Real Life Law and Order

Check this out. I thought they were filming Law and Order, but no; this is the real thing. Undercover cops take away a guy from a restaurant in New York. A few nights ago, a fight broke out near our table at another New York restaurant. It took five waiters to take the guy down.

New York Times

A shot of the New York Times building (the one all the way to the right), designed by world renowned architect Renzo Piano. I took this shot just seconds before I dropped my phone and broke its glass. Time to get a new iPhone this fall!

Hunter College, NYC

My first time at Hunter College. Pam and I help Quinn move into his dorm tomorrow.

Hunter College is home to 20,000 students. Basically, 3 big buildings over 3 blocks connected by glass walk ways.

The view from one of the glass walk ways at Hunter.

The entrance to Hunter’s west campus.

Quinn’s dorm room: two bunk beds, two modems, private bathroom(!) , full-sized refrigerator(!!), microwave, TV, phone but no kitchen or cafeteria for meals. It’s a corner room on the 17th floor with a great view.

At Gramercy Tavern, NYC

Pam and I went to the famous Gramercy Tavern today starting off our with a nice non-alcoholic Navarro Vineyard pinot noir and Gewürztraminer grape juice.

Fresh roasted smoked oyster. Very different and very tasty.

Warm tomato and seafood salad with toasted sourdough, cucumber, and lime

Something different: duck meatloaf, Quite yummy.

Ginger ice cream with strawberry pie

At DBGB, New York

It’s Retaurant Week in New York City, a time when people can eat at famous restaurants at discounted prices. Our first stop was DBGB Kitchen and Bar, owned by Michelin star Chef Daniel Boulud. This kitchen and bar is his lower-end restaurant, but I have to say that these might have been the best burger, hot dog, cheese cake, and strawberry sundae I’ve ever had! Check out these photos.

We took the very first reservation to make sure we get it. It was packed when we left.

Fantastic caprese salad!

At Hakkasan, NYC

In New York City with friends Bill, Becky, and Anna Hwang. They took us out to a real treat: dinner at our first Michelin star Chinese restaurant called Hakkasan. We had great dim sum made in unusual shapes. Super pork ribs and duck. This was a nice prelude to taking Quinn to college this weekend when he checks into Hunter College in Manhattan. We will miss him greatly.

WAIKIKI WIPEOUT

What a time to injure my knee. Good thing I have great nurses in Molly and Max.

So what does one do while on sabbatical leave? Well, anything actually that will promote rest and recreation. Today was unusual. I spent it in the x-ray room of an orthopedic surgeon’s office.

Why? Blame it on my Waikiki wipeout.

It was late yesterday afternoon when I was making my third attempt at stand-up paddle boarding. I had caught a nice wave when the front of my board suddenly pearled (like diving in search for pearls, which in this case is not good). I fell into the water at which point I slashed my left foot in three places on a mound of coral.

Afraid that I was leaving a bloody trail for a Great White shark that may be lurking close to Waikiki (who knows, right?), I paddled in. Got off my board as I hit waist-high water and started limping toward the shore with the board tucked under my arm. And then a huge wave hit me at just about the same time that two tourists decided to swim near me! Not wanting my nine-foot board to hit them, I held onto it, but then the wave caused the board to twist me while my right foot was planted into the sand.

X-rays confirmed that I had strained the MCL (medial collateral ligament) of my right knee, and it does mean there were probably some micro-tears in the MCL. My brother-in-law Albie, who’s also a physical therapist, said to me matter-of-factly, “Straining an MCL is a pretty painful thing to do.”

Surgeon and physical therapist (PT) say that it will take 3 to 4 weeks for my knee to get back to normal. I have to stay off my feet as much as possible.

Recommendations from my doctor and PT friends: Ice the knee every hour for 20 minutes to reduce swelling. Sleep with your foot as high up as possible, higher than the level of your heart. One even suggested putting my leg on a big exercise ball while sleeping. (Can you believe it?) And go for physical therapy three times a week to reduce swelling and pain.

Would appreciate prayers for quick recovery and healing especially because:

• I leave in 11 days to go to New York for two weeks to send off my son to college. This will mean a lot of walking and carrying luggage into the dorm. This could be challenging. Right now I can’t do stairs without screaming in pain. (But then in subways, who can hear you scream?)
• It hurts (duh)! An 8 out of 10 on the pain scale when I move a certain way.
• I can’t walk the dogs, which is a bummer. Pray for them as this will be the first time Pam and I will be both gone for two weeks.
• I am trying to finish my How to Pick A Spouse book. These office visits detract me from my goal. (Hey, if this book is successful maybe I can have a series of books like How to Pick Out a Louse, How to Pick a House, How to Pick a Mouse [for a Pet]. Sorry, I think the painkillers are affecting my brain.)

I haven’t gotten injured for years. Not since I caught a woman who tripped at a funeral, and then we both fell back crashing into the marble pulpit causing hairline fractures in my shoulder. I had to wear a sling on a trip to South Carolina in the days that followed. But that’s another story.