Should you need your own personal meditation time, find this planter
on the NW corner of 39th & Broadway.

Now that my Garment District Zen Garden has been majorly tampered with (they removed the entire Modernist beautiful Milliken Building to which it was attached, but more on that later), I must seek visual peace in other places. Will this moonscape-style planter perched atop a self-serve newspaper kiosk on a crowded corner do?

And the 7 Train platform says:
It's my birthday!

[Click this link and read what I wrote last year.
So funny. I am totally the same.
Will be getting my 99cent DD Latte later today.]

When I was in grammar school, I used to get so excited on my birthday that I would fall and hurt myself on the playground pretty much every year, and wind up in the nurse's office with a skinned knee. Needless to say, I am being very careful crossing streets today. :-) Last time it was this warm and sunny was when I turned 9, and we all got to go play in my backyard and play tetherball. I remember exactly what I was wearing and remember being giddy with happiness.

It's my birthday! And I am going to do all my favorite things and revel in the sunny 73 degree weather. Most of the picture captions are links to previous posts. Click them!

Birthday commute. Just caught the 7 Train! Perfect timing.


Coming up the subway steps into Bryant Park from
the 7 train. Look at that sky!! To the right, One Bryant Park,
one of my favorite buildings. I saw a whole PBS show about it.


Aaaah, spring pansies freshly planted in Bryant Park. My favorite park.


Birthday lawn in Bryant Park. Not quite yet. Too much rain last weekend.
I love how their caution tape is green and says Bryant Park. So nice.
[click here to see last year's lawn on the other blog I write]


Birthday daffodils blooming in Bryant Park


Birthday Garment District Zen Garden.
A favorite spot for my eyes to rest.
Even though they redesigned it.

My favorite work breakfast.
Egg sandwich and iced coffee from the cart on
40th & Broadway. Nice guys.


My 99cent Dunkin' Donuts latte has a view of Times Square.
Nice work day today.


Yes, I had nice musings from the pool.
This Pisces must swim on her birthday.
aaaaaaaaaaah, calming.

I was promised trees. I don't think that is going to happen.

See the strange progression of the "improvements" (improvements, ha!) made to this Garment District (once) Zen (-ish) Garden.

My meditative Garment District Zen garden took a turn for the weird this week. Having seen two plays by Samuel Beckett this year at BAM -- Happy Days where Winnie is buried up to her waist in a post apocalyptic landscape,** and Endgame where Hamm's parents, Nagg and Nell, spend the duration of the play in metal trash cans, with only their heads visible on occasion -- I could not help but imagine these workers being trapped for all eternity in the planters...

I thought they said there would be trees, but I guess they decided to take the planters in this new direction.





*Or my alternate title: when 'Be Here Now!' turns into 'What's the Point?' it's probably time to just give up.
**or perhaps it was somewhere in Arizona, I am not sure.

Peer through this great grate to find a hidden gem in Midtown...

A contemplative little "Zen alley"

I have told you before about my unlikely-but-pet meditation spot in the middle of the chaos of the Garment District. How was I to know that shortly after I wrote this post, my urban Zen garden would be ripped apart? The trees have been removed, the name, "Springs Building" has been removed from the concrete facade, and the great grate and little "Zen alley" as I like to call it (pictured above), likewise have been removed. What???

Well, last week I finally asked one of the workmen what was going on. It seems that they are creating four new raised planters from cement bricks and putting new trees in.

Well, at least there will be trees.

But so far, things do not look so aesthetically promising. More photos to follow, because now I am obsessed, which is not really good for trying to be all "be here now" about it.

Let's face it, New York can be overstimulating. After the exciting day I had today, I need to stare at a wall for awhile. Or contemplate my favorite urban Zen garden in the Garment District of all places. The funny part is, I don't really find it very Zen, nor serene. Just around the corner is the throng of Sixth Avenue and Bryant Park. But if I crop the picture just right, I can pretend for now. Ahhh.

I call it, Still life with Smoking Cell Phone Talker Somewhere in Midtown. This is as Zen as New York gets.