Tag Archive for: New York

“Netflix for Books” Can Save You Money!

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English: A Picture of a eBook Español: Foto de...It’s been so cold here in New York and I’m looking forward this weekend when I can stay inside and cozy up with a good book to relax! I really love biographies, historical fiction, and any book that’s about to be made into a movie. As a kid – I loved going to the library and would often pick the same books over and over (usually Curious George or Paul’s Christmas Birthday.) But with libraries becoming virtually a thing of the past, reading can actually be a pretty costly hobby (not to mention costly for the environment if you’re still buying hard copies.)  And think about all the clutter those beloved books create.

Recently, I discovered Oyster – it’s the app CNN calls “Netflix for Books” because, for a monthly subscription, you can read an unlimited number of titles available in their library. I was completely into the app until I realized that their library had a lot of interesting titles, but very few that were already on my reading list.

But fear not — Oyster isn’t the only app that lets you subscribe and read all you want – BookSwim and BookLending.com offer similar services, but they each have their own pros and cons.

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List of Ways to Make the Best of Jury Duty

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English: New York City - Supreme Court Deutsch...

English: New York City – Supreme Court Deutsch: New York City – Oberstes Gericht (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It happens to all of us at some point in our lives — we all get called for jury duty.  I had to serve last week in New York City and I tried to make the most of the slightly irritating and inconvenient task.  Here’s some ways that you can do the same:

Take yourself out to lunch:  When do you get an entire hour to yourself to eat and relax?  The thing about government agencies is that they are very strict about their break times and their lunches.  They will have you out to lunch at 1pm on the dot.  So take advantage!  Do a little prep work beforehand and find some yummy options near the courthouse where you’re assigned.  Read more

Post Hurricane Sandy List

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Hurricane Sandy Flooding Avenue C 2012

Hurricane Sandy Flooding Avenue C 2012 (Photo credit: david_shankbone)

Remember me? I have to admit that I do feel very guilty for not updating this blog for over a week. But as a resident of New York City – Hurricane Sandy pretty much took over my life for a bit.

Here are a few updates on that front:

1. We just recently got power back to our building but still don’t have hot water or heat, which makes for pretty chilly nights! I have a hood pulled up over my head as I write this?

2. I was able to snag a hotel close to my job for a few days so I didn’t have to miss work and got a hot shower. But I know others weren’t as lucky because everyone and their mother (literary) has been looking for a room in NYC with power.

3. Our poor Mazda 3 was lost in the storm. We parked it in a garage in our neighborhood in the East Village and it was completely flooded. We haven’t been able to see the car yet because the garage is still flooded and dangerous because there is oil and gas in the water. But we heard at one point there was over 4 feet of water in the garage.  The car wasn’t the only loss, though. My hubby’s golf clubs were in there too – guess I know what I’m getting him for the holidays!

4. Twitter is an amazing tool! I’ve been using it to stay posted on everything hurricane and restoration related. If you aren’t a Twitter user — you have to start. You can make lists of people to follow for different topics. For example — I have a Hurricane Sandy list with the Governor, Mayor, MTA, etc in there. So every time they tweet an update I can get it on that list. This is instead of wading through everyone’s tweets.

5. We are lucky that aside from the car and throwing out a fridge full of food – we didn’t have any other heartaches. Compared to the people in Breezy Point, NY and the Jersey Shore who lost everything – we are doing just fine!  The amount of people from all over the country who called and emailed to check on us and/or offered a place to stay is really overwhelming. Thank you!

6. I’ll be back in business this week – because I was list making like crazy during the storm. I’ll let you know what worked and what didn’t!