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!!!

Presidential Candidate Quiz

This is from today’s Wall Street Journal. I thought it was interesting:

Match the presidential candidate with a description of his or her legal career (some descriptions courtesy of the NYT):

(A) Hillary Clinton
(B) John Edwards
(C) Rudy Giuliani
(D) Barack Obama
(E) Fred Thompson
(F) Mitt Romney

(1) An intense former prosecutor
(2) A folksy former prosecutor
(3) A civil litigator from a tony regional firm
(4) A superstar trial lawyer
(5) A Harvard Law Review president who turned down BigLaw for civil-rights litigation
(6) Harvard JD/MBA who never practiced a day in his life but said he’d consult lawyers as president

(Answers: A3, B4, C1, D5, E2, F6.)

Meeting with the IRS

Recently, I received an email inviting me to attend a presentation by the IRS at Law School. When I received the invitation, I was rather busy, so I didn’t think much about it but I marked October 25^th on my calendar. This afternoon, I entered a boardroom at Law School where I was welcomed by a friendly gentleman holding out his hand and greeting me, “Hi, I’m Don Korb.” The name rang a bell, but I couldn’t place from where. The two of us made small talk for a few minutes, mostly about the rainy weather we are having today here in New York. After a few minutes, the ten of us sat around the board table and Mr. Korb began his presentation. That’s when the lights went off in my mind—this was Donald Korb, the Senior Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (i.e., the big boss).

President Bush nominated Donald Korb to the office of chief counsel in 2003, and he was confirmed by the Senate. He is the chief law officer for the IRS and an assistant general counsel for the Treasury. The chief counsel supervises more than 1,550 attorneys who are assigned among the IRS National Office and the major operational divisions of the agency. The chief counsel’s office plays a central role in the Administration of the federal tax laws. Its attorneys provide guidance on the correct legal interpretation of the tax laws, represent the IRS in litigation, and provide all other legal support the IRS needs to carry out its mission of serving American taxpayers.

As he sat with the ten of us around the table he explained that he would like us to consider joining their tax policy department were we could actually write the law, by writing published Revenue Rulings explaining and interpreting the tax code. I suppose this just proves my status as a tax nerd, but I am still in awe that I sat next to the chief counsel of the IRS while he explained why I should consider working on his staff.

I See Dead People (okay it is more like person)

I enjoy my new job and it is going quite well. The only disadvantage of my current situation is that I have more work than I can get done everyday. Most days I don’t take a lunch break but I always try to get out of the office for a few minutes to stretch my legs and clear my head. Last Thursday was a typical day in New York City (well, if you can call NYC normal), when I left the office, covered my ears with headphones, and proceeded up 9^th Avenue for a quick afternoon stroll around the block.

I tend to get lost in my thoughts when I am walking and frequently pay little attention to what is going on around me (this is the same person that walked right smack into the middle of a protest at her University and was smacked in the head with a picket sign in order to realize her surroundings). Anyway, I was walking up 9^th Avenue on a busy Thursday afternoon, when I realized that there were several police, an ambulance, a fire truck, and a throng of people (many more than normal) right in front of me. Thankfully, I became aware that something was wrong before the police tackled me for proceeding through the yellow caution tape which barricaded the crime scene. To my horror I saw a very disturbing sight. A homeless woman was lying on the side of the sidewalk dead. How am I sure that she was deceased? Well a few minutes later I walked by that site again and saw the lady being put into an ambulance with the sheets over her head, just like on television. I never heard anything on the news or read anything in the papers regarding this death. It is only October and so far NYC has been experiencing very good weather and warm temperatures. I can’t help but wonder what will happen to all of these people that call the sidewalks, benches and stairs home once the cold winter hits?

I Like Dell

My notebook computer had to go back to Dell for repair this past week, and I am absolutely thrilled with the service. My trusty notebook has been with me for two years and eleven months. During that time, it has gone everywhere and done everything with me. There have not been more than a couple of days in that thirty-five month period when my computer has not gotten significant use. My notebook generally gets turned on first thing in the morning to check email and headlines and a few minutes later it is thrown in a bag and taken to law school, where it proceeds to be opened, closed, and carried all throughout the rest of the day. During law school, when I wasn’t cramped into a cubicle, it was common for me to be typing briefs at Jack-in-the-Box or Burger King for hours. Even after coming home, the computer generally stays on until bedtime. When I’m not typing briefs, or doing research on WestLaw, Lexis, or RIA, I’ll often spend my free time surfing the web. I have converted my music library to MP3, so even for entertainment purposes, my computer is pretty much the center of my life. Needless to say, the computer gets a lot of use. I would like to say that I treat it well, but it is a work-tool that has its share of wear and tear. My constant typing has worn the face off most of the keys. The touchpad shows considerable wear on the center (instead of the grainy feel it is supposed to have, it now has a smooth, slippery feel). The paint is coming off the palm rests. Sadly, over the years some cracks have shown up in the base of the unit.

About two weeks ago, I began to notice the hinge holding the monitor open was loose, allowing the monitor to swing more than it should. A few days later, I realized that the metal hinge inside base was actually cracked. Dell included a three year warranty for manufacturing defects with my notebook. In all honesty, I am not really sure if a cracked hinge is a manufacturing defect. I could make a case for how it could be, but these things happen after almost three years—notebook computers that get a lot of use wear out. Well, with thirty-five days left on my warranty, I called Dell to see if they would help. Without putting up any kind of an argument, technical support rep offered to arrange a pick-up so they could fix the notebook. He explained that the hinges come in a set of two, so they probably would replace both of them.

My notebook was picked up by DHL at 8:00 last Friday night. DHL’s tracking website shows that it was delivered to Dell’s Tennessee service station on Monday morning at 7:35. At 8:45 this morning (Tuesday), my notebook was returned to me in Manhattan. Not only did Dell replace the hinges, but they also:

- Replaced the back cover with a completely new cover

- Replaced the base of the notebook with an all new body

- Installed a new keyboard

- Installed a new touchpad

- Replaced the palm rests

- Installed the latest version of the firmware (BIOS)

Essentially, the brains inside the notebook remain the same and the screen is the same (although the “frame” it is in is new), but the entire exterior is brand spanking new, clean, and scratch free. Actually, that’s not quite true: on the bottom of the notebook, the metal doors for the motherboard and RAM are the same—and the paint is coming off pretty badly.

It is not often that “big business” goes above and beyond what is either asked or expected of them, but this is one case where the customer is very satisfied. Of course, if Dell shocks me and sends a bill for this work, I will be replacing this post with an angry diatribe. Until that time, I just wanted my hundreds and hundreds of readers to know how happy I am with Dell at this moment (ok…tens and tens of readers…maybe ones and ones of readers).

Family Day at Law School

Introductory note: for those, who have never read our blog before, we are a couple in New York City, where I attend law school. In order to keep our anonymity, we don’t use our names, nor do I write the name of the law school. However, the pictures posted are real.

This past weekend, Wife got to experience a taste of law school. A few weeks back, Law School sent out announcements that there will be this special “family day.” I asked Wife if she would like to participate, and she responded with a shrug and responded, “Sure, could be fun.” Without thinking much about it, I signed us up for the festivities. Honestly, we then forgot about it until late last week when I had a sudden panic attack that we had missed it—and my fears were relieved when I checked the calendar.

On the morning of Family Day, Wife and I walked over to Law School for the festivities. When we arrived to the courtyard of Law School, perky greeters welcomed us with a cup of coffee and our nametags while we were entertained by “doo-wop” singers (basically, Wife describes the singers as Boys II Men if they were aged twenty years). Photographers were there to snap our family pictures (and they gave us a free print). As we entered into the law school, I realized that this would be a much bigger deal than either of us had anticipated.

Upon entering the Law School, the Dean greeted us and thanked us for coming with a friendly handshake. This man is one of the most powerful five or ten people in all of legal education, and he took an entire day to personally meet the family of all the students, faculty, and staff of the law school. This quite simply blew my mind. I tried to explain to Wife whom she had just met; it would have been much easier to explain if the Dean had been more arrogant and aloof instead of so friendly and approachable.

We were ushered into a large reception hall where a full breakfast spread was presented for us. For the first time since we have been out here in New York, I ate lox with my bagel. Wow…I’m really not sure if I have ever eaten anything better than that in my life (other than, of course, Wife’s cooking). Maybe my breakfast was so outstanding because the lox were on a real NY bagel; maybe the lox are better here in New York as well. Either way, Wife and I agreed that the breakfast was phenomenal.

After breakfast, we went to class. We had our choice amongst about five different classes, all taught by professors who are regarded as the best in the world in their field. We chose Constitutional law, where we participated in a lively discussion on the Supreme Court’s historic treatment of the 14^th Amendment. We left our class and went on a tour of the Law School and the surrounding area.

When we got back, Law School presented us with a lunch they were incredibly proud of. Law School treated us to, “A taste of New York.” Throughout the main building, various stations were set up to give us a sampling of the best food that New York has to offer. There was a sampling from Little Italy, China Town, Coney Island, and there was also a sushi bar (but I am not sure what part of New York that was supposed to come from). The food was decent, but nothing compared to the lox and bagels for breakfast.

Law School wanted us to experience an academic treat—something truly significant. Law School put together a short lecture series and panel discussion with four of the world’s leading scholars on election law to discuss imminent political issues upcoming in the 2008 That was an interesting two hours. Early next year, a synopsis of what we heard will be published by the Law School.

Our experience ended with “Tea with the Dean.” I was a little unsure what this would entail, but it was quite simple: more food, specifically coffee and desserts of every shape and form. After Wife and I each had a “black and white cookie,” we left to go back to go home, but first we were each given a bag filled with souvenirs.

Yet Another Tax Quote

"People think taxation is a terribly mundane subject. But what makes it fascinating is that taxation, in reality, is life. If you know the position a person takes on taxes, you can tell their whole philosophy. The tax code, once you get to know it, embodies all the essence of life: greed, politics, power, goodness, charity. Everything’s in there. That’s why it is so hard to get a simplified tax code. Life just isn’t simple."

Sheldon Cohen

Former IRS Commissioner

(If the cartoon is too small to read, click on it for a larger picture)

I'm Still Alive

I have been informed that it is about time that I write a post. I am an official Manhattan working citizen. I started my new job just over two weeks ago and I love it.

Where do I work? That is a question that I have been asked quite frequently. Let’s just say I work for an interactive advertising agency; it is the number one interactive advertising agency in the world and ranked in the top ten of all advertising agencies.

What is an interactive advertising agency? I wondered that myself when I began. Some services that we offer are digital branding, systematic design, multichannel marketing, online advertising, e-commerce, technology based advertising. If you don’t know what all those things are, it is probably best not to ask me as I am really only concerned with the accounting aspects.

The atmosphere of an advertising firm is different from what I am used to. Besides being more casual and laid back, the personalities are unique, and work is generally specific for this field. I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into when I accepted this position. In my interview, I was informed that the company is going through drastic growth and it is about time that they get their accounting department up to speed to match that growth. In the near future we will be adopting a whole new computer system and I really think it was my excitement over the thought of getting to help lead the company to the next level that won me the job. If you know me, you know that Husband’s love for technology has rubbed off onto me. Yes. I admit it. I am an accounting nerd that gets very excited about using a new software that I have never been blessed with the opportunity to use before. Not only will I eventually get to use, but I get to figure out how to adopt our company’s current processes and make them more efficient using the new system. This is all incredibly exciting for me. Unfortunately, it has yet to be determined when we will get to make this big switch, so in the meantime I get to learn the current processes (which are a little outdated) and determine how we can streamline those so that I don’t pull my hair out in frustration over wasting time with old technology. Thank goodness for my love of spreadsheets!

I have really enjoyed getting to know my new coworkers and we all seem to get along very well. That being said, going to work really makes me miss my old coworkers. While the atmosphere at my previous employment was at times unsettling, I made some amazing friends, whom I miss terribly. What would be great is if we could move all of them out here!

Work has really taken up most of my time. There is something about starting a new job. Even if the work is really not all that difficult, it is still mentally draining trying to learn everything and keep everything straight.

Quote of the Day

Judge Learned Hand (yes, his real name) wrote in the 1935 2^nd Circuit decision Helvering v. Gregory:

“Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible: he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury: there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.”

Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934), aff’d 293 U.S. 465, 55 S.Ct. 266, 79 L.Ed. 596 (1935).

de minimus

I have spent the last few hours studying the Joint Committee on Taxation’s “Estimate for Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2007-2011.” One thing I find disturbing: any tax expenditure that is $50,000,000 a year or less is considered “de minimus” and not even factored into the budget. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that fifty-million dollars here, fifty-million there—add it all up and pretty soon we will be talking about some real money.

Speaking of de minimus, last night Wife went to Bagel Bob's to pick up our week’s worth of bagels during their $.35 Monday night special. The baker, who is starting to recognize Wife, gave her a dozen bagels for the price of a half-dozen. So, our bagels came out to 17 ½ cents each, and there is no tax. That news just makes my bagel even tastier every morning (sorry, Linda).

Manna in New York City

I am proud to say that I have eaten the same thing for breakfast every single day that we have been in New York. Each and every day, I enjoy a piece of manna in New York, God’s gift to the world: a scrumptious bagel. People ask me if I am getting tired of bagels—absolutely not! I doubt I will ever become tired of these delicious pieces of manna. Because she loves me, wife goes out to Bob’s Bagels every week for their Monday night special when fresh bagels are just thirty-five cents and buys a week’s worth for me. Who ever knew that thirty-five cents could bring so much happiness?

New Yorkers love their bagels and they love the bakeries where they buy their bagels. Amongst New Yorkers, there are passionate debates regarding where to buy the best bagels. Most New Yorkers will agree that a fresh bagel should never be toasted, but while some love the large, doughy bagels, others prefer chewier, dense bagels. No matter what the preference, there is a bakery that will make the perfect bagel for you.

What is a bagel? The word bagel is thought to derive from the Yiddish word bugel, and from the German word bugel, which means a round loaf of bread. Bagels were brought to America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe as a breakfast food.

A bagel is similar in size and shape to a donut, but made of only flour, water, yeast and malt. This dough is boiled in water and then baked. This boiling, or “kettling,” gelantinizes the gluten in the dough mass, sealing the surface, and retaining the full flavor a slow baking. It is this process that makes NY bagels so special—many bakeries today just steam the bagels instead of actually boiling them. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a shiny, browned and chewy exterior. Bagels are often topped with seeds baked onto the outer crust with the most traditional being poppy or sesame seeds. Some are mixed with cinnamon and raisins, while others have salt sprinkled on the bagel. My personal favorite is the “everything” bagel, on which they put, you guessed it, everything. Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes, caraway seeds, garlic flakes, pretzel salt, and pepper, are all popular toppings that most bakers put on the everything bagel.

So, where should you get your bagel when you visit New York? Everyone seems to have their own preference, but here are some of the most popular bakeries.

H&H Bagels

H&H Bagels is among New York City's most popular bagels and are well loved by fans of the sweeter, fluffier, doughy bagels. H&H Bagels are available for delivery world-wide, so you might find them in your city. From what I can tell, these are the most expensive bagels in the city, ringing up at a whopping 95¢ each. Wife and I each enjoyed one of these wonderful treats on the day that we took our cruise. Wow…it was really that good.

According to their website, H&H Bagels was founded in 1972 by Helmer Toro and has grown to become one of the largest bagel manufacturers in the world. From its original location at Broadway and 80th Street in New York City, H&H has expanded to a plant on 46th Street at 12th Avenue where bagels are produced for shipment throughout the United States and around the world. H&H produces “millions and millions” of bagels each year.

H&H Bagels has been featured on numerous television shows and movies. Most recently H&H appeared on NBC's "Seinfeld" and on the feature film "You've got Mail" staring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Other television shows that have featured H&H include NBC's "Friends", "Saturday Night Live", and "LA Law", CNN, Good Morning America, ABC's Wide World of Sports, USA Network's US Open, and many other television programs and movies.

Bob’s Bagel

This is where Wife buys me my bagels. The bagels are big and chewy, with a nice, slightly crunchy exterior. Locals in Greenwich Village insist that the best bagels in New York are made here. Typically, the bagels are 70¢ each, but on Monday evenings the price drops down to just 35¢. Simply heaven on earth.

Ess-a-Bagel

This is another exceptionally popular bakery for bagels. There are violent arguments amongst New Yorkers as to whether Murray’s or Ess-a-Bagel offers better boiled bread. While they offer another of the doughy bagels, Ess-a-Bagel said to offer slightly smaller bagels. Wife and I have not yet visited this establishment, but it is on our list of places to go soon. Bagels are 70¢ each.

Murray's Bagels

Smaller than H & H Bagels, but are still the doughy style, Murray's bagels are considered by many to be the best in the world. It appears to me that Murray’s is the third most popular bagel in the City. Bagels are only 75¢. Wife and I tried these bagels once. While our bagel was good, we really didn’t feel it lived up to the hype. Locals who come here particularly love the flavored cream cheeses (which are argued to be the best in New York as well). It is a treat just to listen to locals order their bagels (they take it quite seriously). A popular order is asking for the doughy middle of your bagel to be scooped out so that more fillings can fit inside. That seems like such a waste.

Bagelfeller's

Conveniently located for tourists in Midtown, near Rockefeller Center, this bakery sells the chewy, denser bagel style (which many New Yorkers love). Bagels are only 60¢ here. This is another place Wife and I have not yet graced.

Kossar’

This Lower East Side bakery is most famous for its bialys, but Kossar's also offers dense hand rolled, kettle boiled malt bagels for 65¢ (while their bialys are 50¢). Nope, we haven’t eaten here yet either.

Bagel Hole

Many New Yorkers argue the best bagel is in Brooklyn at the Bagel Hole in Park Slope. Bagel Hole features the dense, chewy bagel. Wife and I have not tried these 55¢ treats (of course, the only time we have eaten in Brooklyn thus far is when we visited Costco).

There are many other wonderful bakeries here in New York famous for their bagels. In a perfect world, we will have an opportunity to try the bagels at all of them.

The Verdict Is In

Today's big news here in Manhattan is that a jury found that Isiah Thomas, the coach of the New York Knicks, did commit sexual harassment against Anucha Browne Sanders, a former employee, and that Madison Square Garden should pay $11.6 million in damages for wrongfully terminating her in retaliation of her harassment allegations. I have no idea what genius at MSG decided not to settle this suit, but the last month has been an absolute public-relations nightmare for the Knicks. This verdict ensures that the result is a financial nightmare as well. The tab: Madison Square Garden owes $6 million for condoning a hostile work environment and $2.6 million for retaliation. Chairman James Dolan owes $3 million for his role. Even if the verdict gets reversed on appeal, the legal fees in this case will be astronomical.

Since I have a special interest in the trial attorneys who litigated this mess, I thought I would share a little about the first-chairs on either side (something you probably haven’t heard on the news).

The case is a big victory for Anne Vladeck of a name partner in the small firm Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard here in New York. Vladeck who earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and her law degree at Columbia law school, is an adjunct professor at Columbia. She focuses her practice on employment matters, including discrimination, sexual harassment, defamation, union-side labor law, and litigation.

On the losing team is Ronald Green, co-founder and name partner at Epstein Green & Becker. Green tops the wish-list for corporate executives needing representation when sued for sexual harassment. He also has a rather long list of letters after his name. He earned his bachelor degree at NYU, then earned his juris doctorate at Brooklyn Law, followed by an LL.M. at George Washington University in Labor Law. According to the bio from his firm, he has a Ph.D. pending at the University of Cincinnati (I wonder what that is in). Before co-founding his firm, Green served as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. He then gained labor regulatory expertise while working for the U.S. Department of Labor (working in the areas of contract compliance and civil rights).

The verdict now brings more questions to my mind than answers. For instance, how long will the appeals go on?

The defendants have made if very clear they will appeal, even arrogantly implying they will win—but on what grounds do they plan to appeal? Will an appeals court find any reversible error?

Will David Stern and the NBA just turn a blind eye to the reprehensible behavior that the jury concluded occurred? Players get fined for not wearing a suit and tie before and after games, but this is ok? Really? Dallas Mavrick’s owner Mark Cuban gets fined millions for making remarks the NBA deems to be out of line, but with a straight face they say this isn’t their problem?

The jury clearly believed the plaintiff over Isiah Thomas: shocking testimony came out in court of Thomas making horrible remarks about the fans who buy Knick’s tickets. According to plaintiff Anucha Browne Sanders, Thomas said he didn't gave a ... uh, "hoot" about white-season ticket holders. Will the fans really stand for this?

In the basketball world, there is the near unanimous opinion that Thomas has done an utterly horrible job with the Knicks. How long can this man stay employed? For several years, MSG chairman James Dolan has passionately defended Thomas and his blunders. Why? How long will this last?

Which World?

While studying tax policy, I began to contemplate a question about what people would prefer in life. If you wouldn’t mind, leave a comment telling what you think (and why). There is, obviously, not a "right" or "wrong" answer.

Imagine two worlds. You could choose to live in either one, and the two worlds are completely identical except for the salaries. Now, which would you rather live in:

World A: In this world, you have income of $50,000 a year and everyone else in the world gets $25,000 a year.

World B: In this world, you have income of $100,000 a year and everyone else in the world gets $250,000 a year.

Assume that the value of a dollar is exactly the same in both worlds.

So, which world would you rather live in?

Scared for Our Lives

Wife and I have been asked several times by friends and family since we arrived, “Doesn’t NYC scare you? The crime? The muggings? The crowds? Doesn’t any of that bother you?” Our response has always been simply: no, we feel safer and more comfortable here than we have felt anywhere else we have lived. Honestly, that is how we feel.

Today, for the first time, Wife turned to me and announced, “I’m scared.” The funniest part about that: we were at church when she made this proclamation. During our time here, we have visited several churches, most of them have been rather small. Today, for the first time, we went to one of NYC’s famous “mega-churches.” While we were not exactly sure what to expect, well….let’s just say we won’t go back.

Today’s church meets at an old theater down near Broadway. Each Sunday, thousands of people push and shove their way in to get the “prominent seats” (seriously, that is what the usher called the better seats). We were in fear for our safety after we got into the building with thousands of people pushing and shoving trying to get in front of us for a good seat in church. At the scheduled time, the curtain rose and the performance began (and it was a pretty good show). Soon after the service began, the “holy rolling” began. The people around us (who just a few minutes earlier put our lives in danger as they tried [and many succeeded] in shoving us out of their way), began to raise their arms, dance, shout, scream, and speak in tongues. As soon as the service was over, those same people, whom we just watched engage in their “Spirit-filled” encounter, again shoved and trampled us to get out of the building as quickly as possible (one aggressive fellow nearly shoved Wife down a flight of stairs). Odd that these people exhibit the “fruit of the Spirit” through speaking in tongues, but they can’t exhibit love or decency to those around them two minutes before or after their spiritual experience.

While I found the morning rather humorous, Wife believes that attending this church again may be grounds for divorce (just kidding…sort of).

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

I Corinthians 13:1-3

It's a Good Day

Yes, I am a nerd; it actually adds great excitement to my life to learn that today the United States Supreme Court granted cert to two taxation cases.

In the first case, Boulware v. United States, the Court will answer the question of whether a taxpayer who seeks to invoke the return of capital rule in a criminal tax case must show a contemporaneous intent to treat the corporate distribution as a return of capital.

The second case, Meadwestvaco v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue, will address the issue: Is the attempt by Illinois to tax the approximately $1 billion gain realized by Petitioner when it sold its investment in LexisNexis in 1994 (which it acquired in 1968 for $6 million and which functioned for 26 years as an independent, nonunitary business) in direct conflict with the decisions of the Court in Allied-Signal, Inc. v. Director, Division of Taxation, 504 U.S. 768 (1992), F.W. Woolworth Co. v. Taxation & Revenue Department of New Mexico, 458 U.S. 354 (1982) and ASARCO Inc. v. Idaho State Tax Commission, 458 U.S. 307 (1982) and the Due Process and Commerce Clauses of the United States Constitution?

I’m sure you’re all as excited by the news as I am. I in honor of this news, I am planning a celebratory afternoon of studying in the library.

Cruisin' 'Round the Big Apple

Many of you may not know this, but Husband actually has some ties with New York. His father’s side of the family is from Queens so when we first arrived to NYC we made sure to talk to Husband’s grandmother for tips on places to see and activities to do during our time in the city. One activity that Grandmother suggested was to take the cruise around Manhattan. She explained to us that a cruise was a great way to see the city and learn about our new home, so Husband and I decided that we would put this on the top of our list. We agreed that after I accepted a job, we would celebrate by taking this tour cruise together.

Unfortunately last weekend we had our first glimpse of New York City rain, so the cruise had to be postponed until this weekend. Friday afternoon (Husband’s schedule inexplicably changed, so that he had a very long day on Thursday, but nothing Friday afternoon) we trekked our way up to Pier 83 on the Hudson River to purchase our tickets. After researching the numerous cruise options that NY had to offer we settled on a 3-hour cruise that circumnavigated the entire island of Manhattan (oh, yes, I did research; Husband has taught me well).

Much to our delight we arrived a little early. Now I am sure you are wondering why we would be delighted about having to sit around and waste time. Well, we discovered that right across the West Side Highway is none other than the famous (and incredibly tasty) H & H Bagels. I am sure that Husband will soon dedicate a post to our new found love of bagels. It was such a nice treat to sit on a park bench overlooking the Hudson River, munching on the most delicious bagel I have ever tasted (this place ships bagels all over the world—now I understand why).

After our mid-afternoon snack, it was time to board the Circle Line Boat. We made our way to the upper deck and found two seats next to the ledge. We had our cameras ready, so Husband even went to the captain of the ship on advice for which part of the cruise liner would produce the best view for photography. After sounding the horn several times our ship backed up and began our three-hour tour. The first hour of the tour was definitely the most interesting as it posed the best views of the island of Manhattan as well as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Throughout the three hours we traveled on three major rivers, went under more than 20 bridges (a few of them are quite famous), saw all five boroughs of New York City, and viewed magnificent sights of the entire perimeter of Manhattan. Our tour guide was entertaining as well, as he spent most of the time casually telling stories about the history and significance of everything that we saw. Unfortunately, he struggled with microphone problems during the entire cruise, but even with the technical difficulty he was able to educate us on our new home.

For those of you that are not up to par on your geography (I wasn’t until we took this cruise), Manhattan is 13.4 miles long and 2.3 miles wide (at its widest point near 14^th street). Surrounding the island are 3 rivers. On the west side of the island is the Hudson River (where our cruise began). The northern portion of the island is surrounded by the Harlem River (which divides Manhattan from the Bronx). Running down the east side of Manhattan is the East River. Of course, if you watch Law & Order, you are probably familiar with those terms.

One random tidbit of information that I thought was rather interesting was the “artificial reef program.” Have you ever wondered what happens to old subway cars? I hadn’t before our tour, but once the tour guide brought it up, I suddenly became curious. Well, in NYC they literally get dumped into the ocean off the cost of New Jersey to create artificial reefs (an artificial reef is any man-made object placed in the sea as a habitat for marine organisms). Sea life is drawn like a magnet to any large object in the otherwise featureless bottom sand. Almost anything will do, but objects that can withstand the corrosive effects of salt water are best and that just so happens to be old subway cars. That is just a little random fact for you (perhaps it will be a Jeopardy question some day).

Overall, the three-hour cruise was an experience that Husband and I both would recommend to visitors. There are several different options to chose from including, a seventy-five minute tour that goes around the statue of liberty, a two-hour cruise that navigates around Lower Manhattan, a three-hour cruise that circumnavigates the entire -island, and, finally, a two-hour night cruise which displays the night lights of Manhattan. For just a few dollars more we decided that we might as well see the entire island and take the three-hour cruise (although, when I first thought about our three-hour tour, I kept thinking about Gilligan’s Island). The first half of our tour was extremely entertaining, while the second half was a little slower and a little dull. The last half of the cruise proved to us that we live in a beautiful city. Manhattan contains a shocking number of trees and greenery. Before this tour, when I thought of Manhattan, I thought of skyscrapers, Times, Square, Broadway, Wall Street, Greenwich Village, and Ground Zero. I never realized that the island is so lush and green. While trees are not as exciting as giant skyscrapers, they are certainly beautiful and worth seeing to get a true feel for the full makeup of Manhattan.

If it is possible, the cruise around Manhattan made me fall even more in love with this city. I still get giddy when I think that I get to call this home! While this move was a frightening endeavor, I am so thankful for the opportunities and experiences we are living!

Name Us

We have received several suggestions that Wife and I replace our pseudonyms with something a bit more creative. Remember, Wife is an accountant and I am a tax attorney—how much creativity do you think we have?

We have received a few suggestions, we’ve added a few to the list, and now we need your help in thinking up suggestions. Here’s what we have so far:

Adam and Eve (W. suggested this one)

George and Martha

Fred and Wilma

Homer and Marge

George and Hot Lips (we’ve got Linda to thank for that one)

Donald and Daisy

John and Abigail

Any other suggestions? If we get some good suggestions, I’ll add them to the poll.

Vote for your favorite.

Broadway on Broadway

Husband and I spend his time off this past weekend listening and watching the best of Broadway for FREE!!! This weekend there was a FREE concert in Times Square, called “Broadway on Broadway,” featuring most of the current Broadway musicals, each performing their most popular tune. Fortunately, Husband agreed that this was an experience we shouldn’t miss (the fact that it was free probably helped him come along to my way of thinking). So with over 50,000 Broadway fans, we made out way down to Times Square (as you read this you should get the picture: we were standing in the middle of Times Square, about seventy-five feet from the stage, with over 50,000 other people crowed around us).

I spent significant time researching Broadway on Broadway, but I could not find out what time we should arrive. The show started at 11:30, but I had no idea if we should show up: should we wake up at the crack of dawn with a blanket at 4:00 am or just show up a few minutes before the performance started at 11:15 am? Husband and I decided to leave our house around 7:45 and walk over to Times Square. When we arrived, a rather long line had already formed filled with people of all ages, sizes, and races excited to see the show. The line was about a block long when we showed up. I would like to say everyone came for the magic of Broadway, but I believe there were quite a few teeny -boppers there to see this year’s host, Lance Bass, formerly of the boy-band N’Sync and now staring in Hairspray.

Not wanting to waste any time, Husband brought a stack of law review articles that he had to read with him. So, I was a little bored standing in line since Husband was pretty much ignoring me (but at least I got him there).

After waiting in line for about an hour, the NYPD began to let us into the area of the street that they had blocked off for the show. Essentially, several blocks of Broadway was closed off to traffic. It was also fenced off so people could not wander in and out. At around 9:30 or so, the NYPD opened up a gate, and allowed us onto Broadway in a single-file line (it was surprisingly organized for a free event on the street with 50,000 people in attendance).

My very wise, smart and clever husband suggested that instead of crowding as close to the stage as possible with the rest of the crowd, that perhaps we should stay on the curb of the sidewalk so we would be elevated above the crowd (we could have pushed our way about fifteen feet closer to the stage, but the extra eight inches of height was more valuable to us). I had a great view of the stage, but just in case I felt like the actors were a little too far away, the show was being shown on many of the large screens around Times Square. That was such a wise suggestion Husband had to stay on the elevated sidewalk because I am a little on the vertically challenged side of life and there were some tall people in the crowd. In fact that reminds me about one tall gentleman I saw. By the time we were able to move onto the street (for us the sidewalk) the tall gentleman was just a little in front of us by about ten feet, yet I overhead him say that he arrived at 4:30 am in order to stand in line! I am so glad that Husband and I didn’t arrive any earlier than we did because it wouldn’t have helped much, if at all (and who knows how pleasant it would have been with Husband that early in the morning waiting seven hours for a musical production to begin). In fact, I think we decided that we could have arrived about 10:30 or 11:00 and still had a pretty decent view.

At a little after 11:00, the pre-show began. All around us were television cameras, reporters, and vendors for the various shows giving away various little “gifts” (things like posters, fans, sun visors, beaded necklaces, and flyers). At exactly 11:30, the crowd was pumped, the performers were ready, and Lance Bass ran out on stage. For the next 2 ½ hours, we had constant-non stop performances of some of the best that Broadway has to offer.

Here is the song-list for the performances we saw:

"Why We Like Spelling" (from . . . Spelling Bee)
"For Now" (Avenue Q)
"When You're Good to Mama" (Chicago)
"I Can Do That" (A Chorus Line)
"Push Da Button" (The Color Purple)
"It's a Business" (Curtains)
"As We Stumble Along" (The Drowsy Chaperone)
"Summer Nights" (Grease)
"You Can't Stop the Beat" (Hairspray)
"Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" (Jersey Boys)
"Bend & Snap" (Legally Blonde)
"I Dreamed a Dream" (Les Misérables)
"One By One" (The Lion King)
"Dancing Queen" (Mamma Mia!)
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (Mary Poppins)
"Find Your Grail" (Monty Python's Spamalot)
"All I Ask of You" (The Phantom of the Opera)
"Out Tonight" (Rent)
"The Wizard and I" (Wicked)

For the most part I enjoyed the various numbers. I was really glad to see a part of some of these shows because I am not all that familiar with all of them. My favorite performance was probably “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Mis. Lea Salonga (some of you may know her from Miss Saigon) did an amazing job with such a powerful song. I was sad to learn that she is leaving the Broadway show in October. I haven’t been able to find out who will be replacing her, but just in case, I think I want to go see Les Mis before she leaves. I love Les Mis and that was the one show that I have been telling Husband that I want to see. “All I Ask of You” from Phantom was also done quite well. Can you tell I really like the classics?

The number from Lion King was performed well, however, since the lyrics are not in English and the performers for that song performed in jeans and matching shirts instead of their costumes, it was hard for us to truly catch the real spirit of the musical. I tried to explain to Husband how amazing the show is with the effects and costumes (that is really what makes the production), but I am not sure if Lion King is going to be one of the shows we make in the next few months.

The rest of the numbers were decent. I thought that Jersey Boys might be a fun show to go see. For those of you that are not familiar with Jersey Boys, it is a documentary-style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful 60’s rock ‘n roll groups, the Four Seasons.

Legally Blonde was definitely interesting. I have actually heard fairly good reviews about the show, but apparently it is going to be recorded and shown on MTV, so perhaps Husband and I will just watch it in the comfort of our apartment.

Another highlight of the show included Tamayra Gray, of American Idol fame, singing “Out Tonight” from Rent.

One interesting tidbit that I learned at the show is that Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George is returning to Broadway. That definitely may be a contender on my wish list (I am afraid my wish list of shows is getting too long).

The finale to Broadway on Broadway was all the performers singing together the song “New York, New York” with the crowd singing along to the words displayed on the screen while thousands of pounds of confetti fell from the sky.

Broadway on Broadway was a wonderful experience and, definitely, one that I would recommend to anyone.