There’s no doubt about it, October is the best month to be in New York City. Jenn, Frasier and I took full advantage with tons of walks, visits to Central Park, and what turned out to be an incredible month.

RECAP OF THE MONTH

Since moving to NYC there’s a running joke that Jenn needs to buy tickets for us to go see Jazz at a club in Columbus Circle. Any time Jenn and I pass it I joke that I’d love to see a jazz show there but alas Jenn still hasn’t bought tickets. However, in that same vein, Jenn did some research for things to do in the city and she found out about The Carlyle, a small old-school jazz club that opened in 1931. We did research and found out the daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley was playing there and so we bought tickets to see Alexa Ray Joel. We planned the date night out, even had Jenn’s co-worker Alex come watch Frasier for the evening. We got dressed up and had a nice dinner there beforehand. Sadly right as the show began (within the first minute) Alexa collapsed and the show ended abruptly in panic. It was a scary few minutes while we waited for emergency responders but the good news is she was OK. We still had a great night out and hope to come back and actually see a show there in the future.

Much of the next two weeks were pretty normal. We had lots of little adventures in the city with Frasier. Jenn and I went out and saw the play Slave Play on Broadway and had an incredible brunch in the Lower East Side.

In mid-October, we made our way out to Tucson to celebrate my grandma’s 80th birthday and her husband Ron’s 85th. We arrived in Tucson on Friday the 18th at around noon time after barely making our flight out of Laguardia (I mean running through the airport, through TSA PreCheck.) We got our rental car at Tucson five hours later and drove to our hotel where we met my entire family. Living on the opposite coast has made it fun to use any excuse to see the entire family. After a big family dinner, that night my siblings and everyone’s significant others went out and played an hour of Top Golf.

On Saturday Amy and Jenn went to the Spa at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort while the rest of the family went for a short hike at Sabino Canyon. We all met at my Grandma’s house afterward. That evening was the big celebration at Skyline Country Club and was a great celebration for both of their birthdays. All the siblings gathered afterward at a small winery to toast off the weekend. Jenn and I left Tucson on Sunday at 6 AM and were back home by dinner time.

The next weekend we made it to our tenth (of hopefully twelve) Michelin restaurants at Wallse a Vienesse restaurant in the West Village. We met there after work on a beautiful fall Friday night and had a really great meal. The highlight for sure was the Spatzle, Schnitzel, and Venison. We had great wines to accompany them. It’s funny it didn’t necessarily feel like a Michelin restaurant, but it sure tasted like it. I’ll never forget walking back to the subway that night and walking past a beautiful yet horrifying display of Handmaids (from the Handmaid’s Tale) in the window of a building.

We ended the month getting Frasier groomed (much needed) and doing a nice photoshoot afterward in Central Park to take in him turning 8 months old. And of course, we ended our month like we do every October by decorating pumpkins. This year we continued the recent tradition of carving pumpkins. Jenn did a pirate and a spider (for Frasier) and I did a ghost. One of my favorite memories though of October was that same night I made us a cheese plate and we drank wine and looked out our beautiful view and just reveled in the weekend. I only wish they were longer.

TV WE WATCHED

A couple of highlights for the month of October. First off, Succession is one (if not the) best shows on TV and season 2 ended beautifully. I cannot wait to see what they do with the third season with where the storylines ended. Modern Love although a bit inconsistent had some episodes that will stick with me forever. And last but certainly not least we’re part way through the last season of BoJack Horseman and that show continues to amaze me with how poignant it is.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

What an incredible month for books (I feel like I’ve said that a lot this year). Even the book I didn’t like The Buried Giant was still quite a good book. But really the month was highlighted by two books, The Dutch House and The Testaments. The Dutch House which I listened too was narrated by Tom Hanks which follows the story of a brother and sister and their lifelong connection to a house, aptly named The Dutch House. The other book, The Testaments, the follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale, was so much better then it had any right to be. It’s nearly impossible to follow-up a book like The Handmaid’s Tale but Margaret Atwood did it and I think the world is better for it.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

I’ll sort of do a quick hit on all of the movies we watched over the month of October. Jenn indulged me in October and we watched Spider-Man Far From Home which I thought was one of the better Marvel singular character focused Marvel movies. The next weekend we watched El Camino a surprise Breaking Bad movie that I thought was amazing. That same weekend had some rain, so I watched Interstellar which I still love. Jenn and I were both let down by The Joker which I’d argue isn’t a good movie at all. But we ended the month on a high with Toy Story 4 which I think is a masterpiece.

THEATER WE SAW

What a month for the theater. We saw Betrayal which starred Tom Hiddleston (of Loki fame) and Charlie Cox (of Daredevil fame) who are in a love triangle/affair that’s told in reverse order. It was a great show, 90-minutes straight of watching a story unwind from its unfortunate conclusion to its humble beginnings. The other play, Slave Play, was such a profound, moving, and at times confusing look at three couples in interracial relationships and dealing with race in modern times.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

Outside of my normal NBA 2K20 and Madden NFL 20 I’ve really been playing two games. I got back into Red Dead Redemption 2 which I still adore and I picked up via Xbox Game Pass The Outer Worlds. That’s a game that I wouldn’t normally play but because I have the service I checked it out and I have to say I am really enjoying it. I do hope by the time I write Novembers post that I’ve finished it.

2019 GOAL TRACKING

Goal #1: Read 33 Books: I've read 31 books and am currently way ahead of schedule to hit my goal.

Goal #2: Run 300 Times: I’ve run 232 times so far in 2019. I will not be able to hit this goal.

Goal #3: Keep Weight Under 140: I've yet to go over 140lbs

Goal #4: Eat at 12 Michelin Star Restaurants: Ten so far, on schedule to hit 12.

Goal #5: 12 Monthly Recaps: 10 for 10.

Something Else

I’m a firm believer that comedy can be the most scathing and truest form of criticism, especially when it comes to politics. I think someone like Jon Stewart began a movement that has brought the rise of such voices as Colbert, Minaj, Noah, and Oliver. But sometimes just letting the truth of the day compared to the truth of the past play next to each other can be even more telling. As the impeachment inquiry into the 45th president begins, I was struck by this quick one minute video that shows how different our country is today, then it was only a few years ago.

A Look Back - October 2019