Grocery shopping in the city: A marathon event

Now I know why New Yorkers are so skinny. Not only do they walk everywhere - two blocks to the pharmacy, two blocks to the park, oh, yeah, and five blocks to the grocery store.

After putting it off for about two weeks.. and bartering with my roommates for two pieces of bread, (yes, I paid them back) I decided I could put it off no longer. I opted to stop by Trader Joe's on the way home from a little shopping trip at Old Navy. So I already had one bag going into it. My first mistake.

While Trader Joe's is about five blocks from my apartment, it is so worth it - it's so cheap! So I picked up everything I needed. The first big difference from Ohio - no shopping carts. I used one of those cute little baskets. By the time I had gotten everything I needed, the basket's handles were bending, dangerously close to breaking and spilling my goods all over the too-small aisles.

Which brings me to the aisles. In New York, you physically run into people 20 to 30 times a day. It becomes so ordinary, you don't even say 'Excuse me' anymore. Plus, you probably have your iPod in anyway. So I'm lugging this basket around, which weighed about 40 pounds, and I'm literally dodging, ducking and squeezing through the hordes of people who also thought it would be a good idea to go grocery shopping at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday.

Then there's the line.

In Ohio, there are checkout lines as far as the eye can see. And those self-checkout stations, which are especially handy if you have to buy a particularly embarrassing item. In New York, or more specifically, in Trader Joe's, the line snaked its way around the entire store. It blocks the aisles for everyone else and basically clogs the already overcrowded store. And everyone like me, who overestimated their carrying ability, has been reduced to pushing their basket through the line with their foot.

The only thing good about this particular shopping trip was the price tag- $50 for two or three weeks worth of food.

But then you have to lug it all home.

Now, I'm normally not such a complainer. But in my defense, they really need to reorganize that store, maybe make it a little bigger and form some sort of line system that doesn't block every single aisle in the store. And I have a cold. So I'm particularly lovely - a cold, 50 pounds of groceries to carry and 300 people to dodge on my way to the door.

Walking home, I carried two 25 pound bags of groceries, my overstuffed purse and an Old Navy bag. I was sweating buckets and a small blister was beginning to form between my toes. I pretty much glared at anyone who a) got in my way or b) decided to hit on me. Really, do I look cute right now? I look like a sweaty pack mule.

Upon arriving at my apartment and collapsing on the floor, groceries and all, I saw that my forearms had already bruised, with broken blood vessels clearly visible. Geez, I need to get some tougher skin. Literally.

It's times like these I miss my car.

But maybe I'll get skinny. Stay tuned.

Makeovers raise awareness

By RACHEL MORGAN

MANHATTAN – For celebrity makeup artist Collier Strong and his team, the battle against ovarian cancer is personal.

“I have a dear friend in hospice with ovarian cancer as we speak,” said Strong, who has been the makeup artist for Eva Longoria Parker, Kerry Washington and Diane Keaton. “I also have three sister that are healthy. It’s the least I can do to lend my expertise and talent to something that will raise funds for ovarian cancer.”

He and a team of freelance makeup artists hosted a day of free makeovers at Walgreens at 42^nd and Broadway streets Friday in honor of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., customers got free mini makeovers and consultations from a trained professional.

They could also share their own stories of how ovarian cancer had touched their lives.

Shahana Mahajan, of Jersey City, knows how important early detection is when it comes to cancer survival rates.

“My husband’s sister died a couple years ago from ovarian cancer,” she said as a makeup artist applied shimmery gray eye shadow to her lids. “If she would have known earlier, things may have turned out differently. This is an important cause. This is an important cause for me.”

Mahajan, a professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York, also works at the New York University Langone Medical Center as a research scientist.

“The thing with cancer is, if you detect it early, a lot of times it is curable,” she said. “If not, there’s really not much you can do about it.”

According to the American Cancer Society, if ovarian cancer is detected and treated before it has spread outside of the ovary, there is a 93 percent survival rate.

But the ACS said that less than 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases are found at this stage.

That’s why L’Oreal, Strong and a team of trained makeup artists have teamed up to raise awareness of the disease that often slips into the shadows of more publicized types of the disease - like breast cancer.

“I think it’s great to bring awareness,” said Christy Frustaci, a freelance makeup artist contracted by L’oreal for the event. “If you’re a woman, then it’s something you should think about. I think it’s great that L’Oreal does this.”

In addition to hosting events like Friday’s mini makeover sessions, L’Oreal has launched the Color of Hope Makeup Collection to raise money for ovarian cancer research. With the purchase of every Color of Hope item, L’Oreal will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

In 2009, the ACS predicts that in 2009, 21, 550 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed. Of those cases, 14,600 will result in death.

Danish Belter, coordinator for public relations and strategic philanthropy for L’Oreal, echoes Mahakam – awareness, which leads to early detection, is key.

“The key word here is awareness,” she said. “Especially with a disease like ovarian cancer. The symptoms are relatively everyday symptoms (for women.) We as women need to be in tune with our bodies. A lot of times we are so busy taking care of everyone else, our children, husbands, families, that we forget to take care of ourselves.”

This is especially important for a cancer that currently does not have an early detection screening method - symptoms are the only indicators.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer include abdominal pain, difficulty eating, feeling prematurely full, frequent urges to urinate and bloating.

Belter has seen what happens when these symptoms are overlooked.

“My grandmother died two years ago from ovarian cancer,” she said. “The symptoms were unclear. They were everyday symptoms that women often have. By the time (it was detected,) it was incurable,” she said. “Because of that experience, I’m not I’m now so passionate about it.”

IN PHOTO: Freelance makeup artist Christy Frustaci applies eyeshadow to Shahana Mahajan at the free makeover event hosted by L’Oreal Friday in Times Square.

NYC parks: A breath of fresh air

Sept. 12, 2009

Today I reported on a city park that was going to be turned into a 40-story high-rise residential building. If there's one thing I have learned since moving to NYC, it's that New Yorkers love their parks.

This is hard for me, being born and raised in the Midwest where space is not the commodity it is in the city, to grasp. I grew up having a big backyard and an outdoor space all my own. But in the city, there aren't any backyards. Parks are the only option for people who want to be outside, surrounding by nature.

This particular park was a small one, about 1 acre, but it was beloved. The surrounding residential buildings had adopted it as their own. And it was, in a way, their own backyard. At the rally, there were tons of kids running around, playing on the playground, playing chess on the chessboards. There was even a middle-aged couple playing tennis on the courts.

It made me sad to think that in just a few months, this safe haven from the city could be turned into yet another high-rise.

Below is my story. Enjoy!

By RACHEL MORGAN

MANHATTAN - Green space is shrinking on the Upper East Side.

Ruppert Park was packed Saturday with local residents and representatives from New York City Park Advocates for a rally protesting a proposed 40-story luxury residential building on the site of the park.

“It’s infuriating,” said Stephanie Abbinanti, a resident of Ruppert House. “I’ve lived here for 20 years and for the first time in my life, I considered moving out of this neighborhood.”

Ruppert Park, located between East 92^nd and East 93^rd streets between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues, is frequented by many Upper East Siders, including tenants of the nearby Ruppert House Apartments.

The Related Companies, a prominent real estate development company stationed in New York City, currently owns the park.

Related Companies bought the park in 1983, when New York City’s Housing and Preservation District sold the interim playground under the agreement that the park would remain a park for 25 years, said Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates.

Now, just one year after the agreement between the city and Related Companies expired, plans are already in place to begin the construction of a residential high-rise.

"The city never should have (sold) the land to begin with,” said Croft, who grew up in the Ruppert area and now lives in Ruppert House. “This area has the least amount of open park space of any community in New York City.”

For Croft, it’s personal. As a child, he witnessed first-hand the construction of the park and now may witness its demise.

Local children frequently use the park, especially those living in Ruppert House.

“I love to play in this park, I really do,” said Alex Kaplan, an articulate 10-year-old with buzzed red hair. “I think they’re going to build an apartment building. I think that would be really not nice because it takes away a place that people like to come, to rest. And I would be really sad because I wouldn’t have a spot to play with my friends.” Kaplan, who lives in a neighboring apartment building, was holding a homemade sign that read “Save the park!” in black Magic Marker at the rally.

The proposed building will be 80 percent luxury rentals and 20 percent affordable housing. Related Companies will gain a tax abatement with the inclusion of 20 percent affordable housing, said Oscar Fernandez, lead organizer of the Save Ruppert Playground campaign.

“They’re taking away our park and we’re going to give them a tax abatement?” he said, his voice laced with disbelief.

Noise pollution caused by another construction project in the area is also a concern, Fernandez said.

“This community has been under siege with the recent subway construction down the block,” he said. “Our biggest goal is to create awareness. We want Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg to listen and realize that this is an important issue.”

At just one acre, Ruppert Park is a small park, with tree-shaded benches adorning the main path. Tennis courts are off to the right; chessboards are on the left. A small, enclosed playground is nestled in the corner.

However small, Ruppert Park provides many local residents with a much-needed breath of fresh air.

“If you knew how many high rises were built from 86^th Street uptown – it’s a disgrace,” said Ann Kross, a resident of Ruppert House since 1979. “There’s no air anywhere. It’s just a sad fact that another piece of land is going to be taken away from the public.”

Never forget: The story of 9/11 must still be told

By RACHEL MORGAN

MANHATTAN - The terrorist attacks that claimed 2,751 lives on Sept. 11, 2001 did not discriminate. The victims of 9/11 came from different social classes, ages and occupations. They all had their own story.

Today, their families speak of a lost brother, daughter, uncle, son - a bus driver, pilot, businessperson, waiter. Despite their differences, the families of the victims of 9/11 seem to agree - theirs is a story that must be told.

On the 8th anniversary of 9/11, crowds still gather to remember and honor those who died. Zuccotti Park, adjacent to the World Trade Center site, was packed with people listening to the 2,751 victims’ names be read aloud at the World Trade Center Site Memorial Ceremony Friday.

Keith Hughes of Westchester County described watching the first plane hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower eight years ago.

“We thought it was a prop plane,” he said. “They didn’t know (the towers) were going to collapse.”

Hughes lost his brother Chris, 30, in the South Tower when it collapsed.

Nicholas Meschia of Albany puts it simply.

When the first plane hit, “(I felt) disbelief,” he said. When the second tower fell, it was “nauseating.”

Meschia’s cousin, Michael Clark, was a firefighter in Ladder 2 who died in the line of duty.

John Jordan of Long Island remembers the phone call that told him his brother, Andrew Jordan, a firefighter for the New York Fire Department, was missing.

“At noon that day, the fire department called to say he was missing,” he said. “We were hopeful for two weeks after that. We held on to hope every day, every night.”

Jordan grew quiet. His brother was one of the 343 firefighters who died in 9/11. He now attends the remembrance ceremony every year to listen for his brother’s name.

For some, 9/11 was a wake-up call.

Freyda Markow of Brooklyn began volunteering at Ground Zero immediately following 9/11 with the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

“It changed my life,” she said. “The things that you saw and did - you can’t forget it. It made me a better person, changed the way I looked at life.”

But for some, there will never be closure.

“My older son was a fireman and was killed on Sept. 11,” said Rita Riches of Brooklyn. “He would have turned 30 on Sept. 12.”

When the first plane hit, Riches was among the many who did not suspect the enormity of the disaster that was to follow.

“I thought it would be OK,” she said. “Whoever thought those towers would fall?”

Riches wears a small pin adorned with the number 343 on her red trench coat - the number of firefighters killed in the line of duty on 9/11.

She attends the remembrance ceremony every year.

“Where else would I be?” she said. “The crowd gets less and less every year. There are ceremonies in other buroughs. But why wouldn’t you want to be here? This is where it happened.”

Firefighting runs deep in the Riches family’s blood. Her husband, Jim Riches, is the deputy chief of the NYFD.

After their oldest brother died, Riches’ three other sons became firefighters.

They wear the badge numbers 734, 437 and 000 - in honor of their brother, whose badge number was 734.

While Riches speaks about her son in a clear and unwavering voice, it is clear she still carries the burden of a parent who has lost a child.

“Life doesn’t get any easier,” she said, casting her eyes toward the podium where names of the dead are being read.

Her son’s body was found in March 2002. The family was able to have a funeral and memorial service.

“People say you should have closure,” she said. “But what’s closure? That he’s in the ground, in bits and pieces? That’s not closure.”

In photo: An attendee of the remembrance ceremony holds a photo of his stepson, Wilder Gomez, who worked in the Windows on the World restaurant in the North Tower and was killed on 9/11.

First week in the city, first week of class

Sept. 10, 2009

Murphy's Law: noun 1. The facetious proposition that if something can go wrong, it will. (dictionary.reference.com)

Morgan's Law: noun 1. The proven fact that when things can go wrong, especially in the comedic sense, they will. 2. Acceptance of the above fact. 3. The ability to laugh at oneself while experiencing 1 and 2.

I came to New York City via Ohio, 640 miles and a world away.

This was my first week as a graduate student NYU. Moving three states away from my home for the past 23 years to one of the biggest cities in the world was daunting for sure, but I was ready for the challenge. I was ready to take on a new life and all that entailed. Working as a reporter at a major daily newspaper in a large city has been my dream since undergrad - and what better place to embark upon this dream than in NYC, the media capital of the country, maybe even the world?

Now, the explanation of this blog title. For as a long as I can remember, hilarious and embarrassing things have happened to me. This makes for an awkward childhood, painful prepubescence and slow climb to social normalcy. And Murphy's Law still claims me every now and then. Or as I like to call it, Morgan's Law. Morgan's Law is different than Murphy's. Murphy's has a sort of dark and pessimistic undertone, a giving-up-on-the-world-and-anything-good-happening-to-me vibe. Morgan's Law is different. It accepts that embarrassing or awkward things happen. But those who abide by this law learn to laugh at themselves, others and the world.

For example. Last week, I had my program orientation. Things seemed to be going well. I made my first friend in line to register; people were friendly, even helpful. I was beginning to feel like the mean streets and frosty, distant New Yorkers I had always envisioned were fabricated. There was a coffee and donut mixer before orientation, so I, new pal in tow, eagerly embarked on a mission for caffeine.

I carried my steaming cup o' joe to the orientation room, sat down and promptly bumped the table to hard with one leg that I spilt more than half of my coffee over the entire table.

I suddenly felt like my middle school self, clothed in overalls, flannel shirt (yes, I wore both together) and unflattering haircut. I looked around at the people in my program, people I would work closely with over the next year and half, people whose work I would read and critique and people whom I hoped to befriend.

So what did I do?

I laughed at myself. What else was there to do?

This is almost as funny as the other day when I was navigating through the streets of the city toward campus and I stepped in something wet. I was wearing flip-flops, so naturally the liquid sprayed up on my legs. It was only half a block later that I realized I had inadvertently stepped in a stream of pee.

These are only a few of many. Maybe next time I'll tell you about the time I got a yellow Skittle stuck up my nose when I was 2 years old - I didn't like the yellow ones, what else was I going to do with them? - and my mom had to pry it out of my very small nostril with a butter knife until it ricocheted across the room.

I have an entire treasure trove of embarrassing stories - all practically guaranteed to earn a laugh. And they make for some great cocktail stories. (While I have yet to attend my first cocktail party, I plan to use many of my Morgan's Law anecdotes at my first one.)

So far, the city has been everything I could've hoped for and more. But not so fast. Let's just see what Morgan's Law has to say about that.