NASDAQ Closing Bell Ceremony

At the end of Ragan's Social Media Summit, all the participants attended the NASDAQ closing ceremony. CEO Mark Ragan rang the bell while we all cheered and waved to TV cameras.

The ceremony includes taking photos at the podium in the studio before the bell rings. Right before 4 p.m., the person ringing the bell gives a quick speech. All of cheer and wave as the bell rings. After it's over, we were all taken outside to see our photo on the giant screens in Times Square and take another photo.

Phoenix, Jerome and Sedona

Last month, I took a few days and headed to Arizona to visit Tony. I was excited to see him and to leave the cold weather in New York City.

On St. Patrick's Day, the thermometer hit about 98 degrees and we headed to bask in the sunshine and drink some green beer at a spring training baseball game. I had no idea how big spring training or St. Patrick's Day is in Arizona. The stadium was packed with fans dressed in green and their team's colors. I had only been to one baseball game (a Mets game years ago with Barry and my colleagues at Teachers College) before this, so it was an especially interesting experience for me.

The next day, we got into the car and drove to Jerome and Sedona. I was very excited to see Sedona because I've heard great things about it. Jerome, an old copper mining town, was on the way. It was a cool place with a ton of history. We stopped at the Jerome museum first and heard the story of the town from an older man, who works for the museum. He told the story of the town with passion and enthusiasm. After he finished, we toured the old mansion and the grounds and took some photos. It was fascinating.

From there, we headed to Sedona and I wasn't prepared for how beautiful it would be. Pictures don't do it a justice. We saw all the various rocks, except for Snoopy because we couldn't find it!! One of my favorite spots was the Cathedral rock, which is supposed to be on top of a vortex. It was a peaceful spot that overlooked many of the other rocks. Inside the tiny church, we lit some candles and looked around at the few decorations on the walls. The view is really the centerpiece of the chapel. Outside, we took some photos with the gorgeous background.

After that, we looked at the other rocks and took some more photos. Right before sunset, we headed to the best vantage point to see it. Lots of other people where there waiting for the famous sunset to happen. The colors are amazing. It was really spectacular.

Getting hungry, we went to the Barking Frog for dinner. The restaurant had great ambiance and delicious food. I ordered some delicious ribs that fell off the bone and melted in my mouth. Feeling full and sleepy, we drove back to Phoenix.

On Saturday, we had brunch and then visited Scottsdale. Brunch was at Chelsea's Kitchen and it was delicious. I had a fantastic egg white omelet with all kinds of fancy mushrooms and spinach. Yum. Not only was it delicious, but the garden was lovely, too. It was set under a tree with flowers crawling around. We even spotted a humming bird right behind us.

After brunch, we strolled around town where we saw an exhibit of Dr. Seuss illustrations and other artwork. When we needed a break from walking, we stopped at a little bar with an outdoor section and enjoyed a beer. A canal flows near the bar. We took a walk along the canal and crossed the new bridge that opened recently.

Tony Visits NYC in February

It has been a while since I've been able to write here. Things have been really busy all around. I still haven't added old photos as promised, but I will do it as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll post a few things about what's been going on with me in NYC these past few months.

In February, Tony came back to NYC for a long weekend to visit and we had so much fun. It was a short trip, but we managed to cover quite a bit of ground. We had a couple of brunches, both in NYC and in Williamsburg; toured the brooklyn brewery; went up to the Columbia U. campus and saw one of my favorite places, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The photo above is outside of the cathedral.

More Old Family Photos On The Way

I've neglected to post the old family photos that I mentioned a few months back. Life (and mostly work) got in the way of my plans to scan them, so they are still tucked away in their albums undigitized. I'll get to it as soon as I can and begin posting them. I think the first ones I will post will be from an autograph book that grandpa Stan gave me right before he died when I was 12. They are all photos of him as a young man. I know you'll enjoy them!

Amy's Birthday and Mom's Retirement Celebration in NJ

We celebrated Amy's 26th birthday and mom's retirement at the Mt. Tabor Tavern in NJ. The ambiance was cozy and rustic complete with a giant fireplace and the food was excellent. I went with the steak after debating duck breast and pork wrapped in prosciutto. Everyone else had fish. After dinner we went home and had the famous Gaston Avenue Bakery's hazelnut cake. Sigh.

Dinner and Sock Party at Bill and Terry's

Bill and Terry hosted a hors d'oeuvres party at their apartment recently. Everyone was required to wear their best socks. In this photo, Rosa and Jeffrey have a chat while Larry hopes they drop some food. We found out when we got there that the socks were a ploy to get us to take off our snowy boots at the door. It worked and it was fun!

Phoenix with Tony

In early January, I went to Phoenix to visit Tony. While I visited cousin Sue in Albuquerque a couple of times, I had never been to Arizona before. I was excited to see Tony as well as leave snowy New York City.

With a blizzard speeding towards the east coast, I happily boarded the plane looking forward to to sunny, warm weather. I wasn't disappointed. Almost each day was perfect, some days cooler than others, but walking or eating or sitting outside was always an option even on the chillier days.

Arizona looked somewhat like what I expected only there were palm trees there. The palms gave it a hint of the tropics although it was clearly the desert. I got a closer look at the desert during a couple of our hikes. Varieties of cacti cover the ground; some tall, some bushlike, and some close to the ground. At the top of one of the mountains, the view was amazing. You could see for miles -- the mountains, houses nestled in them and resorts and golf clubs.

On the weekend, we had brunch outside at the Farm. The setting, the food and the coffee were excellent. I had a fantastic egg dish with fresh veggies from the farm. The sprawling farm has a long history. We meandered around the grounds for a bit.

After brunch, we headed to the Japanese Friendship Garden. Walking through this peaceful place feels exactly what I imagine Japan to be like. The focal point is a huge pond with giant gold fish that beg for food and waterfalls of various sizes. Incredibly quiet, the sounds of the waterfall and murmurs of other visitors are all that you hear. It was incredibly peaceful and a stark contrast to what I'm used to --- the sounds of buses, traffic, drunk people and, most recently, many garbage trucks scratching the pavement with their snow plows.

As a big fan of tasty beers, I like to try local beers and also exotic ones from other countries. Tony also likes craft beers and also loves to brew them. My only experience with home brewed beer was in college and it was quite disgusting, so I never pursued any further information about this. However, I tasted some of the beer he made and wanted to see how it was done.

On Sunday, we had a brew day where we made a honey brown beer. It took a couple of hours and was interesting (and kind of smelly). I learned about the equipment -- a giant pot for the boil, some jugs called carboys, I think. I like the sound of the word "carboy." Anyhow, my big role was to add the hops and honey at the end of the boil. After all the smelly stuff is boiled and all the appropriate ingredients are in there, it goes into one of the jugs where the magic happens. Fairly quickly, you can see it start to bubble and ferment.

After about a week passes, it's moved to the secondary fermenter and after another week it's bottled. I thought it was done after it was bottled, but I think it needs to sit there for a while. Tony is going to send me some of the honey brown in a week or two. I plan to have a dinner party so everyone can try it. I hope it's good!!

We went for a second walk around the desert before I left. It was another beautiful day and a bit warmer. We saw huge rocks and cacti and people mountain biking. We were warned about snakes.

The last night we had dinner at The Hillside Spot, which is a very cute cafe with fresh, local food and beer. We sat outside next to a roaring fire in a fireplace that was covered with brightly colored tiles. The food was really excellent and it was so pleasant to sit by the fire.

The day I was supposed to leave, the airports were shut down due to the blizzard. While my job wasn't happy about this, I got to stay for a few more days. I worked from Tony's apartment one day and then flew back to a snowy NYC the next.

The storm wasn't as bad as they thought so I was able to get home fairly easily. It took a while, with a connection in North Carolina, but it was pretty smooth. It was hard to leave and I hope to go back soon.