeine, running, alcohol, stress (well some) and changing my diet and taking my many vitamins I have been able to handle the episodes. Granted they are still happening, but less frequent and less uncomfortable. Whatever I am doing it is working (more or less) - only thing is I am rather keen to add running into the mix. That is one that I don't want to let go.  

My GP agrees, if my heart is structurally fine, then I should be able to run, but before that happens we need to uncover the trigger that is cause my heart to behaving wacky (technical term). Medicine like econometrics is all about testing hypothesis, some will be significant and some won't. Some times to find the right regression equation it is about testing every variable until you find the right one; using the process of elimination to determine what something is by first determining what it is not. Being on leave from work, going home, and not being able to run the marathon has certainly taken a toll on me. I admit it. Spending 25% of my time abroad questioning what is going on with my health has not been easy, but I am making the most of the situation. Regardless of what is going on with my health, there are some habits that I need to change to restore a sense of balance back in my life. May not be due to running, but I have discovered that there are other things out there that make me happier than I ever imagined. They say that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, so it is a good thing that I am not a old dog. As a person who is still in their 20s (hanging on by a couple of months), I still hang onto the ability to learn and change - fingers crossed :-)

This weekend I enjoyed a carefree weekend and did something that I have not done in a while - I played "tourist" in London. A bunch of us made the trip north to Camden Town to the markets of Camden Lock. Camden Lock is located near the Hampstead Road Lock of Regent's canal. It used to be a set of warehouses that was turned into a craft market in the 1970s. The market is a maze of stalls, halls and craft malls. I had a blast walking through the market. Borough is still my favorite market (since it is ALL about food), but this market is a close second. One section of the market is a "festival of nation" fair with stalls Japanese sushi, Polish perogies , Germany sausage, Chinese dim sum, Indian curry, Argentine burgers, and the list goes on.  The rest of the market is filled with crafts stalls, jewelry booths, trinket stands and everything that I have a soft spot for. 

It was a rough start to the week, but it ended on a great note. It is all about the negative splits! Lucie Jones may have been voted out of X-Factor (no thanks to Simon), but there are many reasons to be thankful that I returned to this country. There are still so many sites to visit, restaurants to discover, and experiences to be had. Yes I miss home. Yes I miss my family and friends. Nothing is going to change that, but I am not ready to end my adventure here in London. There are many stories that are waiting to be had and as long as you all keep reading, I will keep writing about them :-) And before you start writing back or calling Mom asking if I am okay - let me save you time. I am fine, in fact I am more than fine. I've had a rough couple of weeks, but who hasn't. Its a part of my time here and I am just being honest, but that is not meant for you to worry or raise any concern. I don't have the attention span to dawdle for too long; just not my nature! Everything will work out, just need some patience and anything can happen. 

Hope you all are well. Miss you and love you more!

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 68

I am still in the US enjoying some away. It has been an interesting trip home. I realised during this trip that there are so many things about NYC that I smile about. While living there I did not think I ever knew the city or that it knew me. Being back though I realised that I had indeed made NYC my home especially in my last couple of years there. There are so many little things that I treasure about NYC. It is definitely a unique city with something new to be seen and experienced as you travel from neighborhood to neighborhood. Some times when you take a step back, you can appreciate what you have (or in this case had). I do enjoy coming back to NYC, but I also miss being in London - who would have thought. If there was a way to combine the cities, that would be ideal. Actually I believe they call it Boston ;-)

On Monday, I spent the day walking/shopping in Midtown with Mom. We strolled uptown on Fifth stopping of course at Best Buy. That store is just lovely... I believe I've even said that I would want to have Best Buy for my wedding registry. That said, it was rather a strange feeling to walk in and out of Best Buy without buying one single CD/DVD/camera stuff/computer stuff or something else completely unnecessary. From there and after making several unsuccessful shopping stops, we then made our way over to le Pain Quotidien to meet up with my friend TK.  TK and I met June 2008 at the NYRR's Meet and Greet session with the US Women's Olympic marathon team. We bonded over not only our passion for running, but our appreciated and admiration of the runners in our sport. Running is a unique sport in that 80% of the participants do not actually follow the sport. Over the months, TK and I have kept in touch and "watched" various marathons together. It is nice knowing that there is someone out there that understands you and the world of running. TK - it was pleasure catching up in person and I am glad we got to have lunch together. Thank you! 

While on this side of the pond, I also had the opportunity of catching up with some other close friends that I have not seen in over a year. On Tuesday, I stopped into the office briefly to meet up with a friend of mine before heading to his place in NJ. Before dinner, we made a stop in Hoboken to catch up on things. I am lucky that I still get to see LC when he makes his visits to London. He is one of those guys that know how to rationally put things into perspective. I am extremely thankful to have the ability to work with him and especially to be friends with him and his wife. Later that night, we walked over to Jersey City to and I spent the evening catching up with him and his family. It was a wonderful evening with good friends and amazing food - even got to catch up on SYTYCD! Santina I am glad that we got to have our "date night", it has been a while since we've had one so am pleased that we got a chance to catch up. Thank you very much for a lovely evening and many congrats on the young sir to come! 

That Wednesday, I had the delight of Catlin-Sevak reunion back in my hometown of Niskayuna. I grew up with the Catlins living next door. For 20+ years our families have been apart of each other's lives. I've travelled to PA for family reunions, we've done day trips to Hunter Mt, Bromley Mt, the Great Escape. When I went to uni, Greg was there to make sure my mom made it back with "minimal tears". Matt has learned to play rumi with Abhai, and Jolan and I have shared many memories making sugar drop cookies, pancakes at hers and laughing under bedroom tents at mine. Years have gone by and yeah we have not always kept in touch, but we've always cared for one another and when it is possible we get together to remember the good days. When we are together it is doesn't matter what you do, what car you drive, how many bedrooms your house has, it is about spending time with family friends.

Continuing on those lines, while home I also caught up with my middle-school friend Jackie. Since the age 12, Jackie and I were always dear friend and we grew closer together as we got older. We've enjoyed numerous trips to Saratoga for coffee at uncommon ground and grocery shopping, Proms, dances, morning rides to school, sitting outside the library during lunch, NYE at Ashley's, the list can go on and on. It is largely because of Jackie that I decided to apply to BU and I couldn't be more thankful to have gone to college there. When we both moved back to the Nisky area, Jackie and I fell back in touch and again it was through her and the Squire that I got my job at the NYS Comptrollers office. I am happy that time has not changed our friendship. I wish we lived closer together, but thanks to email and facebook we are still able to be apart of each other's lives. 

Being home was great and just what I needed - I think. As the saying goes, "there is no place like home!" - how true. It makes you wonder though, what if I did not move to NYC, to London. What if I decided to go to University of Albany for my undergrad as well as grad? Would my life be different? Would I own my own place with a lawn et all? Would I be married? With kids? Being home certainly makes you play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game. That said, despite everything that is going on, I would not want to risk not having the experience of moving to NYC or London or going away to Boston U. Without those experiences I may not be where I am today, may not have had the chance to go skiing in the Alps, swimming in the Virgin Islands, running in Austria, biking in Italy, shopping in Paris, or drinking in Germany. As for owning a place, getting married, and having kids - all that will come when the time is ready and I have a feeling that time will be soon. May not be how I planned for things to happen when I was 18, but I will get there.

Saturday night before leaving for London, my brother and sister treated my girls and I to dinner at Pete's Tavern (established in 1864 this place is the oldest continually running bar/restaurant in NYC). It was a new place for all of us and I must say it was rather nice. I would not recommend the New England Clam Chowder, but the rest of the food was tasty. Later the girls and I went to the Wharf where we were greeted by the owners. The Wharf is my Cheers bar - a place where everybody knows my name and the first question is, "Are you back?" followed by "How long are you in town for?" Being away from my girls is hard, but I am happy for the times that we have together. There is just nothing like it. I am looking forward to the 4th annual WVA Ski Trip in February!!!

To everyone else, I hope you are well. If you are wondering, I am well. I had a couple of episodes while I was away, but I am able to handle them. Just need to make sure that I don't do anything that is going to get my heart rate going - that should be easy. Haha. 

Miss you all and love you more

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 67 (Special NYC Marathon Edition)

1 Nov 2009 marked the 40th running of the NYC Marathon. The first running of the marathon was back in 1970, with race directors & NYRR presidents Fred Lebow & Vince Chiappetta. Fred Lebow invested only $300 of his own money for the frist marathon with 55 finishers and a 100 spectators. Today, the ING NYC Marathon is one of the largest marathon in the world attracting over 40,000 runners and 2 million spectators and is apart of the World Marathon Majors.

On the first Sunday of November, runners gather at the Verrazano Bridge to run the 26.2 mile course taking them through all five boroughs of New York City. This, however, was not always the case. The initial course in 1970 were repeats of Central Park. If you thought a 5K in Track N Field was torture, then I cannot even imagine the mundane exercise of running that course. Thankfully, the course now travels through the streets of Brooklyn for 11 miles passing through Park Slope, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, etc. At the half marathon point, the course enters into Long Island City, Queens for the next 2 1/2 miles. This is the pinnacle point in the marathon as at 16 miles, when runners begin to question their decision to enter the race, the course crosses the Queensboro Bridge into Manhathan. Runners then travel along first avenue north into the Bronx for a mile before returning to Manhathan and around Central Park finishing at Tavern on the Green.

In 39 years, the marathon has seen a number of memorable moments including Grete Waltz winning the marathon in 1972 in 2:32:30. She later won an unprecedented 9 times. The marathon also accidentally gave the infamous Rosie Ruiz a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon where she broke the record time. We have Rosie to thank for the checkpoints in races to ensure that each runner actually RUNS the entire course and is not taking the tube, or the T or the subway to the finish line. In 2000, the wheelchair race was officially introduced in the marathon. Two years later, the marathon start schedule changed allowed the elite women a 35 minute head-start.

I started watching, cheering and photographing in 2005. I missed the 2004 marathon as I was in Florida visiting family friends with my Mom. It would have been great to see the closest women's finish in history between Paula Radcliffe and Susan Chepkemei. I may not have been there for that race, but I have been there ever since..

2005 was an exciting race. It marked Mary Wittenberg's first event as NYRR CEO. She was also became the first woman director of an international marathon. That year had the most amasing men's finish between Paul Tergat and Hendrick Ramaala. Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia won the women's race in 2:24:41 making it her first marathon win. Within the race pack were Deratu Tulu, Gete Wami, Salina Kosgei, Lornah Kiplagat, Susan Chepemei, Ludmilla Petrova. The top American finisher was long distance olympian runner Jen Rhines (pictured to the left) and ironically Magda Lewy-Boulet (whom I later had the pleasure of meeting in 2008 at the NYRR's USA Women's marathon meet-n-greet in Central Park).

In 2006, Jelena Prokopcuka won the marathon with a time of 2:25:05 making her the first woman since Kenya's Telga Laroupe to win back-to-back marathons. Personally this race marked the start of my annual tradition of watching the race from the 17th/18th mile marker on first ave and then the 23rd/24th marker in Central Park - many thanks to CJG for introducing me to these spots. That year I had the sincere pleasure of cheering along side my friend as well as capturing photos of Catherine Ndbereba, Lidiya Grigoryeva, Susan Chepkemei, Lornah Kiplagat, Madga Lewy-Boulet, Marilson Gomes Dos Santos, Paul Tergat, and of course the American record holder Deena Kastor (it was absolutely brilliant to see Deena running a mere 5 feet away from you). Deena without doubt was the favorite to win that year, but just like any of us - we have bad days and that Sunday was not Deena's. For Brasillian runner Marilson Gomes Dos Santos, he became the first South American runner to win the race in 2:09:58. The marathon also included 7-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong along side his runner coach Joan Benoit.

2007 was the year that I was waiting for. I finally got to see the legendary Paula Radcliffe run the marathon. I don't think there are words to capture the feeling of seeing one of your idols running. Now I had my set - I had seen Catherine the Great, the American Sweetheart Deena Kastor and Britian's running Queen Paula. That year was an interesting race as it was truly a fight to the end for both the women's and men's race. On the women's side, the marathon was one of the deepest elite pack with Jelena Prokopcuka, Catherine Ndereba, Gete Wami, Lidiya Grigoryeva, Elva Dryer, and Telga Loroupe. Not only was this the race to the be the NYC Marathon champion, but it was the race to determine the World Marathon Major champion. All the ladies had a reason to give it their all - this was Paula's first marathon since childbirth, Gete was racing only 34 days after winning the Berlin marathon, and Jelena was looking to become a 3 time NYC marathon winner. Paula ended up winning the marathon with Gete claiming the $500,000 world marathon majors prize.

On the men's side, the race was just as intense with four former NYC Marathon champions with Martin Lel, Rodger Rop, Hendrick Ramaala, and Marilson Gomes dos Santos. Without pacesetters this year, it was up to the men to make their own race and Martin Lel, Abderrahim Goumri did just that. A repeat outcome of the 2007 London Marathon, Lel won the race with Goumri as the runner up. The race followed the men's olympic marathon trials the day before. I did not go to see the marathon trials (as I wanted to, probably because of some lame reason), but I will always remember the race. The Olympic Marathon trials marked the last race for Ryan Shay, one of America's great distance runners. A little under 10K into the race, Ryan Shay collapsed and was taken to the hospital where it was pronounced that he died of a massive heart attack from an enlarged heart. It was stories like this, that made me decide no to risk running. The marathon is going to test the body enough, I did not need it testing my heart and the doctor's "advice" thus far.

Well you already know about the 2008 marathon recap from issue 15 so I will move onto the 2009 marathon. What was supposed to be MY marathon. I knew that being in NYC that weekend was going to be tasking and I even debated not coming in cause I did not know if I could handle being in NYC, but I also knew that I did not want to be any other place. Within 30 seconds of leaving JFK airport the tear started when I saw a "welcome to NYC marathoners" sign. Was the rest of the weekend going to be like this? More or less it was. I had a superpower that weekend to notice EVERY marathoner on the street carrying their race bags. Just could not escape it on Thursday and Friday afternoon so I did it. Call me what you want, but I went to the NYC marathon Expo in the Javit Center. I had to see what my marathon was going to look like - what the 40th NYC Marathon medal looked like, what it would have felt like to collect my race-packet, etc. I had been counting down to that day ever since going to the London marathon expo with SH. I tried to hold myself together while I entered the expo. I made it a good 10 minutes before I started balling in the middle of the expo. Would I ever get a chance to collect a NYC marathon race packet? Would I ever be able to race again? Run again? I did not know the answers to these questions and that scared me beyond belief. With the support from my mom and the kind words from a lady in her 50s I collected my spirits back. May not be the 40th running of the marathon, but it would the 40th anniversary of the race that I would run! No one was going to take my dream from me.

We all have our dreams and goals and in life their will always be challenges and obstacles. It is what we do when faced with one that defines who we are. At the slightest hiccup we can walk away or we can fight. I feel like I walked away in some senses. However I also know that I had much to risk if I did decided to foolishly run the marathon. Could have I finished? Would everything be okay? Well we will never know...

A lady who decided to fight through the challenge was Paula. She bowed out of the London marathon and later the IAAF marathon in Berlin due to injury. It is not an easy task to accept when you are not 100% and are unable to perform as your optimal. This race, she went for it. Despite calling Mary Wittenberg a week prior with leg pains, she still ran the tasking 26.2 course around New York City.

She had a strong first half of the marathon, but she was accompanied with a pack of women who were going to give her a fight. A rather "unknown" pack of runners, I figured the outcome was certain for the women's race. Just goes to show - there are no certainties in the marathon. Yuri Kano and Salina Kosgei were the two other contenders to win the marathon, but a slip 5K into the race took Kano (and eventually Kosgei) out of contention for winning. The race was between Paula, Deratu Tulu, Ludmila Petrova and Christelle Daunay. Paula as expected led the race for the most part, but after crossing the 20K marker Paula began to fade due to hurt hip and hamstring. Some people say that marathon running is a individualistic sport, but what they don't realise is the team work involved. I have such respect for these marathon women runners, especially Deratu Tulu. I have a new appreciation for her and I am gutted that I was unable to capture a proper picture of her.

Deratu Tulu, 37 years old, from Ethiopia had not won a marathon since 2001. This race was her certainly part of her come back. She was going up against one of her rivals Paula Radcliffe. Yet despite this "rivalry", when Tulu noticed that Paula was starting to fade behind the pack, she held back to encourage Paula along. It takes a class act with a bucket full of confidence to do that. Tulu taught everyone a lesson of respect and dignity. Once it was clear that Paula's story of 3 times consecutive winner was not going to be printed, Tulu joined the lead pack and battled it to the finish with Ludimilla. As the two older ladies of the marathon field they showed us all the age means nothing when it comes to marathon running. The two ladies took to the lead and pushed the pace of the race. At a mile left to go, Tulu made her move and "easily" ran to the finish becoming the first Ethiopian female to win the NYC marathon. Christelle Daunay finished third with Paula running her slowest NYC marathon by nearly 6 minutes to finish fourth. It was certainly a race that no one expected - especially me. When the lead pack ran by and Paula was not leading I felt as if the earth was pulling out from under my feet. There in the midst of all the "fans", I cried. I quickly composed myself to take photos the script that was being written in front of my eyes.

The outcome of the women's race however was quickly overshadowed by the amasing outcome of the men's race. With Martin Lel out of the race, the field was open game. Packed with one of the richest pack of elite marathoners, the men's race was what the 2009 marathon will be remembered for. Years from now, when people look back on the 40th running of the NYC Marathon they will remember three letters, M-E-B. Meb Keflezzighi proved that Americans can compete and beat some of the best marathoners in the world. In fact, the day was all about the American male marathoners with six finishers in the top ten; including Ryan Hall (who broke the Olympic marathon record in 2008, he was also one Ryan Shay's close friends).

102,486 applied to run the the 2009 NYC Marathon. 43,741 participants started the race and 43,475 runners finished. With a completion rate of 99.4%, the race marker the largest number of finishers in its history representing 110 countries. Italy and France had the highest number of non-USA finishers with nearly 3,000 runners. With 6,700 marathoners running for a cause, $24 million was raised for charity. Amongst the pack was the American legend Joan Benoit. At the age of 52, Joan broke the US women's 50+ marathon record with a time of 2:49:08. Joan held the American marathon record for 18 years with her 1985 win of the Chicago marathon in 2:21:21. She is most known for winning the first Olympic marathon at the 1984 summer games in LA. Despite retiring from the marathon, she continues to run and "competitively run". She is an inspiration to any long-distance runner.... just goes to show nothing is impossible.

Well that is it. Most of you probably stopped reading after the heading, but this blog entry was honestly intended for one reader - TK this one's for you. It was a pleasure to see you while I was in NYC. I am glad we got the chance to catch up in person and not over BB while watching various marathon from our respective locations.

Miss you all and love you more

xoxo

T

Adventures in London: Issue 67

How can you complain with a week that starts in London, ends in NYC and includes a dear Sir's 2nd birthday, a birthday party and the 40th running of the NYC marathon. Granted, it was not the week that I had expected, but it was a nice week compared to the ones I'd been having.

But before I get to this week, allow me to extend a massive thank you to you all. I greatly appreciate the support you have shown me during the course of this adventure and especially in the last couple of weeks. Fingers crossed - it can only go up from here :-)

So, back to this week....

On Thursday, I travelled to New York for Kadin's 2nd birthday. It is so hard to believe that 2 years have already flown by. It seems like just yesterday we received the phone call from my brother (4 hours after the Red Sox won the World Series) saying that they were off to the hospital. Where does the time go - I still remember when he used to fit in the palms of your hands and now you are lucky if you can get him to sit still for more than a minute.

The last time I saw Kadin was a good 4 months ago when he was in London with the rest of the family. It is astonishing to how much he has changed. I honestly believe that if it were not for Skype, I would not recognise the young man (and vice versa - I doubt that he would scream with glee "Tini Foi" when I walked through the door, but you never know with the memory that this boy has). I am grateful for the world of Skype and video chatting. This is another nudge for those of you who don't already have it...I suggest you download the application. It is a great and free way to keep in touch. If you can time it well, it is a lovely weekend afternoon treat (well for me, for y'all in the States its morning time, which probably means most of you are sleeping).

That Friday I did what I normal do every trip - had an everything bagel toasted with cream cheese from Daniels and then went to get my haircut. I really ought to find a place in London to get my haircut, cause it is down right expensive to fly back every time I need a haircut ;-)

Later on I went to meet up with my brother for lunch. I know what you are thinking - isn't that the last day of the trip tradition. Well yes you are right, but this trip was a bit different than the ones in the past so it was time to changes things up a bit. After lunch I ran a couple of errands including going to the NYC Marathon Expo. I could not not go, as hard as it was - I wanted to see what was supposed to be my Expo. I will share details of the in a special NYC Marathon post to be published soon - fingers crossed ;-)

Later that evening, Kadin went trick-o-treating for the first time. He was absolutely the cutest button ever walking through the halls of the apartment building in his Cat in the Hat costume carrying his bucket. I should have actually recorded it, cause hearing him say "Happy Halloween" was adorable. i cannot believe how much this kid talks already. Just over night and his is a mini-person. Unbelievable I tell you...

That evening, I met up with my friends for Mexican food and margaritas (virgin for me as I am off the booze). It was a delight to catch up with my friends. There are some people in your lives, that regardless of the time that has passed, you can just pick up where you left off. It is great. Doesn't matter that it had been 5 months since I'd seen them, I walked into the restaurant and sat at the table as if it were the old days. Just proves that no matter where you are, how much you change there are some things, some people that never change. So whether it is a move from Nisky to Boston, Boston back to Nisky, Nisky to NYC, or NYC to London....there are people that you meet along the way that will always be apart of your life.

Saturday, aka Halloween, was all about Sir Kadin's 2nd birthday party at the Children's Museum on the UWS. As we drove to the neighborhood, I was pleased to know that my 66 weeks away did not alter my memory of the neighborhood and the direction of the streets. I will always cherish the memories of travelling up to the UWS for Sunday dinner at Jacques-Imos (which sadly was replaced by Shake Shack), drinks at the Dead Poet (where I still have my Guinness card), dancing on the bar at Brother Jimmy's (still wear the t-shirt for being a sport), watching the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004, brunch at EJ's Luncheonette...let's just say there are a ton of fond places and memories of that neighborhood.

As the official photographer of the birthday party, I had the sincere pleasure of spending 3 hours doing what I love the most; taking photos. Equipped with 3 cameras I captured Kadin's 2nd birthday party, this turned into a documentation of Kadin's every step rather than a full account of the birthday party and the people that attended, but that it what you get when you put the "obsessed" aunt in charge. Cannot wait until next year!!! Call it what you want, but I am so incredibly happy when I am behind my camera. There is a sense of peace and delight that I have when I see the world through my camera lens. The only other activity to soothe my heart is running and cooking. Hmmm, if there was only a way to combine all of these "passions" in life. Wonder if RW or NYRR are looking for someone. How ideal would that be....sorry I am getting off topic here day-dreaming. The thought of it though does bring a smile to my face. I have dreamed of leaving the office space to pursue something like this, maybe this is the chance to explore. Stay tuned for what steps I make next :-)

I have to admit, being back in NYC and amongst my family is rather comforting. It is hard to believe sometimes that I have moved away. Sometimes I wish I did not move away - especially now that I have been introduced to the world of ROCK BAND. That evening after everyone left, Jamila, Bhai and I played a few songs on Rock Band. I started with the drums (as I knew from Guitar Hero that I am not skilled with the guitar), and later was persuaded to take the mic. I will the give the family credit, the logic was there. If I could sing at their wedding in front of over 150 people, then surely I should be able to sing a Bon Jovi or Journey song. Hahaha, they could not have been more wrong....let's just say there is a reason why I do not sing karaoke. I think my brother still shivers from my shrieking voice as I tried to hit the high notes.

The next day was all about the marathon, but I will save that for the special entry.

Hope you all are well. I miss you and love you more.

xx

T