New York, New York

So Cathy has been going slightly nuts the last couple of weeks trying to figure out what to buy me for my birthday. I'm apparently a thorough pain in the ass to buy for when it comes to these kinds of things. There are several good reasons for this. First, there isn't all that much I need. Secondly, when I do find something I need or want, I tend to buy it immediately rather than hint around for it.

For example, when we were on vacation I bought pretty much everything Cathy could have possible have picked up for me as a gift. Most infuriating was the watch. I have a nice one, but it's a bit heavy. So I wanted a nice, lighter one, and watches are dirt cheap on the islands. However, rather that pointing out several that Cathy might get for me, I instead went and bought it myself (a Citizen Eco-Drive). Same thing with a Swiss Army Knife I happened up in a store. And a few other things.

Anyway, I think Cathy had just about given up when we hit on a brain storm last night. I was discussing whether or not I was going to head to New York in April and working out a budget. I hadn't checked on plane tickets from Ottawa to New York in awhile, but they were quite expensive the last time I checked. The absolute cheapest was over $500 and most were over $600. For a 90 minute flight, it seemed pretty ridiculous. So I hit a few sites and discovered there was a seat sale on. I hemmed and hawed about it, and then Cathy had a brain storm.

"Why don't I buy you the ticket to New York for your birthday?"

And so we had a plan. I booked the ticket and now I'm heading to New York on April 15 and come back here April 21. It's a pretty snazzy gift. Although it's funny. Cathy steadfast refuses to buy me graphic novels. I have a list of about 30 on my wish list there right now. But she will buy me a plane ticket to send me to the New York Comic Con.

When I pointed that out to her, however, she did point out it's not just the comic con. I've already got tickets lined up to see Jon Stewart and I'm trying to get tickets to Letterman. I'm looking at going to see the Yankees and Red Sox play, although a ticket in the nose bleeds - I mean in the upper deck in centerfield - start at $40. Something down the left field line start around $200. So we'll see about that.

And I might catch Spamalot. Plus there are hundreds of other things to do during my time there. Go to Central Park. Go to the Empire State Building. Find some cool, funky shops. Hit weird book stores. And God knows what else. I'm sure some of you nice people can find a thing or two for me to do.

So yeah, a couple of days ago I wasn't sure about going. Now I'm really looking forward to it.

Last Five
1. The Heinrich Maneuver - Interpol
2. Phantom of the Opera - Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies
3. Parting gift - Fiona Apple
4. Trust me - The Fray
5. Join together - The Who*