Summer in New York

Summer 2014

New York has such a different in the Summer. People unwind, let down their hair, and for a brief few months stop rushing around and are friendly to strangers, Nothing exemplifies this more than Midsummer Swing, a month long festival of al-fresco music and dancing at the Lincoln Center Bandshell.
It has also been one of the mildest and most pleasant summers in memory and I can count the hot days in one hand. There used to be about three days each year I'd rue not getting myself an AC, but this year I've not missed it at all.

It also has been a very outdoorsy Summer with the surfeit of nice days. There has been an abundance of outdoor dance and music events: Midsummer Swing, Salsa o the Hudson at 72nd street, Moondance, with its various music on 42nd. The lively Tuesday night salsa on 14th st, and varied live bands at Bryant Park. It has been lovely to be outside and dance.

Hiking and Climbing

I got out on three hikes with the Columbia Hiking Club via trains to Breakneck Ridge, Tuxedo and Harriman. I had a lovely time and met, as usual, myriad interesting people from different walks of life. There were Olivia, a French grad. student, Lu a girl from China studying at Barnard both of whom enjoyed food; Michael and a whole cohort from a community college in Queens. What struck me about the cohort was how urban they were; they had grown up in the city and talked incessantly -the quiet of the woods, insects, snakes were alien to them- about anime, manga, video-games and life.

Also went out climbing most weekends with Andrei or his dad Joe (Iosef). Been lovely -if not hair-rising. I learned to lead-climb and be on the sharp edge of the rope. I realized there is a lot to learn in lead-climbing: anchors, gear-placement, rope-management and reading the climb. My first full lead was the climb Betty on the Traps - a classic two pitch 5.3 with plenty of protection.

Betty

Betty

Betty

Andrei an I made a fun trip to the Adirondaks for a long weekend. We climbed Friday and Saturday but returned Saturday night as it started raining.

Then I led the first pitch of  Shipman's Arrete n the Adirondacks which is a 5.3. The second pitch is a 5.7 that Andrei led. I managed to face-climb the second pitch lean, much to my surprise. I am learning to trust my feet more!

Shipman's Arrete

Shipman's Arrete 

My arms have gotten stronger -I can hold on to smaller holds, longer, and I am more sure of my feet. I seem to climb up to 5-6 comfortably but start flailing at 5-7. I am determined to get stronger over the Winter by going to the Gym and pushing myself while there.

Food

I bought myself an induction hot-plate and a nice pressure-cooker and it has transformed my cooking. The hot-plate allows one to program the food-temperature or heat and set a timer, allowing for unattended cooking. The pressure cooker dramatically reduces cooking time. The combination means that I can now toss a bunch of ingredients into the cooker and put it on the hotplate; program the induction hot-plate and we are done. For example a chicken-soup I like just involves tossing a whole-chicken, celery, carrots, onion, cucumber, bay-leaf and stock into the pressure-cooker, heating it on high for five minutes until it reaches pressure, programming the plate to simmer to maintain the pressure for 20 minutes, and we are done. The whole process can be completed in 10 minutes! The pressure-cooker also came with a recipe book of 50 recipes that has started me experimenting with dishes that I have not hitherto made. 

In addition I have started a slow trend to start eating more healthy food and cut out the junk I am used to eating. It started with the realization that I weighed about 20 pounds more than the ideal 155 I feel most happy at. Exercise alone seem to make little headway in losing the extra weight. Nutrition experts universally seemed to agree that excess weight is due to eating very-processed foods: sugars, flour and sweeteners. So am attempting to cut down sugar, artificial-sweeteners and reduce foods made from flours and processed grain. 

Summer

It's  been one of the happiest Summers I can remember. Fundamental to this has been the hours spent outside, healthy eating, living in the moment and enjoying the lovely Summer.