Jane of all Trades...mistress of a few

Food is such a huge part of our lives, I know it is for us. I’m married to a food snob for whom it’s all about the experience and he’s got the belly to prove for it (good thing he doesn’t read my blog J) But he’s a fantastic cook and I have to say in the past (almost) 1 year of being married he has definitely elevated my sense of food and introduced me to good, fresh and simpler foods.

The first 10 months of our marriage (and it hasn’t quite been 11 months yet) eating at local eateries in Queens became our thing. We have a standing date on Friday and we’d explore Queens. Unlike my previous life where food venues only existed in Manhattan I ventured into unknown neighborhoods in Queens with him to discover some amazing foods, Italian, Indian, Thai. And it became our thing.

So naturally when we were planning the big move I was sad about leaving all that comfortable familiarity behind and being forced to discover new places and who knows ‘the area might be a dump and we won’t find anything’…I exclaimed out loud to him one day. He’s used to such grave statements from me about frivolous stuff. Anyway unbeknownst to me he went around in the neighborhood ahead of us moving in and scoped out a few places for us to try after we moved in.

I’ve been a Queens girl for 22 years of my life and it was a really emotional decision to move to New Jersey. But it was the right decision for us because H needed to be in Jersey according to his contract and his commute is now cut down by 3 hours a day! So now he sleeps in while I still have to get up and go to work at the same time!

He was flexible; he would live anywhere in NJ as long as my commute into midtown was the same or better than before. I appreciated that. We have a few friends up and down the gold coast (Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City) and figured we’d check out that area since I’m not exactly ready for total suburbia. We scoped out places in Newport Jersey city and hated them. We just found it so congested and lacking in any character. It was like living in Manhattan, cold highrises with no connections to people and places. We loved living in Forest Hills where we really felt like we were in a “neighborhood”. We needed something similar.

One of the appointments I had to look at apartments landed us in Paulus Hook and the first time we walked thru the neighborhood I was hooked. We loved it because it had so much character and history and it had a really casual laid back environment. The sidewalk culture was more family oriented versus the “single scene” sidewalk culture further north in Newport. AND it had historic signficance dating back to George Washington and if you are a regular reader you know how I have a thing for GW. Of course the massive apartment, being on the water and the amazing view had a little something to do with it.

When we were in Queens we walked everywhere. I couldn’t live in a place where I couldn’t just hoof it. I could easily walk several miles just running errands in Queens and I finally felt like I found a place that would allow me the same thing. A loop around the boardwalk in front of our building is easy 2 miles. From the get go we started exploring the local neighborhood eats. In the past 3 weeks I’ve discovered a few places I like and a few places I won’t be going back to.

Taqueria Downtown

On the corner of Grove St & Grand St

I love this place. It was the first place we ate at when we first moved into the neighborhood and I have loved it since. It’s Mexican food but it’s like comfort food to me. There are no refried beans here, chips or guacamole at the table. They don’t serve sour cream with your food and nothing is supersized and precooked. It’s truly authentic no frills fresh and excellent Mexican food.

The staff is always super friendly (hey we even got a tip for a great mechanic in the area from one of the guys) and they have a little garden in the back that reminds you of a backyard in someone’s home while you eat under the trees. The Quesadillas are fantastic, NOTHING at all like the stuff you get in run of the mill Mexican places. They usually have this Mushroom and Queso fresco special that is to die for. The fish tacos are fantastic and come with some secret sauce that is just divine. There are no hard tacos, only one kind of tacos, freshly rolled soft tacos. And do get the Bean Tostada. I highly recommend it.

Ibby’s

On the corner of Grove St & Wayne St

My friend Vinny told me about this place the first week I moved in. He insisted I go eat there. So on the 2^nd day we moved in and the kitchen wasn’t up and running H and I in between errands popped in and picked up a couple of Falafels. We ate there on the 3^rd and 4^th day and have eaten there every week since. Hell even when we had unexpected family visit a few days after we moved in we got a whole catering tray from there. It was great.

It’s just plainly put DELICIOUS. The owner Adnan Kwara is the nephew of the guy who owns Mamouns. Regardless the food here is fresh and fantastic. Everyone in Jersey City recommends it and so do I.

Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory

On the corner of Jersey Avenue & Grand St

This is a good diner for breakfast any time of the day and it’s always packed. They have every imaginable kind of pancake, omlete, waffle you can think of and it’s all made fresh. It’s a good bet on lazy Saturday morning and it’s always consistently good. They also have a huge Panini, wrap and burger menu but we have never gone past breakfast. I had quite a few people tell me to eat there when I moved to Jersey City and I was definitely happy with it.

We also ate at this place called Medina (Pakistani food) also on Grove St and found it to be not fresh. Hated it.

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Wednesday, August 27

I know it's been a while :-)

by SupaRupa on Wed 27 Aug 2008 10:51 PM EDT

I've been in over my head doing lots of things but mostly working insane hours, moving apartments and getting the old apartment ready for tenants. My hubby has been traveling and constantly out of town and so it's been a little bit daunting. Of course blogging takes the hit.

So get this. I'm officially a Jersey girl! There I said it. Yup it's official. I have moved states and crossed 2 rivers and honestly am quite happy as of now. Of course I've been in this apartment officially for 10 days now but I love it so. It's bigger brighter better has the most amazing view and a really great commute and of course the bigger price tag to go with it.

But the past few nights while I've been alone drowing in boxes I have found some excuse or the other to sit outside on the balcony and watch the boats sail by. I'm right on a marina and across from the Statue of Liberty and the most phenomenal view of New York City.

Had to move, Hubster found a new job in the state that requires him to physically live in Jersey and he was commuting past 2 rivers twice a day for a while. The apartment didn't sell but I found tenants I like so far so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. To the day, 2 years to the day I moved in I moved out. Amazing.

Anyway this is all the snippet I can offer for now. I've been working insane hours, driving back and forth from Jersey and LI on an almost daily basis while work was being done on my old apartment but am getting a 5 day break this coming weekend and am looking forward to it. I'll blog more often I promise and about fun things.

Oh wait before I sign off I have this grand view of the "Waterfalls" in Brooklyn from my balcony. They are far enough that my piddly little camera won't catch it well but close enough that it illuminates the waters at night. You have to see if you can catch it by nighttime. I hear the several locations can see it from the bridges downtown.

In the meantime here are some pictures of the view I enjoy...I'll share more after I have time to take more Hope you are doing well.

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Tuesday, July 22

You be the judge

by SupaRupa on Tue 22 Jul 2008 07:23 AM EDT

I got married last year, had a photographer I found thru a company that was recommended by someone and who were at the Dulhan (Bridal) Expo in Long Island.

I had some inclination on the day of the wedding that the pictures weren’t good but I had too much going on to pay attention. How we were posed, lack of lighting, where we were posted etc. The photographer I learnt had only been taking pictures a couple of years and wasn’t a seasoned photographer. She worked for the same company I did once upon a time.

However she was professional and worked hard so I didn’t make anything of it.

I got the pictures back around the time I had to go to India and didn’t get to going thru them till later because of all the drama going on behind my mother’s death. In March I still hadn’t gotten my video so I called and they really couldn’t find it and then said that it was done and sent and then said they’d call me back.

The actual videographer from my wedding day eventually called me back a few days later said he was working on the video and asked me some questions about editing out noise during certain segments and adding music. Fine.

The video arrives and now I go thru everything and find it a complete disaster. It was really bad. Honestly the video is unwatchable however I didn’t care for the video as much as the pictures. I really just wanted some nice pictures of us and there weren’t any posed ones.

Thank god for my friend Manish at the wedding he was at least able to capture some moments that I did not get from the photographer. There were so many problems, lighting, missing entire portions of the ceremony, not taking enough pictures of some things and really just not using any light of her own.

I decided to document all the things I had problems with, they weren’t creative issues as much as they were actual quality issues. I really just wanted a session with them with our wedding clothes that would garner a few decent portraits for us that we could frame. I decided to write.

What do you think?

Attention: Elizabeth

Duval Photo & Video, Inc.
1883 Wantagh Avenue
Wantagh, NY 11793-3932

April 11^th 2008

Dear Elizabeth,

My name is Rupa Gawle-Kale and I got married on October 21^st 2007 at the Huntington Hilton in Long Island. I chose Duval for my wedding photography and videography based on a positive personal recommendation. My photographer was Loraine and my videographer was Joe.

I’m writing after spending a long time thinking about this to let you know that I am very unhappy with the photographs. Loraine was very professional and hard working, but she lacked in creative vision and skill. The pictures of the ceremony, family, guests, and venue are acceptable at best. However, the posed pictures of my husband and me are dissatisfactory.

My concerns are the following:

1. The solo pictures of my husband and I are only in my hotel room. This should have never have happened; you see an unmade bed and clutter in the background. After we left, we never got solo pictures again. My husband’s only solo shots are leaning against the table in the hotel room with no natural light.

2. The photographs are not flattering. We are not smiling in most of them because she kept asking us to make different faces and expressions. We aren’t actors - we are real people who were confused and it’s visible in the pictures.

3. I would expect a photographer to understand the body type of her subjects and find the best angles and shots for the pictures. Some of the poses she asked us to do resulted in embarrassing photographs. If the pose had the potential to be flattering, it was taken from the wrong angle. Perhaps this is due to her inexperience with an Indian wedding though I was assured otherwise. I had to request she take certain poses, which she should have known on her own.

4. She unfortunately missed some very key shots. There were only 2 pictures of my henna hands and none of them were in full view, 2 pictures of the wedding cake without flash and most of the first part of our ceremony where we put garlands on each other were taken from behind people in the frame and with no flash so that we are barely visible in the picture. We got married on a huge open stage and she had the options of a lot of angles.

5. The flash and lighting was inconsistent throughout the event. For example, during the outdoor baarat in the morning, the photographs were dark and over exposed. Though it was a bright, beautiful day, most of the pictures are dark.

Fortunately, I am grateful to a friend who happened to take some excellent photographs of the wedding. We’ve taken beautiful pictures in the past thru a lot of different events including our engagement ceremony and it was very disappointing to see us not in the best light on our most important day.

While I have already purchased the photographs, I am not requesting a refund. However, I would like Duval to arrange a session for my husband and I to have our wedding portrait done. At this point I do not have any pictures of us in our wedding clothes that I would like to get framed. I may be reached at 917-940-9379 anytime. I sincerely hope that Duval will do the right thing for us because this has been very very difficult for me.

Sincerely,

Rupa Gawle-Kale

----------------------------------------------------
I received the following letter below: (written exactly including the bold font)

April 17^th

Dear Rupa:

In regards to your letter dated 4/11/08.

I’ll try to answer some of your concerns.

After viewing your photos and video, without going into a lot of detail – we thought the overall photography job was quite nice – and captured your entire day, even with the prevailing conditions of the day.

It is very difficult and extremely challenging to work with a bride that passed out. When this happens and it doesn’t happen often and never twice, the photographer eases off with a lot of posed photographs and constant flashing.

You also appeared very tense and appeared distracted on more than several occasions. This was quite evident and it showed in both your photographs and video. Truthfully, I’m amazed Lorraine was able to photograph as much as she did.

In short, we are not going to go into each and every detail. If you want to blame us 100% for not giving you a perfect job, that is certainly your right. I’m surprised you forgot to mention the other issues in your letter, along with leaving the affair 1 ½ hours prior to the wedding ending.

We are sorry you feel this way about Duval. Since 1966, we have worked with our clients, however most do not wait approx. 6 months to write a letter.

To put this matter behind and go forward. Kindly call us at your earliest convenience to arrange an appointment in our studio. We will be more than happy to give you an in studio portrait session at no cost. You will be supplied with all images on a CD. If you wish to bring a change of clothing, please do so.

Again call us at your earliest convenience to arrange for your in studio sitting.

Any questions, kindly call, it will be our pleasure to serve you.

Any defamation of character, implied or outright, written or spoken will certainly be answered through the proper legal channels.

Best Regards

Phillis Fein

On April 28th I wrote:

Duval Photo & Video, Inc.
1883 Wantagh Avenue
Wantagh, NY 11793-3932

ORIGINAL SENT: April 28^th 2008

RESENDING REGISTERED MAIL: June 10^th 2008 RECEIVED June 13^th 2008

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Phyllis Fein,

I’m writing in response to your letter dated April 17^th 2008.

Thank you for responding back. I realize nearly 6 months would be an unusual time for someone to respond about unsatisfactory pictures under normal circumstances. However my mother passed away and I was out of the country. Also I also did not receive the wedding Video from Duval till early April 2008 and thought it best to write after I was able to review both the pictures and the video.

I am writing back because I’m concerned you may have me mixed up with another bride for various issues mentioned in your letter.

1. I never passed out at the wedding, not twice not once not at all.

2. I also never left my wedding early. My husband and I were the last ones in the wedding hall writing checks to our vendors while the crew was cleaning up. And this was long after we personally said our thank you’s and good byes to Joe and Lorraine.

3. Every single picture and video from that day including those from Duval show me smiling and happy not tense or distracted.

All of the above leads me to believe there was confusion between me and another bride because I was frankly very shocked by the tone of your letter and the claims in it neither of which applied to me at all. And you offered my apparent passing out was an explanation for the photographer not taking enough pictures and not using flash.

I look forward to hearing from you with a correction.

Sincerely,

Rupa Gawle-Kale

When I never heard from them again I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau on July 9th 2008.

Two days later the following ANONYMOUS registered letter came to my husband:

Dear Mr. Kale,

I am writing in regards to your wife. I work with your wife and you must be a real Saint.

Everyone that knows your wife, feels the same way. We all know that she HATES children and has no respect for them or their parents.

We’ve just seen her blog. What a pig! She seems to love the F-K word. I guess with poor upbringing for family values, this is the way one relates.

I am also writing to Justice Masilli Mt Pleasant Town Court along with Duval, her Photographer, to make them aware of her nasty, rude and arrogant blog comments.

I am also writing to Human Resources, to show what Rupa does on company time.

Innocent children read blogs, and your wife has no respect for them. If she did, she would not use the F-K word as freely as she does.

We all know from the work area, disagree a little with Rupa ands he states, she “Rupa”, will F-K you back. Very nice and ladylike, using threatening language in that tone.

The “had enough with Rupa” group.

The same week the below letter also ANONYMOUS along with the letter sent to my husband was sent to Human Resources at my job.

Friends of (My Company)

July 1^st 2008

(My Company)

Human Resources

(Address)

Dear Human Resources:

I am writing this letter along with some of my peers in regard to another employee:

Rupa Gawle-Kale.

We want to make you aware of certain issues pertaining to Rupa.

We thought about this and did not want to proceed, however, we feel at this time, harmful attention could be drawn to (My Company). A Company we love.

In short – check Rupa’s Blog. www.janeofalltrades.verveblogs.com

We understand from other sources, regarding her wedding photographer of October 21^st 2007, that there was a slight disagreement and now Rupa brags…she’s out to get them.

Why is this an issue for (My Company)?

Upon viewing her blog, date: 4/27/08, she says, “You don’t fuck with me that way”. She also says, “I will fuck you back, I promise.”

We personally do not know if the photographer knows this is out there. When he/she realizes this is out there, I’m sure eyebrows will be raised.

Going further, checking her blog, you will notice her 4/24/08 blog states: Rupa doesn’t like Daughters and Sons Work Day. As she states, “What the fuck, Somebody gonna get hurt real bad.” P.S. this was on company time; Thursday 4/24/08.

Other entries on Rupa’s blog were written on company time and bragging about it, saying it’s too bad for (My Company).

Tuesday 4/21/08

Thursday 3/27/08

Friday 3/14/08

Wednesday 3/12/08

Friday 3/7/08 “Must read…why the fuck have a kid”

Thursday 2/28/08

Wednesday 2/13/08

Friday 2/01/08

Thursday 1/24/08 “Must read”…calls…the police officer a bastard and frankly he (police officer – fucked up”. Also Mount Pleasant Town Court (Judge Nicholas C. Maselli) is running a complete scam.

Monday 1/21/08

We can go on and on, we’ll leave that to you. It’s truly a shame when a person like Rupa doesn’t care or give a hoot about anyone but her self, brags about it and does it on company time.

Again, if and when the photographer finds all this out and most of it done on company time, this could get nasty for (My Company)

Obviously she loves the f—k word, doesn’t care for children, dislikes the police, judges and anyone that disagrees with her. In short this matter can get very ugly, and we feel you should take immediate action, before the (My Company) name becomes more famous for it’s employees than it’s products. Since Rupa does all this on company time.

At this time, we are also writing to Yahoo the domain registrant/host to make them aware Rupa is abusing her privileges.

Basically, everyone reads blogs, adults and children alike. We might be old fashion, but to use that type of terminology when you know children might be reading it. It’s just not right.

We leave this in your hands. We are sure this matter will be property handled. To everyone’s satisfaction.

Sincerely,

Friends of (My Company)

Cc: Office of the President

Human Resources at my job with the involvement of the Legal department conducted their own investigation during which they not only caught some of the false accusations but bothered to look at time stamps as well.

Essentially I was contacted given the documents told about what was happening and given full legal support to investigate this.

Isn't it a felony to threaten someone via US Mail? Nevermind leaving behind traces leading back to you like your IP address and the town the letters were mailed form (yeah Anonymous isn't the sharpest tool in the shed)

Without telling you my conclusion or my company's conclusion what is yours?

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Monday, June 30

A very BIG birthday

by SupaRupa on Mon 30 Jun 2008 08:55 PM EDT

I realize it's been a while, I just haven't been around. I know lame excuse. Things no one tells you before you get married. How much time it sucks out of your own time. Lucky for me I'm married to a good man so it's not all bad. I can't really blame him or marriage, my apartment is up on the market, I've had 99 million family commitments and we are transitioning over to SAP at work so lots and lots of work hours.

Anyway I had to share. Dhruvi (my sweet kid from PA who's all growed up now) had a very special birthday recently. Her mom (one of my oldest and dearest friends Charchita) brought her and some of her friends into the city for a "Fun NYC day". They got treated to a royal birthday party and lunch at the American Girl Place and then spent most of the day walking around. And it turned out that they were 4 girls out and about the city. Considering my last post about 4 girls this one you'll find cute. Keeping in theme hehehe.

Oh yeah and we checked out Chris Burden as well @ Rockefeller Center.

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Sunday, June 8

Sex in this city?

by SupaRupa on Sun 08 Jun 2008 09:15 PM EDT

So after the rest of the world saw it on the first day and I wasn't able to score tickets and sulked and bitched about it for days on end I finally saw Sex & the City and I have 2 words...predictable and disappointing!

SPOILER ALERT...If you are living under a rock, or have some other valid excuse to have not caught it yet don't read on!

I need to backtrack, back to 1998 (that was 10 freaking years ago shit). I was dating a jerk and wasting a lot of time on him and HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU wasn't out and I ignored all my friends who told me to drop him.

Then came this show that was just awesome, it was sexy and real and empowering and somehow made me feel normal. Yeah try being single in New York. "At least I had a boyfriend" I told myself! As if somehow dating the lowest common denominator was enough. Carrie had a boyfriend or quazi boyfriend (like mine) who she was hung up on. "It was ok for me to be hung up on a guy too" I told myself!

Well time went on and I became addicted and somewhere after September 11th and a few seasons of my addiction I decided it was time to drop him. By then Carrie had dropped her BIG problem too. The show got more real, I was out in the big bad world dating and I could really relate. The undercurrent of being single in the city minus the Manolos which I couldn't afford then and drinks at Asia de Cuba was was also off limits then, the rest was pretty surreal and tres real for me.

I fell in love. With Carrie and Miranda and Samantha and Charlotte. There was a little of all of them in me and I could relate to all of them. I dated a Aiden but he didn't do it for me despite being such a nice guy, I knew a Berger who was just a total jackass and never came to terms with his own insecurities and then there was also a Richard in my life. Sigh. I related to the ups and downs of finding love.

But then the show came to an end and I cried of course knowing it was coming to an end. The horrid romance with the Russian, ugh. I hoped and prayed it would go bust and it did. But I also secretly admired and loved Carrie for trying to remove herself from the obvious traps that she pulled herself into and throwing caution to the wind. But then the BIG problem came back and saved the day and I was pissed. I was pissed with the finale. I had gotten rid of my BIG problem and there she was welcoming it back again.

YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TAKE BOYFRIENDS WHO WERE ASSHOLES TO YOU BACK!!

Now fast forward to present day. Like everyone else I was excited about the movie. I was curious to find them 4 years past the point they left. When I got to the theater I was shocked to see that there were ALL kinds of women there. It's funny because the show was about 4 white women with just a handful of non white characters on it and it was really nice to see such a diverse group of women there to see it because they could all relate. To my horror there were a few women who had brought kids with them. WTF is wrong with people. It's a R rated movie with nudity, cursing and nevermind a very adult theme. Why would you bring kids?

Anyway moving along. I'll state what I loved about it first...

1. The fashion doh...I work up the street from Bryant Park and for years I worked across the street, actually during the time the show was being filmed in NYC I worked right there and often caught them filming around the area. I've attended shows in the tent for years and I've worked in the industry for a long time and while the glitz and glamour factor can get a little boring and trite after a while, the way it was captured in the movie was fantastic. It made New York City seem so sexy and glamorous as it actually is. I loved the Bridal photo shoot and the shoes and the clothes. And other than The Devil Wear's Prada this was only the second movie in years that has caught the fashion scene in NYC to the T.

2. Jennifer Hudson. She was sweet, precious and quite the refeshing touch in the movie. I really loved her character. And it's funny because she reminded me of my girlfriend Cara. Well Cara is neither Black nor from St. Louis but she did moved here from Minneapolis after a heartbreak, found love, got married and moved back.

3. The humor. It was nice to see the girls being able to laugh at themselves. The episode with Charlotte and pudding from Poughkeepsie and Samantha getting splattered with red paint (it happened to me years ago and it wasn't even real fur and unlike Samantha who was rather casual about it, I nearly decked the woman).

4. I semi enjoyed the storyline with Miranda. I liked it because it was the most real. Charlotte having gotten her "cinderella" story she went the surreal way, Carrie was still having dating problems she did 20 years ago and Samantha was well, acting her age?? I liked the infusion of reality in Miranda's marraige but found the "no way I could put up with it and dropping of the whole marraige immediately" a bit too unrealistic. That they came back together again and put the past behind them was brilliant, the best part of the movie but that she just dropped him without any emotions when he cheated on her was just not real. In real life it doesn't happen that way.

Now onto things I didn't like...

1. The BIG problem with the movie...

When the show ended BIG and Carrie put 6 years of drama behind them and were "together". But then the movie came along and 4 years later it's the same shit. They aren't exactly married but then when it comes down to it it's the same damn drama. This time he ditches her at the alter and ofcourse realizes it in 5 seconds. WHAT? Give me something different!

Then Carrie goes on mourns for 6 months and then takes him back anyway and marries him. Lord. The only thing real is the place of numbness she ended up in. When I split with the jerky ex I was devastated. Even though it was the best decision I ever made I mourned that loss and felt sorry for myself for a long long long time.

But you know I moved on, put myself out there, met other men, then finally learnt to enjoy being single and living for me and not focusing on finding a man and voila just like that I found a perfect guy and married him. THAT is what I wanted for Carrie. A happy ending with the BIG problem. How disappointing. 10 years later and it's the same fre akingdrama.

You know what bugged me is that so many women were hysterical and happy that they "finally" ended up together. What? He was a total jackass to her, put her thru a wringer for years, nevermind the 2nd wife, and she still married him. Maybe these women have BIGGER jerks in their lives that are dicking them around and they think somehow their life will turn out perfect.

TRUST ME THIS IS A MOVIE, in real life this does NOT happen! Drop him and move on. There are better men out there.

2. Samantha. Sigh. I loved the sex pot Samantha before. I loved that this older woman had hot sex and made no excuses for enjoying it. I wanted to be her. But then she chose monogamy and monogamy made her this boring? Oh yeah and she had a hot and younger man in LA who was monogomous to her! Right. On what planet?

She was just blah and she was such a firecracker character on the show. I was so disappointed in what she'd turned out to be. When we were walking out of the theater someone mentioned that there might be a sequel. WHY? So I can see a 60 year old Samantha and one of her sexcapades? No thank you. She's hot and gorgeous but jesus can't you give that character more depth?

3. I suppose I'll admit the movie was too hyped up perhaps in my own head. I had all these expectations from it and it was really just another "season" of the show except with a more expensive budget. There was nothing surprising about it. It felt drab and predictable and followed a story line we've already seen.

And so with this I'd say if you are a Sex and the City fan go see it. I enjoyed it overall but was very angry about the Carrie Big storyline. Real life doesn't work that way.

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Saturday, May 31

For Sale

by SupaRupa on Sat 31 May 2008 12:16 PM EDT

My apartment is up for SALE. Details here.

New York Times Listing here.

$229K 1 bed/1bath - Luxkry High Rise (Birchwood Towers - Belair) Forest Hills Queens

23^rd Floor / Large terrace / Un-obstructed gorgeous views

20 minutes to MidtownHardwood Floors / Large Closets

24 Hour Doorman

Central Air / HeatSwimming Pool / Private Benches - Playground

5 minute walk from subway / Austin Street shopping/restaurants

Centrally located 20 minutes from JFK and LGA

Maintenance includes all: gas / heat / air / electricity / taxes

Please contact ROGER MASHIHI @ 347-489-6828

Pictures below:

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Friday, May 30

Manhattanhenge

by SupaRupa on Fri 30 May 2008 07:18 AM EDT

Folks, it started 2 days ago and today in Manhattan it will reach it's peak...Manhattanhenge....the effect dubbed after Stonehenge. Sunsets will align perfectly with the streets in Manhattan from 14th street and above. It's an amazing phenomenon and I've only seen it once but today I'm equipped with camera. If you are in the city around sunset which is 8:20 pm tonite (yup days are getting longer) definitely catch this rather sweet view.

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Thursday, May 22

Summer Happenings and catching up **correction**

by SupaRupa on Thu 22 May 2008 10:31 PM EDT

OK OK I know I've been MIA. I catch up on other people's blogs from time to time and came to the realization that my blog has turned to shit lately. I haven't had time to post anything but there have been so many interesting posts that have materialized in my head. So I'm making a list that I promise to follow thru on and post about...

1. Reviews for Rafta Rafta & Sita Sings the Blues...I promise I'll do it shortly.

2. Reviews on some fabulous restaurants and some crappy ones I've been to in the past few months.

3. New just in time for the warm weather skin care and make up reviews and updates.

If I can accomplish this in the next week I'll call myself luck.

Oh I've been MIA because we are selling the apartment and moving across 2 rivers. Yes I'm moving to New Jersey. Wow I know. Huge deal but it's such a fantastic opportunity for Himanshu and he's going to be so much happier and richer...oops did I say that?? Hehehehe. Anyway so I've been insanely swamped between work and juggling moving and cleaning up and a bunch of other things.

Anyway so while I'm working on delivering on the promises above here are some fun things to get your summer started with. It's officially summer in New York when the schedules for summer concerts come out.

Like every year I look forward to Central Park Summer Stage. My recommendations for this year and concerts I'd like to check out are:

Mosh Ben Ari and Rupa & the April Fishes - A Jewish Reggae singer and a sultry mix of Hindi Spanish and French oh la la.

Afrika Bambaataa - Afro Hip Hop and oh such a flashback to the 80s for me.

Los Lonely Boys & Los Lobos - Texican rock and roll fun and a legendary band.

Of course it can’t be a New York summer without taking in some of the concerts on the Great Lawn. This is one of the highlights of my summer every year.

New York Philharmonic performs on Central Park’s Great Lawn

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 8 PM
Bramwell Tovey, Conductor
Shostakovich: Festive Overture
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, Italian
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Sousa: Selected Marches

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 8 PM
Alan Gilbert, Conductor | Lang Lang, Piano
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4
Sibelius: Finlandia

For Philharmonic performances in outer boroughs and in Jersey see the full list HERE.

Another set of fantastic happenings on the Great Lawn in the New York Metropolitan Opera in the Park. However this year they only have one published and listed concert in Prospect Park Brooklyn. Their website contains old unupdated information from last year for Central Park concerts. I'm annoyed. But I cannot find any Central Park concerts for the Opera this year. Oh well.

The rules for park concerts are simple:

Blanket, Candles and take my word on it make sure they are Citronella, Food, Drinks (no glass or alcohol at Summerstage but it’s “ignored and tolerated” on the Great Lawn)

Also this week is Fleet Week in NY so get out there and check out those cute sailors. I'm bringing my camera in tomorrow just to catch the testestronefest around here.

Here is also the New York City 2008 Street Fair Calendar.

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Asthma Walk 2008

by SupaRupa on Thu 22 May 2008 07:31 PM EDT

22 million Americans suffer from Asthma. I’m one of them. Every year, asthma causes 14 million missed school days and more than 5,000 deaths in the U.S. It is the leading chronic illness among U.S. children.

Like in previous years I have joined forces with the American Lung Association to help raise money to fight this deadly disease. I will be doing the Asthma Walk on May 31^st 2008 in Battery Park. In previous years I’ve been tremendously successful and all because of you.

Will you help me again? This means so much to me. Any support you give will help a child with asthma breathe easier.

Click on this link to donate!!

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Wednesday, May 7

I saw you today mama

by SupaRupa on Wed 07 May 2008 11:41 PM EDT

I woke up today mindlessly, nothing was different

I lay awake and stared at the lone plane in the distance

Got ready and put on my favorite red dress

As I looked in the mirror I saw you mama

I saw your lips and your eyes, the same 2 fine wrinkles between your brows
You were putting on your lipstick, the curve of the edge tilting just so

I was 6 and you were a glorious 28 years old

The pleats of your sari were perfect, 6 of them folded against the soft of your belly

A little boy was making his home there, a little boy lost

I saw your hopes and dreams and your infinite heart

I saw you in the mirror today mama

I wish you and yours a very Happy Mother's day coming up. A lame Hallmark holiday I made fun of over the years ... as if you need a actual day to be thankful of your mother ... this is my first mother's day without my mother.

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Friday, April 11

Wedding Features

by SupaRupa on Fri 11 Apr 2008 09:22 PM EDT

Yours truly is featured on Weddingsutra.com in the Bridal Look section and then in the Real Honeymoon's section.

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Tuesday, April 8

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

by SupaRupa on Tue 08 Apr 2008 08:56 PM EDT

I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens with my mother in law this past weekend and it was really nice to see flowers after what seems like an eternal winter. It hasn't been particularly freezing nor have we had too much snow but the winter has just dragged on. It's still quite chilly in the mornings and I haven't been able to entirely pack away all my winter jackets.

The Magnolias are completely open and at their peek. Though outside of the garden in my neighborhood they are just starting to open. Apple blossoms and Cherry Blossoms are starting to bud. There were a few random Blossoms at full bloom but otherwise the gardens are just sprouting life.

It was however a beautiful Saturday morning and it was nice to have a garden to ourselves for a few hours. I recommend you go in another week to two weeks to catch the full effects of the blossoms.

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Tuesday, April 1

Pay it Forward

by SupaRupa on Tue 01 Apr 2008 11:03 PM EDT

I recently saw this amazing newspiece about the concept of paying it forward. It’s a program called NEAD or Never Ending Altruistic Donor. The way it works is that a total stranger donates a Kidney to a person in need. In turn a family member or a friend of the recepient promises to donate their kidney to someone else in need and the chain carries forward.

As I sat listening to stories of people who have benefitted by this amazing program I cried because I wish my mother had the opportunity of that second chance. She secumbed to her failed kidneys because she couldn’t find a donor. I’d like to do this, in my heart I really do but I also know realistically this isn’t something I’d like to consider till after I’ve had children.

Anyway please check it out and spread the word. If you or someone you know is affected by kidney disease there is a lot of hope there. Also other resources here and here.

This past weekend I caught Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn with Emile Hirsch as the amazing Christopher McCandless and I was so incredibly touched by it. Christopher McCandless was a man who was seeking solitude partly to discover himself and party while to run away from his problems. He wanted to be one with nature and blazed his own path, living on his own terms, as a free spirit and finally dying in the wilderness leaving behind a written journal of his journey.

I think the thing that touched me the most was how much of myself and my life I found in that movie. I was mesmerized by his purity and spirit and drive and innocence as he went about discovering life and relationships with people and nature. I remember being that way, young and pure at heart, no footprints on my mind to follow, experiencing the world for the first time, on my own terms. It was just such an amazing experience. And I survived to lead a rather mundane life. Not too many people can relate to it. This movie is so heartwarming and pure, I highly recommend it.

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