Nikki Yeager

I've discovered my new favorite place in NYC - the Chelsea Piers driving range. I know, a weird choice for me, but it's absolutely amazing! Just look at it:

A few weeks ago I dragged my friend Carolina to the driving range so we could finish part #1 of my two part golfing adventure: learning how to hit a golf ball.

We wandered all the way out to Chelsea and found the cutest little Golfer's Club down by the water. You walk in and for $25 dollars can buy 90 balls and for another $5 we got 2 golf clubs. Probably the cheapest of all my 21 things so far!

Granted, we had to spend about 1/2 an hour sitting on a cozy leather couch in what appeared to be Businessman central while waiting for a tee to open up... but there are far worse fates to suffer in the world.

At last, we got our chance to have a go at it. We stepped out onto the fake grass and made our way to the 2nd little area. With a quick swipe of our golf card, a ball popped up on a little remotely controlled tee (no bending over or anything. Offically short skit approved!) and we were ready to go.

Mind you, I've never swung a golf club in my life. BUT I did watch a 10 minute video before leaving my apartment that day. So, clearly, I was an expert golfer right off the bat.

I lined up my golf club, held it just like I saw in the video, kept my eyes on the ball, carefully arranged my stance just one more time and... Swung.

...Nothing but air.

In fact, I wasn't even close. I'm pretty sure I missed the ball by at least four inches during my first three attempts. So I took a breathe, wound up again and instead of paying any attention to what I was doing I flailed my arms, sloppily plopped my legs in a random position and swung with all my might.

Somehow I hit the ball that time. Go figure.

Sure, it may not have been graceful but it certainly wasn't anywhere near as odd as Charles Barkley's swing.

And I'll tell you this much, I may have looked like a bufoon, but I loved every minute of hitting balls towards the Hudson and watching ships go by as the sexy rich guys next to me spent an afternoon smacking balls around and having a grand 'ole time. Certainly not a bad way to spend 25 bucks.

Not bad at all.

Here's a little collection of all the fun Easter stuff I found online. Hope you enjoy!!

1. JC & the Gang eCard by JibJab:
One of my favorites for Easter... but they have plenty of passover greetings for all my Torah-worshippin' friends too!  And if you go to the site, you might as well check out Bunny Attack as well. Totally worth it.


2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail's Killer Bunny:
Only the best use of a bunny in cinematic history. Ever.

3. The History of Easter by cracked.com:
Just a jolly little history.

"Later on, according to Christians, God was listening to his heavy metal albums and decided to have a different version of Passover in which the lamb would be God. So during a Passover around 30 AD Jesus was crucified, much to the delight of Mel Gibson. This event is remembered on Good Friday, which was presumably named by Satan. Easter Sunday celebrates his resurrection three days later.

Somewhere along the line, these remembrances of pain, blood and suffering became associated with chocolate, which in some ways wasn't that bad."

4. Eggshellland in Lyndhurst, OH:
For all my Cleveland friends - I have not forgotten about you. In fact, I'm jealous you can claim home in a state that displays "40,180 real eggshells displayed as hot air balloons and characters from the movie, "Up.""
I want to go!!!

I wrote this MONTHS ago when this amazing Turkish guy stayed on my couch for a few nights. He's probably my favorite person and I discovered so many cool places while he was staying with us!

A couchsurfer friend of mine stayed a few nights on my horrifically uncomfortable futon after coming back from a meandering trip through Belgium. To deal with the mediocrity of my apartment (and satisfy his newly acquired beer-tooth), he dragged me out to Voldenuit Belgian Beer Lounge in lower Manhattan.

Now let me just say, I know a thing or two about wine, have an encyclopedic knowledge of sake and adore a good vodka. But for the first time in my life, I paid a second glance to the wonderful world of beer.

First came the Delirium Tremens on tap. Admittedly, it was a little watered down, but still much heartier than your typical American beer. With little pink elephant logos all over my glass (and plenty of girly-Republican jokes from my friend), I took a sip of the relatively pale ale. There wasn't much foam in the glass and I swear I tasted some sort of spice after I swallowed but my friend insisted I was imagining it. Overall, though, it kicked any beer I'd ever tried out of the water.

But then came a variety that changed my life: Leffe Brune. With a rich brownish foam on top, I took a look at the chalice holding my new-found beverage. Apparently Leffe is huge in Belgium and just taking a whiff of it, I knew why. Then came the first sip of the heartiest beer I've ever had. Instead of a drink, I felt like it'd be better defined as a meal with it's rich, wheat taste and subtle sweetness. Normally I equate beer to drinking toilet water, especially when it comes to Budweiser or Miller. But this beer, it was nothing but wonderful the whole way down.

At 6.5% alcohol, I couldn't taste much after my second oversized serving. However, I'm pretty sure it was more than the alcohol that was making my head spin. It was the fact I discovered an entire world that I'd never paid any attention: the world of fine beer.

A few days later I found myself stuck drinking my previous favorite brew, Newcastle, expecting the same sense of love. Unfortunately, it did just the opposite and made me remember once again how lackluster beer can be.

Unless, of course, you happen to be at a Belgian beer garden in the West Village. In which case, order away.

Pandora is my favorite music website ever because it introduces me to all sorts of smaller bands I never would have discovered. In fact, some of those bands are so awesome I feel like I'd be doing a disservice to the world if I didn't share the best songs in the world with all of my blog readers.

In no particular order (because there's no losing song in a group of jaw-dropping amazing ones): 

1. Nuttin But Stringz, Thunder - If you can listen to this without jumping out of your seat and dancing or coming away with a burning desire to conquer the world... well, there's just no hope for you as a human being. 

2. Flipsyde, US History - Imagine the United States being personified in a gang story and told with rap-lingo. Voila. US History by Flipsyde. 

3.Fort Minor, Get me Gone - You may not know him by name, but Mike Shinoda is my hero. And he's about to be yours too. 

4. Rick Barry, Graphic Narrative - I've shared this one before, but I'll never stop loving it. EVER. 

1. Let it Dough - Making cookies with lots of personality. There's a whole story line of pictures. Here's a peak: 

2. The Digital Story of the Nativity - A video for people who love Jesus and Technology. 

3. What Santa Really Does When You're Sleeping - The Oatmeal brings us yet another classic: 

4. The Best Ugly Christmas Sweaters - Because Ugly Xmas Sweaters never get old. 

5.Mele Kalikimaka with Christmas lights!!!! 

Merry browsing to all and to all a good night  

So I realized that every once and a while I have these random recommendation posts. The thing is, when you find websites or content that tickles you the right way, it's impossible not to share. So I've decided to give in and occasional post my favorite sites, videos, etc. Here are a few. 

Enjoy

The Oatmeal  - < That link goes to one of the Oatmeal's more bizarre blog posts, but a must read nonetheless. Seriously, this site is procrastination gold, but be careful, content is highly addictive. 

When Parents Text - "small keypad, old hands". With a tagline like that, how can it NOT be good?!

To a Lifelong Pursuit of Amusement - Aside from the super long title, this is one of my favorite websites. My friend Melissa collects everything good in the world and puts it in one place. Oh, and she is probably the coolest musician you'll ever meet. So check out her YouTube too. 

Seriously, I've just discovered the new love of my life. And that love goes by the name of "boxing". 

I get to punch people (hard), swing my sweaty legs over the boxing ring ropes like they do in the movies, hang out at an actual gym and, the best part of all, wear pink boxing gloves. Oh! And did I mention how hard I get to punch people?!

Yesterday I had my first session at Work in Manhattan. Walking into the gym I felt a little foolish being completely alone and never having seen a boxing ring in real life. But instead of bumbling around awkwardly, some guy at the door showed me exactly where everything was and then introduced me to my very own personal trainer. Who just happens to be a professional boxer. 

And that professional boxer, Thomas Baldwin, managed to kick my butt in all sorts of ways for the next 60 minutes. After I ran a good 15 minutes on a treadmill, he came over and confined my little baby hands with big, fat, boxing gloves as big as my head. Then he made me hit him with my left hand, then my right. Then my left. Then my right. Left. Left. Right. Left. Ahhhhh! 

Next came the 30 "quick" punches. Now I'm sorry, but after flailing my arms  around for 20 minutes the last adjective you could use to describe my punches would be "quick". But I tried, and that's what counts. Or at least that's what I told myself. 

Then the ab workout snuck up on me, then the push ups, the weights. Omg I was ready to punch this Thomas fellow in the head (which I guess would've been strangely appropriate if my arms weren't so unbelievably worn out). Anyways, we finished with a good stretch and a little bit of chit chat.

Turns out he agrees with me on one particular fact - New York City makes boys soft and sort of whimpy. Out of 10 girls he meets 5 that can actually box. Out of 10 boys ...well, not so much*. And that's when I decided to like him. Considering I've always wanted to box for the sole reason that it's a "boys sport" and not fitting for females, I got all warm and fuzzy about being part of the tougher gender. Sure, it may only be a Manhattan thing, but it still makes me incredibly happy. 

Anyways, I've wanted to learn how to box so I've decided to postpone my marathon training and try my hand at this. It's much more my speed. And seriously, if you've ever wanted to try it out GO TO THAT GYM and ASK FOR THAT GUY. It's like 50/50 boys and girls so you'll never feel awkward and the lockers are beautiful. Oh, and the first 3 sessions are only 40 bucks. Amazing. So do it, it'll be the best decision of your life. 

 * Not a direct quote, just the gist of the conversation.

For those of you who haven't heard, I've recently discovered the wonder of Couchsurfing. We just hosted our second guest (an amazing Turkish guitarist) and are already confirming another. Through each email and every couch request I feel like I end up repeating myself a dozen times. Still, I can't seem to share everything I want with new New York visitors. After all, the city can be entirely overwhelming if you've never been here before.

So here's my little guide for all of you coming to visit, feel free to pass it on

1. The subway isn't as hard as it might seem and will save you a ton of money. First of all, always buy a day pass or week pass if you're going to be using public transportation. With just 4 rides (two round trips), you pay for the entire card but if you buy a single trip each time you'll waste time and have to pay 2.25 over and over again every time you enter a station.

Next, there are maps inside every train station but if you're lost ask someone. Trust me, New Yorkers are a lot more helpful than you'd think.

 And most importantly, if you know where you need to get, check out MTA Trip Planner or Hopstop and get directions. Both sites will give you detailed directions using public transportation/walking and will tell you exactly how long you'll be in transit. There's no shame in looking it up. People who live here do it all the time. 

2. Which neighborhoods are safe? Everyone always hears horror stories about NYC and clings to them no matter what. Few visitors realize those stories are from 20 years ago and everything about the city has changed since then. But if you want to know if the couch you're staying on is in a decent location, find out the neighborhood it's in and then google that neighborhood. For example, Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn can get a little shady and has a horrible reputation (oh! And Jay Z. is from there!).

As a general rule of thumb, anything on a map of Manhattan that's below 110th street is incredibly safe. Generally, the higher the numbers go the more you have to watch out. The exception is the very, very west side of Manhattan. If you stay on that boarder it's decent all the way to the top. 

In Brooklyn you want to watch out for Bed-Stuy, Brownsville and East NY. Not always, but generally. In the Bronx try to stay more to the north since the South Bronx can scare the pants off almost anyone. 

3. Places to kill time while waiting for your host to get off work. It happens more often than not - your plane gets in at 2pm and you have to kill a few hours until your host gets out of work at 5. So grab a Village Voice and head to one of the following places: 

Starbucks- Has free internet, public bathrooms and coffee! Plus, a ton of people use Starbucks for the internet so no one will bother you if you need to hang out for an hour or two. Bonus- there's always a Starbucks within a five  block radius of you in the city. 

Argo Tea- These only exist in Manhattan so if you're in another borough you're out of luck. The tea is delicious though, the bathrooms are sparkling clean (for the most part) and they have free internet if you make a purchase. The best part is that they have dozens of outlets so if you need to charge your computer or your phone it's a great place to be. 

Central Park - If it's not too cold outside go to Central Park. Trains stop along the West and East sides of the park so it's easy to get to and the people watching is second to none. The only downside is that bathrooms are scarce and sometimes it can be hard to find anyone else in the park because it's 50+ blocks long. 

4. What to do? If you need help finding things to do while you're in New York you have to check out the places and sites below. The great thing is, if your host doesn't want to hang out you can always get away with going solo. New York is one of the best places to make friends at random! 

UCB - The Upright Citizen's Brigade has amazing comedy shows for $5-$15 dollars. When I first moved to NYC I got to see the entire cast of Saturday Night Live during one of the free nights. 

Time Out New York - This website has a list of things to do every day. You can limit yourself to cheap/free events or branch out to more popular plays. They have everything and anything you could possibly want to do. It's just a matter of looking. 

Museums - All the museums in NYC have a free night. Check out the websites for the MoMa, Guggenheim and The Met to figure out when.

Parks - Especially in the summer you can find everything from huge concerts to chess tournaments to to break-dancing to Shakespeare in one of the parks. The best part is that it's usually free! Just check out the NYC Parks and Recreation website. 

For now I think that covers the basics. Also, if you're thinkign of staying for a while it's definitely worth doing a Welcome Tour (if you have the extra cash).

I'm sure I'll add more and feel free to comment so we can all share tips  

Happy travels!!

Because my coworker always finds the best websites in the world, I decided to do her research justice and post at least a few. Enjoy them  I know I do.

Ruminations.com - Comedian Aaron Karo apparently used to spend hungover mornings in college typing up his daily ruminations. Somehow his witty comments on life went wild and now he has thousands of subscribers and a whole website dedicated to ruminations from the public. 

Example: 

My work group was discussing odd and unusual foods when our VP pondered aloud "Hmm, people eat beaver, don't they?" It was like the most high-stakes game of "keep a straight face" I've ever played.

Texts from Last Night- HILARIOUS texts from [usually drunken] nights. 

Examples:

(432): 

Her directions to the house party: "the north star will guide you, turn left. I'm wearing the potato hat"

(915):

I told you I was good to drive

(1-915):

dumbass I drove... you sat in the passengers seat and steered with a paper plate

(717):

hey this is lauren, i have to type for jon because he's convinced the tongs he's holding are his real hands

Explosm - This site is completely useless. Except for the awesomely hilarious comics. 

Example: 

Finally, check out The Oatmeal, Stumbleupon and Left-Handed Toons

And now that I've supplied enough web material to kill an entire day of work  for the average 9-5er, I think my job here is done. Have a lovely Friday!!

Enjoy  

Read our blogger's fabulous post about the inner workings of Julian and Nate 

I was sitting in our office when Ellen (coworker/friend) leaned over giggling, "I sent you an email". 

Yes, Ellen and I sit about a foot and a half away from each other. Yes, we have a gazillion things on our plates, yes we could just take of our earphone and talk to each other... but sending funny links is what makes our world spin and our faces happy. 

So the link sending began and our phones started buzzing, the exchanges quickly becoming a competition for the funniest, most entertaining. Strangest. 

Bzzzz. Ellen sent me pics of poorly drawn cartoons. 

Bzzzz, I replied with "Fashion for every sex position"

Bzzz. She countered with a photo of Courtney love.

Bzzzzzz. I sent my best material with a funny BP sign.

The email link-sending war raged on. The links just got better and better until 10 blackberry vibrations later I got this one with the subject line, "$10 mine is funnier than yours."

Funny Dressed Horses.  

And with that Ellen won. 

Woohoo, back up and about

For the first time in a week I managed to get through my day without a single nap! Down goes the kidney infection!!!!!!!!! I win. Muhahahahaha!

So now I'm back to life once again. 

And on day number 1 of being alive I heard President Obama say "You ain't my b***h, motherf---r." In a way few presidents have ever managed. 

Turns out there are a few quotes in Dreams of My Father (which I read.. partially) which include some very racy words. When he read the book for an audio version he said everything verbatim, including the cussing. 

And let me tell you, it's really, really, really funny to listen to Obama swear. 

It made my recovery all the more exciting! 

Check out the recordings.

Oh does anyone in NYC have an extra room or couch? I have an old friend coming to town for like 2 days but he's bringing two extra friends. I don't have space for all three of them even though they are super fascinating people. The girl is leaving from the city to go to Germany and the other boy grew up in Buffalo. They're all very nice folks. 

Email me (nryeager@yahoo.com) if you want to volunteer a bed/couch for a night! We'd all super appreciate it and it'd cut down majorly on hotel costs for them. 

Like couch surfing without the fear of stalkers/murderers, thievery and rape! Woo!