We are Homeless

If you have seen the news today, you may have heard that there was an explosion in NYC this morning (many of the news accounts have been inaccurately saying it occurred in the afternoon). First thing this morning, there was an underground explosion which blew off a manhole cover and shot flames out of the manhole. This the manhole cover was directly in front of our building and, apparently, the resulting fire was underneath our building (where there is an underground power plant). This morning when we had no utilities everyone seemed to be on edge, but the word seemed to be that they would get the utilities back on and everything would be fine. Apparently, it is worse than initially thought. Our building has been evacuated and we are homeless. There is a chance that we could be permitted back in the building late tonight, but we have been given information about local facilities with cots for us to stay at until this is resolved.

Add this turn of events to what has otherwise been a pretty lousy week. This week, Wife’s family experienced a tragedy that has had us down, especially Wife (we will certainly not be blogging about it).

So, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. This post probably has too much personal information, so I will undoubtedly remove it from the web soon – I just thought our friends and family would like an update on these homeless New Yorkers.

UPDATE:

Click here for a link to ABC's story on the fire, though they seem to have the facts all skewed (a news organization not having all the facts right - who would have thought?). I have a couple of corrections for the story:

1) It is not a dorm. It is an apartment building owned by the university. There is a great difference between a dorm room and an apartment building (primarily the cost).

2) There was an actual explosion (I heard it), and people I spoke to saw the massive flames (not just a little smoke).

Everybody Loves a Parade

Last night, Wife and I took a short trek up to the Central Park West area to see the big balloons all ready to be walked down Broadway. The balloons were…big. I was absolutely shocked to see the masses of people crowding the streets to catch a glimpse of the tied down balloons. I have not heard an official count on the number of people who were there, but it was definitely in the hundreds of thousands (if not a million or more).

Probably the most entertaining part of the evening was watching Wife digress into a four-year-old. As we approached the Scooby-Doo balloon, wife yelled out, “Scooooby-Scoooooby-Dooooooo!!!” Immediately, hundreds of children around us began picking up the chant (I have no doubt that their parents were eternally grateful). A little later we walked by Ronald McDonald, where there was also a huge balloon of an ice cream cone. Wife gleefully screamed out, “Ice cream!!!!” – again, Wife was a trend setter for the children around us (the parents loved us).

Earlier in the week, I spoke to a friend at Law School who mentioned that he and his wife would be coming out to see the balloons. I casually remarked, “Maybe we’ll see you there.” He just stared at me. Now I understand why. I expected a lot of people, but I didn’t expect the huge masses that we experienced.

The Macy’s parade today has over 3,500,000 people lined up on the street to watch the balloons float by. To put that in perspective, that is approximately the number of people who live in the state of Oregon. There were probably more people bundled up on Broadway than live in Oklahoma. As a matter of fact, more people lined up on the street before it was light out to watch this parade than live in about twenty-two different states. That’s a lot of people.

Frrrozen Hot Mouse Droppings?

Husband and I have a yearly tradition when it comes to my birthday. We always go for ice cream. Neither of us are fans of cake, so when it comes time for me to blow out the candles, I would much rather lick the side of an ice cream cone or have a blizzard held upside down over my head. (I am a big ice cream fan. Next to bread and cheese, ice cream is my weakness.) I know my birthday is still more than two months away, but as soon as Husband and I decided to move to NYC I knew that I had to go back to Serendipity 3 for one of their famous “Frrrozen Hot Chocolates” and my birthday just seems like the perfect time/reason to go!

If you have never heard of Serendipity and their amazing Frozen Hot Chocolate, you are definitely missing out. If you that have seen the movie “One Fine Day,” then you have seen this famous institution. There is a scene in the movie where Michelle Pfeiffer is having Frozen Hot Chocolate with the two kids (right before the little girl disappears).

Serendipity has been a landmark in the heart of the Upper West side of Manhattan since 1954, where they serve Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, one of the most famous desserts here in New York. Not only is Serendipity a restaurant, but it also has a general store, soda fountain and coffeehouse. The Frrrozen Hot Chocolate is a secret-recipe of icy-chocolate confection served in an enormous fishbowl-shaped goblet, garnished with a mound of fresh whipped cream topped with shaved chocolate, accompanied by a mixing spoon and two straws. This frosty, velvety-smooth creation is made from no fewer than 14 kinds of chocolate and exotic cocoas, ground into a rich slush. Yes, it is absolutely phenomenal!

Unfortunately I read some dreadful news the other day that is making me question my decision of wanting to go to Serendipity. Wednesday night, the city Health Department temporarily shut down Serendipity. It appears that the restaurant has failed two health inspections in the past month. According to Business Week, on Wednesday, the Health Department said an inspector spotted a live mouse in the building, as well as mouse droppings, fruit flies, houseflies and more than 100 live cockroaches. YUCK!!!!!!!

A spokesperson, Joe Calderone, from Serendipity released the following written statement: "It is unfortunate that published reports have exaggerated the situation and may be leading to certain misperceptions. That being said, we are taking this matter VERY seriously. Certain conditions have been pointed out which require correcting and we are working quickly to be in 100 percent compliance with the Health Department's suggestions. We will reopen as soon as possible."

Of course I am completely grossed out by the thought of roaches and mice. A coworker was trying to tell me that this really is not that uncommon and that the place will be so much safer after having to go through this ordeal. While I understand his logic, I am still not sure if I can get over mouse droppings, flies and roaches. I can just see myself staring down at my Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and wondering if that was really chocolate shavings I was looking at.

Funny Footnote

(For those who just skip my law-related posts, just jump down to the last paragraph.)

The Sixth Circuit court of Appeals issued a decision today addressing the following issue: does an employee’s act of continuing to report for work after the effective date of her employer’s arbitration program constituted acceptance of a valid and enforceable contract to arbitrate disputes? The court held that yes, an employee’s knowing continuation of employment after the effective date of the program was acceptance of a valid and enforceable contract to arbitrate.

Judge Boyce Martin dissented. Martin writes in his dissent: “A unilateral contract is one where an offeror ‘reasonably expects to induce action of a definite and substantial character’ from the offeree,’… Implicit in this understanding is that the offeree is aware of the significance of the act performed. Without a signal that she understands that a contract is being made, how is one to know if she has truly accepted?”

Judge Martin inserted the following footnote in his dissent:

Homer Simpson talking to God: “Here’s the deal: you freeze everything as it is, and I won’t ask for anything more. If that is OK, please give me absolutely no sign. [no response] OK, deal. In gratitude, I present you this offering of cookies and milk. If you want me to eat them for you, please give me no sign. [no response] Thy will be done.” The Simpsons: And Maggie Makes Three (Fox television broadcast, Jan. 22, 1995).

Puzzle of the Day

I realize that few people like to actually post comments, but maybe a puzzle will break the ice around here. Anyone who can figure out what goes in the blank will win the respect and admiration of Husband and Wife (a wonderful prize).

Fill in the blank in the following list:

1. Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire

2. Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey

3. Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky

4. Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee

5. Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska

6. California, Colorado, Arizona

7. Washington, ______________, Oregon

We are a Post-Graduate Level Blog

A new tool has come which analyzes blogs and determines the educational level a blog is written at. Our blog comes in at the college/post-graduate level:

One Bar Down

The Bar exam is behind me. Thank you to everyone who sent cards, emails, calls, etc. or a congratulatory message. Having the Bar behind me is quite a relief. The Bar is something that it seems like a law school graduate should pass – after three grueling years of law school plus all of the hundreds of agonizing hours preparing for the test, it would be nice to walk into the exam feeling confident. However, there are always people who fail. Some people fail because they didn’t study hard enough. Some people fail the bar because they just aren’t smart enough. Others fail the test because of bad luck. I really was afraid I could be in that last category, along with many extremely intelligent people who studied as hard as they could but still ended up with a failing score. The Bar exam covers an absolutely enormous body of knowledge (especially in the state where I took it). There is not a person in the world that could comprehend and memorize every potential issue, law, and exception that the Board of Law Examiners could put on the exam. I am very relieved that the arcane laws and exceptions to the laws that were on the exam were the same ones I had time to commit to memory.

Bar Results Are In!

I have to take a moment here and brag about my wonderful husband. We received some wonderful news…HE PASSED THE BAR EXAM!!! Back in July, along with the rest of the aspiring attorneys in the country, Husband sat for the dreaded Bar exam. The hours spent studying for this enormous exam paid off. According to the piece of paper we received in the mail, Husband is an official attorney!

Unfortunately Husband wasn’t the first to find out the terrific news. The list of who passed just so happened to be released as Husband was flying across the country. It was a rather nerve racking day. Husband heard from a good source (thanks DW!) that the results were going to be posted a day early. For reasons I am sure Husband will expound upon later, he had to fly across the country for a job interview (that is a really great story and another reason I am proud of Husband, but I will let him tell you about it at another time). Since Husband could not keep checking the Board of Law Examiners website I spent the day hitting refresh and anxiously waiting for the results. Apparently everyone else who sat for the bar was doing the same thing as the website counter kept jumping 40 hits with each refresh. At approximately 4:45 pm the list was posted and after a quick glance I saw Husband’s name. I think I actually squealed out loud (I am sure my coworkers think I am crazy). I couldn’t wait for Husband’s plane to land so I could tell him the good news.

As soon as the wheels came to a slow crawl, Husband and I were on the phone with one another rejoicing in the good news. I didn’t know it was possible to be even prouder of Husband. He is constantly amazing me with all that he does.

I also want to say CONGRATULATIONS to all of our friends who also passed. Congrats DW and W!!!