EspressoNEAT Darien

I FINALLY made it to NEAT in Darien today! My sister and I needed a place for coffee after the haircut I got at Red Door Spa in Darien (with the gift certificate she got me for Christmas- thanks K!). I was picturing us sipping lattes in paper cups at Starbucks when I suddenly remembered espressoNEAT. We googlemapped it and were delighted to discover it was 27 seconds and 459 feet away.

We of course drove there (hey, it's winter, and we had the baby with us) and made ourselves comfortable with a vanilla latte (so much less sugary sweet than a Starbucks latte) and chai tea (same). We had delicious pastries- almond croissant, carrot cake muffin, brownie- from SoNo baking company. The place was spacious and cozy. I declare NEAT child-friendly because of the well-spaced tables and the one large table with bench seating (great for trapping your mobile child) and a basket of fancy magnetic blocks for kids to play with.



There is also a wall full of gifty-type stuff, which is always fun!

I swung by later in the day with the husband to get take out coffee. He declared his too cold and too expensive, but my (admittedly expensive at 5 bucks) vanilla latte was quite good! I'm still hoping to make Espresso NEAT a regular part of our weekend routine. Coffee and magnetic blocks, I think, accommodate both husband and child. Click here to read more.

Stamford's ER Vet: Cornell University Veterinary Specialists

The husband went to India for work for the entire month of July, leaving me with a toddler and 9 year old English Coonhound to care for. With only a week left until the husband returned, I started bragging to friends that I'd managed to keep both the child and the dog alive for over 3 weeks. Of course, the next day the dog got into some baby ibuprofin, which in high enough doses can cause major problems like kidney damage and seizures. (This picture is of my dog, in one of her two modes: asleep or neurotic.)

Even though I was pretty sure the dog hadn't gotten much of the liquid, I wasn't about to blow my three week "keeping dog alive" streak. I called the vet, who recommended giving her hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. Of course, that remedy didn't work on my stubborn hound. After another call to the vet, we agreed I should take her to the ER Vet. They'd be able to give her fluids to flush the kidneys, or keep her overnight so she'd be supervised if she had a seizure or something. So, at 8:45 on a Saturday night, I packed the dog and kid up into the car and headed off to Cornell University Veterinary Specialists.

CUVS is located in the South End, just south of Fairway. It's a pretty deserted area at night, which made me a little nervous, but once I got inside the building, wow- it's spacious and brand new. Best of all, the staff is great and really seems to have their system down. I filled out some paperwork while the woman at the front desk took our dog back to be looked at. The vet did some calculations and figured out that the dose she could have gotten was only enough to give her indigestion- whew! In just about an hour, we left the vet with doggie Pepcid (and the dog). The whole visit, including the 30 dollar phone call to Poison Control to confirm the calculation, only cost us 188 bucks. So much better than what I was expecting, which was leaving the dog overnight, her possibly being sick, and 4 or 500 bucks for fancy medical care.

I was very impressed with the CUVS staff. While I was there, a family with an injured cat came in, and the front desk lady was so prompt and attentive with them. She calmly said she was worried about how fast the cat was breathing and hustled the cat back to the exam rooms, but she was so gentle about it. She could have really freaked that family out, and she didn't. When the vet came out to talk to me and tell me what he'd figured out about our dog, he explained everything thoroughly and slowly- a nice change from many of the doctors I see who rush in and out of the exam rooms as fast as they possibly can.

I highly recommend Cornell University Veterinary Specialists if you ever need emergency care for your pet, and I think we are really lucky to have them in Stamford. Click here to read more.

Oh, What A Dump! Stamford Dump (aka Waste Disposal Facilities) Exposed

Stamford Talk note: I have yet to go through the labyrinthine process it takes to be able to use Stamford's dump facilities, so thank you to local blogger Patty at wingdangdoo for clearing away some of the mystery for me! Thanks for the guest post, Patty!

"Mommy!" my youngest asked me frantically as I picked him up from his spring break day camp, "Did you go to the dump?"

Although the last part of this sentence wasn't spoken, it was implied: "...WITHOUT ME?"

I had tried to keep my dump aspirations quiet, wanting to make quick work of some junk that was weighing me down like a 50 lb anchor tied to my ankle. I also wanted to dispose of mass quantities of broken toys and a small army of unloved, unused stuffed animals on the sly. Not one to miss any detail, he was on to me before he pulled out of the driveway that morning.

I imagine the conversation went something like this:
"Daddy, why are we taking Mommy's car today?"
"Because she wants to keep all of the fun to herself, your mother is using my truck so she can haul stuff to the dump WITHOUT YOU. Also, the Easter Bunny isn't real."

OK, maybe that's not quite how it went. I'm sure he reassured him that Mommy loved him very much, and that I was borrowing the truck so I could take both dogs and both cats straight to the pound.

I have vague recollections of going with my father to some nebulous Stamford location called The Dump when I was a child, but I have no recollection of where it was located or what we brought there. I vividly remember that people dumped their castoff, random items in an abandoned lot we called The Swamp, just a block and a half down the hill from my childhood home. We found all kinds of things there when I was a child. Spare bikes. Animal skeletons. Old glass bottles. Restless, pissed off Native American spirits searching for their ancestral home. That sort of thing. Not long before Poltergeist came out, a few dozen unattractive contemporary homes sprouted in The Swamp.

Hmmm. Thirty plus years later, I still hesitate to drive through that creepy little subdivision when it's dark.

Anyway.

I live in the section of town that doesn't have garbage pickup. Horrors, right? We call this unexplored, services-free territory North Stamford. Load up a picnic lunch, saddle up the horse and pay us a visit some time. What's kept me from making the acquaintance of the dump prior to now was the outstanding weekly pickup service I get from the garbage gods and goddesses at Independent Refuse. Holla! I've also rented dumpsters from them during small home renovations (you should see the team of oxen pulling those suckers back into Stamford proper!) and large-scale purges. But this week, what I had in mind was a small-scale purge. A mini-catharsis. A spring cleaning! A recycle-o-rama! The kind that can only occur with my packrat husband and similarly inclined eldest child out doing other things, unable to witness the departure of that February 23, 1997 TIME Magazine and that gently-unstuffed-by-the-puppy one-eared pink rabbit.

How I Spent My Spring Vacation? I spent it at the dump.

Keeping the wisdom of the incomparable Manager Mom in mind, I set out to get myself a permit at The Scale House (Is there a better name? For anything in Stamford? I'm at a loss. It sounds like something out of Return to Thunderdome. Or maybe a lizard exhibit). For some reason, I knew exactly where to find The Scale House: Jefferson Street. Of course! Completely obvious. Right there next to those.... smoke stack... things. And behind that... giant... brick wall. I've got a flair for the foreboding. Armed with the truck's registration, my driver's licence, and a utility bill just in case (and by the way? Can someone please explain how I can get on a plane anywhere in the United States showing my driver's license as proof of identity, but to do business with the City of Stamford, I have to bring a utility bill?), I went into The Scale House. A lovely woman with a lilting Island accent gave me my free green sticker emblazoned with the universal symbol for recycling and patiently gave me the effortless directions to the dump.

And oh, what a dump it is!


With bins dedicated to cans and bottles, cardboard, mixed paper, batteries (ask if you can't find it), metal scraps and yard refuse, the Katrina Mygatt facility is a recycling haven. There's even a Goodwill donation bin across the parking lot. One of the men working at Mygatt was kind enough to help me get the old section of duct work and heavier wood scraps out of the truck. He also told me it was perfectly fine to leave nicer toys on the sidewalk in front of the bins in case anyone wanted to take them home. That was all I needed to hear. I was plotting my return to Mygatt before I even left.

I loaded the truck up again this morning, celebrating Earth Day by filling the truck with recyclables and other detritus. "Mommy?" he asked me before hesitating and adding "...never mind." As I often do, I reminded my youngest that he can tell me anything. "It's just that it might be a little... weird." As I often do, I reminded him that I'm a little weird. "When you go to the dump today, can you maybe... take some pictures?" What a happy coincidence. Turns out my friend Talk asked me to guest blog on this scintillating topic after seeing my brazen Facebook brag about visiting the dump. I told him I'd be more than happy to snap a few shots.

If you're making your way to Mygatt any time soon (and really, you should!), bring the camera along. It's quite the conversation starter.

And if you really want to make it a Stamford-centric day, join me on the tour of All Things Chimp. Right around the corner from Mygatt, you can take a peek at the chinp-safe bars on the windows at Desire Me Motors.


But that's a story for another time. Click here to read more.

Closing Stamford DMW Would Ruin My Life

I'm not sure what it is about me, but I feel like I go to the Stamford DMV all the time. My registration or driver's license always seem to expire. Plus, my husband tries to make me do his dirty DMV work since my job ends by 3:30. I have professed in a previous blog post my love of the Stamford DMV.
I was horrified when I read yesterday that Gov. Jodi Rell wanted to close the Stamford satellite DMV office, which completes 50,000 transactions a year (compared to the larger full-service DMW in Norwalk, which completes 150,000).
Closing the Stamford DMV would be a nightmare. Rell thinks the hard-working people of Stamford have time to leave work to drive to Norwalk during the day, or fight traffic in the evening after work, to go to Norwalk to complete a series of line waits, forms, and interactions with people with stone cold faces. N-O, we don't. It's a pain enough to find time to make it to the Stamford DMV.

I read in today's Advocate that the Stamford DMV has gotten a reprieve- a mediocre reprieve, if you ask me: Rell said Thursday that instead of closing April 3 as planned, the part-time branch will remain open for limited hours until June 30.
Created in 1994 after the state closed Stamford's full-service DMV office, the branch is in the Stamford Government Center... It now is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays. Rell said the DMV will operate the office two days a week after April 3, but did not specify which days. DMV spokesman William Seymour said the agency should be able to announce more details Friday.

Sigh. I really don't think two days a week is enough, but it's better than nothing.

The initial article in the Advocate points out that there are many other DMV satellite offices that serve much smaller populations; that's another reason it's absurd to close a huge DMV. Even Mayor Malloy agrees: "It makes no sense to close the office in Stamford. The volume that it will cause in Norwalk would make everyone miserable."

By the way, last time I was at the Stamford DMV last week to hand in old plates, the lady was soooooooo rude to me. Still, I wouldn't want to make her move to the Norwalk office just because of one bad interaction; I'd rather have her dismissive attitude right here in Stamford. Click here to read more.

Stamford Hospital Rocked My World

I went to see a doctor at Stamford Hospital about this cough on Wed., and I left in a daze because everyone I encountered there was so nice to me. It was weird. I wondered if I just looked especially appealing (I did take the time to shower and put on a cute outfit), or maybe sounded pathetic (the chest congestion made it hard to talk), or if the staff at Stamford Hospital is just nice. I have to go with the last option. I was there for four hours, and I only experienced kindness and patience.

Parking lot attendant: super nice.
Registration people: pleasant, knew right away that I was the last minute, squeezed in X-ray patient.
Registration lady: insisted on wheeling me to my chest X-ray because I said I was short of breath.
X-ray Lady: super-nice to me, walked me to elevator after the X-ray.
Pulmonologist secretaries: super-pleasant, and you know secretaries aren't always super-pleasant.
Pulmonologist: nice, got a lady to hold my hand when I was freaked out by the naso-laryngeal swab he wanted to do.
Hand-holder: super nice.
Back to registration for blood test: nice, almost awkwardly so, because I had an embarrassing coughing fit when I tried to talk.
Blood-taker: super nice.

Granted, my standards for nice aren't that high. You just have to act like you don't hate me, and maybe smile and tell me to have a nice day. But in this busy world, people don't always even bother to do that, so when it happens, it's remarkable.

My second antibiotic has kicked in quite nicely, so now I'm just trying to make sure I don't overdo it, because it feels so good to feel good after feeling bad for 5 weeks! Still coughing some, especially at night, but I don't feel like dog doody every second of the day, and that's something to feel very happy about. Click here to read more.

Avon Getting Rid of Their Uncomfy Seats!

Augh!!! I am screaming with excitement! The Avon is getting new seats!!!!!!! YES!!!!! Every time I go to that theater, I am so uncomfortable. I go, though, because of their great films- the Avon, if you don't know, is the theatre on Bedford that shows the smaller films. They also do cool events like documentary nights and film festivals at Oscar time. This is fabulous news. I hope the new seats are like La-Z boys.

Info from the website:

The large theatre is being reconfigured to accommodate plush new rocker seats that are larger and will offer more legroom. New carpeting will be installed in the large theatre and upper and lower lobbies later this year. We are also doing some painting throughout the theatre to keep the Avon looking its best as we approach our 70th anniversary next year. The Avon will be celebrating its 70th anniversary on the night of the Academy Awards at our Red Carpet gala on February 22, 2009.

Many of our patrons have inquired if we will be offering a "Name a Seat" fundraising opportunity. Yes we will! Details regarding naming opportunities for the seats will be coming soon. Giving a gift of a seat at the Avon will be a terrific holiday gift or a special way to honor or remember a loved one. Click here to read more.

What to Put in a Tourist Video of Stamford?

I’m blogging live from Mississippi this week, fueled by Cheezits and Sunkist!

I'm very suspicious of press releases, because it means someone wants something from me, but I got one that I'm going to share because it relates to our city and some of the good and bad things about Stamford we've been discussing here. And, most importantly, there is a prize involved.

Good Magazine emailed to suggest I tell my readers about their contest. I'll steal their very succinct words: "...Good Magazine is launching a project to encourage people to show off their hometowns and highlight what makes them stand apart from any other blip on a map. Anyone interested in serving as a tour guide for their neighborhood can submit a video to Good that showcases their favorite local spots and answers the question “What is it that would make someone want to travel to where you are?” The most illuminating tour guide will be rewarded with two roundtrip domestic plane tickets to anywhere JetBue flies."

So, what would we put in our Stamford video? Let's get a list going!

I am tempted to make one. I was also tempted to not tell you all so I could beat you out and win the tickets, but then I realized, I am probably too lazy to make the video, and it's so much easier just to have someone I know do it. With that said, I'm going to think about making a video. I'd put in Cove Beach, Capriccio, the Avon, Alive at Five, um... duh, those are all obvious...

However... not to bash Stamford... but the description says, "What would make someone want to travel to where you are?" What do we have here that would draw people in for a visit? You could certainly make a good summer weekend out of Alive at Five, lunch at Capriccio, day at the beach, dinner at Napa, but what else? We have the shore, but you can't easily rent a kayak anywhere, can you? Non-residents can get a $20 day pass to the beach, but I’ve only seen kayaks up for grabs at a Rocky Point Yacht Club in Greenwich. I fear you’d have to have some bucks to have a good time on a visit here. (Or, know someone with a boat.)

About Good Magazine. Their website looks a bit like New York Magazine, but it's not geographically focused, so it's a little scattered. I googled it and found a blurb about them from 2006: "Launching nationwide this Fall, GOOD magazine strives to elevate the level of debate among its target demographic of intelligent, ambitious, youthful people aged 21 through 35... GOOD is focused on the people, ideas, and institutions affecting change in the world. The magazine intends to examine the intersection of idealism and capitalism, and living well by doing “good”. GOOD will serve as a platform for talented contributors and writers to bring to the forefront issues and ideas that matter."

Looking at their website, I couldn't see that focus, so in your video, I wouldn't worry about trying to- well, maybe you should try to aim the video toward young do-gooders. You know, make it seem like we care about politics and/or the environment.

But um... is Stamford really the place for that population? We have got a lot of intelligent, ambitious, youthful people, but I don't see them doing much good; I see them drinking out at Tigin after making money all day. (Oh snap, did I just say that?) You can’t debate that Stamford has the capitalism covered.

About that idealism. Today in the car I said to my sis, “I wish my only job was to blog about Stamford and be a Stamford expert. If it was, I would interview people and... be an ESL volunteer.” Selfishly, I’d like to work with a Haitian person so I can practice my French and learn Kreyol. Oh man, I am so not good!

Does one have to be good to be idealistic? Click here to read more.

Check Out a Cool Advocate Photoblog!

By sheer Stamford Talk karma, the same karma that put me in a situation to repeatedly pretend to ignore Robert DeNiro as he rolled a wheelie suitcase toward me, I discovered a fantastic photoblog by the Stamford Advocate photographers.

This beautiful shot by Chris Preovolos grabbed my attention. The sun and color of the building make it look like it could be in the Caribbean, but it's from Stamford's Great American Clean-Up Day last weekend. The photoblog is great because you get the stories behind the photos with comments from the photogs. Hell yeah. Anytime talented people want to show me their work for free, I'm all over it. No, not just for free; they are making it easy for me. I appreciate that. In this internet age, the word "easy" is key. There is so much vying for our attention, and we're all busy. The photoblog is a simple, straightforward, well-organized site.

There is also a multimedia section where you can see slide shows, some with voice overs. Kick ass, Advocate! Yes! Finally you are giving me something cool that does not disappear from the face of the world after two weeks, like your articles- oh yeah. I've got a big post planned on that bitter subject.

It looks like the blog has only been up since January. That's pretty young for a blog, so I'm not going to complain about how the Advocate should have publicized it better. Heck, maybe there is a big logo on the Stamford Advocate home page that says, "CLICK HERE FOR THE ADVOCATE PHOTOBLOG," but a) I read so fast on the internet that it's easy for me to miss things and b) the big animated "Cancer" logo from the first week of the new Advocate website really turned me off and took a toll on my patience. However, a quick browse of the site shows no sign of "link here for awesome photos of your city that provide a new perspective on the people and places you take for granted and are too rushed to notice."

Advocate, we love you, but step it up! Give us good stuff, make it easily accessible online, and don’t make your articles go away after two weeks. We all hate that and talk about you behind your back for it. Click here to read more.

Weekend Planning: Yours, with the Fairfield Weekly

I tell ya, the Fairfield Weekly is where you need to go to plan your weekend. It's the most efficient way to find great events and the best resource for the local music scene.

I check the Weekly every Thursday. During the dark days when I first lived in Stamford, it was my lifeline to music, culture and creativity- the young kind. The FW led me to Green's, which led me to good music and all sorts of other things that are better off forgotten.

Scroll down a little bit to the "Leisure" tab on the right-hand side, and click on "7 Days: The Week That Is." The feature lists the top entertainment choice for each day of the week, which might be a lecture, concert, art show, or... any type of event you can think of that is legal. The wide variety of events means that you aren't only reading about things that cost 50 bucks, like tickets to shows at SCA. Click here to read more.

Weddings in the FC: Not Cheap, But Doable

Getting married in the FC will cost you some bucks, but with the right connections and recommendations, you can get the best for a fair price. The key is to mooch information from recently married people. That's what I did last year, and it was a relief to know that our money was going to vendors we could trust. I'll give you the scoop and a little gossip that you can pass on to whomever needs it.

We got a good price from the Fox Hill Inn, unlike a certain place in Westport where the wedding coordinator was unable to hide her smirk when we said we hoped to have 125 guests for under $13,000 dollars. The Fox Hill Inn is near Danbury, but it’s worth the 45-minute drive. Their wedding coordinator, Nancy, ran the entire day with the patience of a total pro. I didn’t lift a finger except to cut the cake… the cake that Fox Hill provides so you have one less thing to stress over.

Our wedding photographer, Dru Nadler, kicked it out of the stadium. See her website and you’ll see why I picked her, besides the fact that she is a really cool, smart, mellow person. She took the photo above and also photographs for the Stamford Advocate. I love her. Warning: post gets very girly from here on out.

Look at this bouquet. Merrilee at Ganim’s Florist in Fairfield was flexible and friendly. She did almost everything over email, so my sister in Texas was able to help plan flowers. I visited the store only one time, but Merrilee gave me the bright-orange-and-light-blue-with-white-roses bouquet that I wanted. I must have emailed her 25 times… and she always responded quickly. (Photo by Dru.)

I got my dress from The Bridal Suite in downtown Stamford. Lynn helped me order the dress that another bridal store tried to tell me was their own custom design. No it’s not, you b@%$*s; I’m looking at it online right now. Thanks to Lynn, I avoided those liars. Lynn then deftly coordinated the fitting and ordering of 8 different bridesmaid dresses. Each of my bridesmaids chose her own style… and only 3 of them lived in the area. I think Lynn sensed I was about to freak out, and she took it from there. The Bridal Suite’s sassy tailor, Naima, will also take care of you. Don’t question her. She knows how much ribcage space you need, and she knows how keep the top of your dress where it should be. (Photo by me.)

A friend recommended the band Nite Life (Richie Vance Productions). They charged a fair price and our guests liked them. A friend used Powerstation DJs, so I can recommend that company, too.

Look at the cake, with the orange dots I'd been dreaming of! (Photo by Dru.) I love orange, and I love dots.

I never thought I could plan a wedding, but my friends and coworkers pointed me to the right vendors. The vendors worked with me to get the most for my money, and they produced a far prettier wedding than I could have pictured. I'm not going to tell you it was cheap, but I will tell you, I got excellent vendors for reasonable prices.

Click here to read more.

Bookstore Guide for Stamford Readers

Residents of the FC are notoriously over-educated, and that’s why we like bookstores. Borders and Barnes and Noble are trusty behemoths, but don’t forget the Friends of the Ferguson Library Used Bookstore. I went there today and got 5 books for 6 bucks. The bookstore is attached to a Starbucks with free wi-fi, which might be why the Ferguson is the second-busiest library in the state of Connecticut.

For independent bookstores, the best in the area is Barrett Bookstore in Darien, conveniently located off exit 10. Diane’s Books and Just Books in Greenwich come in 2nd and 3rd because they’re small and don’t have all the great cards that Barrett does. Barrett has cushy leather couches to read on, or you can plunk on the floor in the biography section for an hour and no one will bother you. I appreciate that.

I found this disturbing scene at Borders a couple of weeks ago: a TV on in the magazine section! It was horrible! How is one supposed to thumb trough trashy magazines with Oprah babbling in one’s ear? To me, that TV is a direct assault on magazine shoppers. Borders, I’m going to get you.

A funny post by my blogger friend Sarah got me thinking about bookstores. Read her mini-drama “’I’m Looking for a Book’: Scenes from Retail Hell.” She really is a very clever writer with a knack for capturing human quirks. She has probably had way too much education for her own good, but isn’t that why we’re all here in the FC? Click here to read more.

My Favorite Stuff in Other Towns

I'm very Stamford-centric these days, but there are places in surrounding towns that occasionally lure me up I-95.
Greenwich:
Meli-Melo (carrot ginger soup)
Femme Gems
Just Books
Diane’s Books
Greenwich Library
Darien:
Post Corner Pizza
Barrett Bookstore
Trader Joe’s

Norwalk:
American Apparel
Stepping Stones Museum for Kids
Maritime Aquarium
Beadworks
Chocopologie

New Caanan:
Pennyweights

Westport:
Acqua

Fairfield:
Las Vetas Lounge

New Haven: Pepe’s Pizza, IKEA

I'll end by giving props to my Stamford favorites: Capriccio, Cove Beach, H and M, Avon, Havana Jeans, Duo, my NYSC. Click here to read more.

Stamford Food: So, So Good

Yikes. I've spent the entire morning posting on Chowhound.com, which is a great site for posting your own restaurant reviews, reading other foodies' suggestions, and discussing local food options. If you care at all about eating out, you should be checking that site out. I apologize in advance for the "Tri-State" board, which necessitates sorting through Long Island, Westchester and even New Jersey to find the CT topics. Just search the board, though, for either Stamford or Fairfield CT. I got so many food ideas that I don't even know what to do with myself.

Here's my shortlist of places to try: Athens Pizza's Greek pizza, Sundance Cafe on Broad St. for soup, Uncle Dai for Chinese, Giovanni's Deli, Belltown Pizza, Springdale Pizza, and also Avenida and Toku Shin in (gasp!) Greenwich. I usually support Stamford restaurants, but if it's Latino or Asian food, I'll travel. I know most of the places I listed are smaller, but I've tried almost every single good restaurant in Stamford (more about that odyssey later). I'm trying Market this week, which the NY Times just gave a "VERY GOOD." I'll be calling for reservations the second it opens at what, 11:00? and pray that the rest of Stamford has yet to hear about the review.

Last night when I went to Dunn's Loft, the Summer St. parking lot was completely full, which is odd on a Tuesday night. Where IS everybody? I asked. Who is out on a TUESDAY? Now, I realize, they were probably at Market.

Later this week, I'll post my glowing review of Dunn's Loft (four words: filet mignon, pool table!) and my goal of trying every Stamford restaurant, which I get closer to as each week passes.

Until then, Stamford, eat! Eat! Click here to read more.

I'm Going to Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness is an awesome gym, but DON'T JOIN IT, because I want to join it, and I don’t want the rest of you taking up the elliptical machines. I visited the gym with a friend last month (Stamford Talk research) and was impressed.

I love my NYSC, but after they renovated and put in squash courts and a pool… well, the gym lost its tough-guy edge. Now, it looks like the tough guys are at Planet Fitness. I’m OK with that, because I like to feel tough when I go to the gym.

Good things about Planet Fitness:
It offers tons of cardio machines and a relaxed atmosphere. There are rows of cardio machines- 4 or so rows of 15 machines, all in a block, facing the same direction. At first it looked awkward, but once I got on the elliptical, surrounded by all those people running and stepping like crazy, I didn't think twice about breaking a sweat. I was part of a TEAM.

And the 10 $ a month price tag? Unbeatable! If you get the black card for 20 $, you get unlimited guests (and, oddly, tanning). I'm going to keep my NYSC membership; I've been going there for 8 years and got grandfathered in at a good price during the renovation. To me, though, PF is worth the additional 20 bucks so I can work out with my 3 friends who belong, AND make my husband go as my guest.

Bad things about PF:
I wish there were more free weights. At 5 pm, it was pretty busy. However, it’s cool to have to work in with people. You have to actually talk to them and say, "Hey, can I work in?" rather than going to the THIRD lat pull so you can avoid talking to anyone (that's what I do at my NYSC). Anyway, the point of PF is to offer basic stuff so the price can stay low. There are no classes and no towel service, but the locker room is pretty nice, and that’s important.

If you want to pay 80 bucks a month and get yoga and Boot Camp and Latin Groove classes and beautiful new machines, go to NYSC. If you are less high-maintenance and just want straightforward weights and cardio, PF could be the perfect gym for you. No, the perfect gym for me. You stay away. Click here to read more.

Check Out the Library's Flickr Site!

Verrrrrrrrry cool: the Ferguson has a Flickr site! There are photos of the Haitian book Festival, wrestlers from WWE visiting for a book event, and a therapy dog listening to a little girl read. I commend you, Ferg, for getting with the program in a visual, fun way. Our library is making a splash on the modern frontier! Click here to read more.

AHHHHHHH!!! The Advocate liked my letter!!!!!

I got a letter to the editor published in the Stamford Advocate!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
My letter is about Whole Foods. I'm proud of myself that I got off my butt and took action after posting that more of us need to write feisty letters!

"To the editor:

A Whole Foods in Bull's Head? ("Plan for Whole Foods advances," Advocate news story, Nov. 21.) Anyone who travels through that already busy intersection knows that plan is misguided.

I'm a big fan of Whole Foods, but four of Stamford's major north-south roads meet in Bull's Head; an enormously popular store will cause tie-ups on the key route that commuters take to work. A trip to the Whole Foods in Greenwich shows the traffic nightmare the store causes on a regular basis.

In a 2000 survey by the Connecticut Policy and Economic Council, 62 percent of participants from Stamford felt traffic congestion was bad or very bad. I can't help but think Stamford's residents' opinions were not taken fully into account.

If the plan goes forward, I hope traffic will enter and exit only on the Long Ridge side of the intersection. That's the only way for Whole Foods not to make that area a mess."
Click here to read more.

My NYSC: Through Good Times and in Bad

My NYSC on Commerce St. used to be a ratty gym full of tough guys. You felt like a badass by proxy when you went back to the free weights section. Yeah, I'm doing bent-over rows too, and chest presses, big guy.
The NYSC got completely redone a couple of years ago and now has squash courts and a pool. It's packed at 530 am with high-powered NYC types, pounding away at the treadmill before hopping on the train to NYC or heading over to the hedge fund. I do like that jolt of energy when I go there at 6am (this rarely happens). The Moms take over at 9 am, with yoga and cardio. The gym is almost all women at that point. I'll admit, it's kind of pleasant and mellow.

The place looks great, and the feel of the gym has totally changed. There are good and bad parts to that.
Good: top-notch machines and at long-last, a towel service. There are no men there who look the scary kind of tough.
Bad: The front desk guy and/or trainers used to get to pick the radio stations, so you didn't have to work out to the generic NYSC soundtrack, which consists mostly of Elton John tunes. How does that make you want to lift weights or do one more set of sit ups? No, sweaty men make you want to do that, and I miss them.
I concede: The generic mix did introduce me to Jojo ("Too Little Too Late"), so the Elton John crap is not a total loss. The pleasant smorgasbord of pre-renovation crowd still comes in around 5, so I see some familiar faces and get to exchange pleasantries, like in the old days when people actually talked to one another. One is a postman and he is so damn cool, and a couple of the other guys are contractors/builders. A couple are from Stamford, and a couple from Greenwich.

The new gym is impeccable, clean and has more energy, but I'm a little nostalgic. No relaxed chatting at the front desk; the gym now has a rushed clinical feel as the front desk people check you in without a glance. If you're interested, I'd try sneaking in. They're usually talking to each other or on the phone, so go for it. I do like my gym better in many ways, but not feeling welcome makes me want to go to the gym less, because there's no one to ask me where I've been if I've been slacking. Click here to read more.

Parking Complaints and the Ferg

I've been holding my tongue on the topic of parking in Stamford. When I started Stamford Talk in August, I thought, I'll go downtown and take some pics! Then I thought, oh... and park in the Tigin lot and pay 1.00 $ for one hour. Fine, but it's on the northern edge of the main shopping/social area. That's annoying, but like several defensive Stamford Letter to the Editor authors point out, this is a big city and to expect free, central parking is foolish. OK. Fine. I’ll suck it up like you suggest.

However, I've been pushed to edge by the one-hour parking meters outside the Ferguson. One hour? ONE HOUR??? Do they think this is a city of dummies? One hour in the library? I spend at least two! I'd like to be able to park in the spaces along Bedford, in front of the Schakolad and Bradford's and Tigin, without having to stress about how many minutes I'm looking at books. I think if I find a free space, I should get at least two hours.

Case in point: Last week I happily went to the Ferg for the Wed. 12:00 movie showing. Not only was I finally getting myself over to the library for the movie, I was exicted to see a quirky-sounding documentary called "Who the %@^%$ is Jackson Pollack?" I arrived ten minutes early, just enough time to grab a good spot in front of Bradford’s and make it in on time. OH. The meter is for an hour, and the movie is 75 minutes long. I don’t do parking tickets, so I had to pull out and go to the Tigin lot with its tiny spaces where other cars always ding you. I rushed in just in time for the opening credits. Where did all those other people park?

Parking pacifists say, "Parking's not that bad. In any major city..." Well, guess what. This ain’t a major city. If it were, there would be decent public transportation and more things within walking distance. When the parking spaces outside the library only let you park for one hour (ONE HOUR!!!!!) and your only option is to park in creepy Target or the lot behind Tigin, something is off. I’m trying, but walking from those lots in the rain or a very cold day in February… how does that encourage reading???

I'm willing to pay for the Tigin or Hula Hank lot if I'm out for drinks or dinner. I expect to spend money. But to have to spend money to go to the library? That just doesn’t seem right. Nor does having to root around for quarters; many people don’t carry cash, much less quarters. That’s so 1950’s.

What has kept my sanity is the fact that I don't have to return books to the Ferg; I can hit any other branch, therefore avoiding double parking trauma. I don’t mean to whine, but I really want to use the Ferguson, but doing so takes longer than it should. Click here to read more.

Library Ho Strays from Stamford

I don't like the word "ho," but there's no other way to describe what I do with libraries. I shamelessly use the part of it that I need, then tramp on over to the next town and take something else from their library. I go to Greenwich, Stamford, and Darien- this shocks many people. How can I do this? Well, I don't know why I am the only one who knows this, probably because I read (or used to until I got this laptop) obsessively: any CT resident with a library card can go to the library in any damn town they want. Did you hear that? You can go to the Darien Library, park easily, and get a book or CD. Small library, great magazine room.

Ever since I've moved to the Northeast, I've worked in Greenwich, so it's been very convenient to use their sickeningly amazing library. I say sickeningly only because now that I have a new alliance to Stamford, the superiority of Greenwich's library angers me. I've also lived in Darien and Norwalk and have seen how their libraries operate. It's not that the Ferguson Library is inferior; it's fine. However, the ease of parking at all other area libraries (even Norwalk!!!) make the Ferguson seem... inaccessible. Absurdly so. I'll complain about parking in another entry.

First, let's say what makes the Ferg amazing. It's not the Starbucks, and it's not the Passport Office, although that can come in handy. No, the Ferg's claim to fame is its used book store attached to the library. I don't know of any used book stores in the area. I'm sure they exist, and it's on my list of things to look into. For now, give all your old books to the Ferg, and scour the ample shelves for new ones for you. I've found some good books there. That little store, run by Friends of the Ferguson, makes around 100,000 a year for the library. So, readers sustain the library. That's pretty cool, but it makes me even more irritated that the city recently proposed cutting library hours (as if the library isn't hard enough to get to) since the library was 100,000 dollars short- on their 8.4 million dollar budget. Huh? Visualize that tiny sliver of the pie chart. Stamford and Mayor Malloy, can't ya throw the library a bone, or tiny pie piece? One with 100,000 dollars in it?

Despite the fact that the Ferg obviously needs you, I still encourage you to try other libraries. The Ferg can't do it all, and the exploration will make you appreciate what the Ferg does offer. (A good selection of books, good ESL and Literacy Programs, cultural events like Italian Heritage Month and the Haitian Book Festival, nice librarians- and I hope you'll discover something else). Thank you to Lanamaniac for her photo of Stamford Library, part of her great flickr set on Stamford.

Here's what you need to know:

First, Stamford:
Ferguson- decent selection of books.
Weed Branch- small but packed full of books; it's right near the Hope St. NYSC. I love it.
Bennett- no clue.
South End- no clue.
You'll find the smaller branches useful. For example, when you visit the Ferg's online card catalog, sometimes the Weed Branch might have the book. And, parking is easier at the three smaller locations. Although I can't vouch for South End parking, I can't imagine how it would be harder than the Ferg.

Greenwich:
The main branch, on Route 1 off exit 3, is stunning. It's hard to go anywhere else after going there. The "new arrivals" section feels almost as big as the whole non-fiction section of Stamford's Weed Branch. There's a nice CD collection upstairs, an art gallery... oh, you get the picture. Great magazine selection with the old issues archived on shelves right there... it's just gross. It's wrong to be so good. However, I go to the Ferg because it's in my town, and I'm trying to make it work.
Greenwich's smaller branches are Cos Cob, Perrot, and maybe one other; they are small but very nice, and may have a book that the main branch doesn't.

Norwalk:
Embarassingly, Norwalk has better parking and as good of a book selection as the Ferg. It's off Rt. 7, first exit. Like the Ferguson, half of the non-fiction books are on one floor, the other half, downstairs. (Greenwich has all non-fic except music on floor one, and all fiction upstairs, which makes more sense to me.) Norwalk's downfall: a very small "new arrivals" section. It is absolutely pathetic.

Darien:
Lovely sunlit magazine reading room and a good CD collection. The book selection is small, but it's near Post Corner Pizza, a personal fave with its chicken souvlaki and crazy-good pizza.

Other info for library virgins:
You can look at the card catalog online, and access your account with the card's bar code. And, if you get a book from one library in the town, you can return it to any other. So, if you manage to get to the Ferg to check out a book, you can return it elsewhere: say, the Bennett branch on Vine, on your way to Border's or Kit's Thai Kitchen, or the Weed Branch on your way to the Hope St. NYSC or the mega-efficient Camp Ave. Post Office.


Dear City of Stamford and Ferguson Library:
You are the only library in the area who does not have free, convenient parking. Dammit. I just don't know how to fix this. I understand that your library is one of the few right in the downtown area, and you are the biggest city in lower Fairfield County (I don't count Bridgeport, because their local papers don't really pay attention to Stamford, so there).
Here is my one suggestion. The parking spaces on Bedford right past the library only let you pay for one hour. Any serious book browser will laugh in your face. An hour to pick books and check out? Let's at least get those set to two hours, and get them to take credit cards, or for god's sake, dollar bills. Does anyone in this world carry 8 quarters? And I mean, anyone in their right mind? Click here to read more.

Tully Health Center: FIXING YOU UP!

Shout out to the Tully Health Center for being a mix between an emergency room affiliated with Stamford Hospital (that's what its Immediate Care Center is) and a nice walk-in clinic (that’s what it feels like- but with the benefit of taking most insurance).

THC, thank you for making my day better. (Husband, thank you for driving me there and doing all of the logical things- phone calls, thinking, decision-making- to determine that I should go to THC).

Yesterday I ran my foot/toe into a wall. I couldn't walk on it, and I was freaking because I'm going to South America tomorrow for two weeks. Picture lots of crying, self-blame, and hysteria; this trip is my honeymoon. I needed an x-ray so I could stop worrying- I had to know if I was fine, and that I didn't just ruin my own honeymoon, or if I would be crutching it around Rio de Janiero with a funky boot on. My regular doc said it would be faster to go to an emergency room. I didn't know if I should go to Greenwich (super-nice) or Stamford (probably not as nice), so I looked online at both places.

I called G'wich and they sounded pretty friendly: "Yup, you can go to either Greenwich or Stamford- which ever one you want." Well shoot, why doesn't everyone just go to Greenwich? They have that nice piano in the lobby. Then I felt elitist and superficial, so I called the Stamford Hospital Emergency Dept. A brash New-Yorky lady answered; she sounded busy, and I heard lots of noise behind her. I immediately felt like a poser with my sore toe.

"Ah, um, I think I need a foot x-ray, but uh, I'm not sure if- ah, I saw online something about 11 am to 11 pm, something about Fast Track-"
"Oh yeah, Fast Track, that’s at Tully. Hold on." A disinterested girl answered (not a good sign), and I said, "I saw something online about fast track-"
"Oh, Fast Track?" she interrupted. "Hold on." She transferred me lightning-quick, and a chipper woman answered.

Me: "So, um, I think I need a foot x-ray, and I was wondering, um- should I go to Greenwich? I've been there before- or- should I come to you guys?"
The chipper woman giggled and said, "Well, we of course think you should come here! If you come now, it's not very busy."
“Do you have x-rays?”
“Oh yes. We have everything! We’re like a walk-in, but we’re part of Stamford Hospital.” Friendly people and x-rays? I’m in!

We went, and it was great. Nice doctors, nice nurses, nice check-in lady- they let me drink my Dunkin Donuts in there! I thought it would be like a library- no food or drinks!- but they were very relaxed. They were discussing cookies when I left, yet I got great medical care. The whole experience was way better than the G’wich e-room would have been.

Why go to a scary emergency room when you can go to Fast Track at Tully? Fast Track is what they call the Immediate Care Center, where you go if you're only a little sick or hurt. You know, your ears hurt after a bad cold, or your ankle is killing you. Those things are problematic but not incapacitating, but your regular doctor can’t see you for three days, while in the meantime, you have an ear infection or a hairline fracture. Stamford Hospital fixes that with their dual system. Thank you for giving us a walk-in where we don't get totally screwed. (Knock on wood, haven’t seen the bill yet.)

Good news, it's only a little bone chip, and I should walk more easily soon. Elevation, Ibuprofin, etc.

I hope you can learn from my bumbling and avoid the e-room if Tully's ICC is an option for you. Tully is the nice-looking building on Strawberry Hill and Fifth. I thought it was just a light-weight physical therapy place, because I knew it had a gym where you can go for free if your doctor says so. That's essential for people who need to exercise but are either poor, unmotivated, or find real gyms intimidating. So, I knew the place had something cool going on, but now I know it is part of the hospital and probably has other good things besides the ICC and that gym. (However, I hope not to need those things, whatever they are.) Click here to read more.