Can It Be?

Tomorrow, Aug. 1st, is my last day at LIME. Seriously, I can't believe it. It's like someone whacked me over the head with a frying pan, and now I've woken up and 2 months have passed. Totally insane how fast June and July have gone by.

I've really had the time of my life here in New York City. Packing everything up is bittersweet. I'm glad to be seeing my family soon, but I would be just as happy if they could just come North. I'm not sure I'm really all that ready to hit the road, or the air, just yet.

At our UOD closing ceremony tonight we listened to a little goodbye speech, watched a slide show of pics, received presents, and concluded with a toast to the summer past. Although some of the toasts were complete wastes of breath, some people said some very sweet and touching things, and it just got me feeling a little sad about saying goodbye.

I still agree that the name University of Dreams is kinda silly, and I get why people are skeptical, I was too originally, but ya know, I wouldn't trade this "dreamer" experience for anything. It's been so much more than I ever expected, or could have dreamt up myself. The memories I've made, some published in this blog, some held just in my heart, will always be special to me.

What an extraordinary experience this has truly been.

CHOP CHOP

Last night, July 30th, I cut off my hair. That's right, y'all. It's gone...again...

My 3rd donation to Locks of Love to date, sadly it was my smallest donation ever, but I think 10 inches is still significant! Wrong? I think not.

Anyway, no pics. It's a wait and see.

Birthday in New York

Tuesday, July 29th, was Ashley's big 21st birthday!


Before hitting a restaurant for a late dinner Ash opened her gifts from us girls. I gave her Madeleine, l'édition en français. Madeleine is Ashley's most favorite childhood series, she still loves Madeleine to this day, and since she is taking French at USC this fall (as am I), I thought it was pretty appropriate. Of course she loved it, and here she is, loving it...


I also threw in a bag of her favorite candy: Sour Patch Kids :)

Due to my 20-ness, I didn't get to partake in all of the festivities the day had to offer, but I was able to join with her in Mexican food at El Cantinero. Food was good, but I must say, I was a bit disappointed with the staff for not tossing a ridiculously large sombrero on her head and shaking their maracas to Feliz Cumpleanos! Despite how many times we each reminded them of Ashley's reason for celebrating they just didn't acknowledge it with any sort of song and dance. Or flan for that matter. In the words of Madeleine, "Poo Poo" to them!

MadLindsCan

What an extraordinary trio: Lindsey, Candace & Madison. All together in New York City for one short weekend. The past Thursday thru Sunday rocked my socks.

The ladies landed on Thursday night and we grabbed a bite at Agave in the West Village. Really great Mexican food. Highly recommend. It was really fun just to see them again. I couldn't help myself, I totally squeeled and ran to them when I saw them outside the dorm. What a dork, but I was just so excited! At dinner we just chilled and talked, followed by an excursion to Magnolia Bakery that ended up a failure. I took a wrong turn down Bleeker and we never found it...but we did make it to Chelsea Pier (intentionally!). Yes, I always take my guests to Chelsea Pier. It's so pretty and you can see the Statue of Liberty. So there. We got a free show too. Some crazy man, maybe homeless, it was questionable, definitely crazy though, was completely going off on anyone willing to fight with him. His phrase "I got my own" apparently meant "I got my own gun" to Lindsey and Candace because they got pretty freaked out and "feared for their lives." Haha, in other words, maybe not the safest place for 3 young women long after dark... But definitely memorable! Welcome to New York!

Friday was spent shopping! It was nice being a tour guide of sorts, but not having to run around to all the tourist destinations. I mostly just pointed out anything special along the way, I felt so knowledgeable (haha...). We made our way up 5th Ave from Union Square and ended at Tiffany's. That was the major highlight I would say.

We had dinner reservations to keep so we rushed back to the dorm, dressed ourselves up and went straight back uptown because we had to visit the Museum of Modern Art before dinner (free Friday nights!). Of course we looked very glamorous amongst the hoards of people.

Aside: Apparently a foreign couple at the museum was a little obsessed with my hair. Candace and Lindsey watched as they argued over whether the color is natural or fake, while the man made numerous hand gestures around the back of my head... FYI: It's all natural, baby!

We were a little distracted by the number of people there, but we still saw some amazing works by artists: Monet, Picasso, Da Vinci, Pollock (to name a few). It was strange to see before your very eyes works of art that you've before only adored from the view of a picture or television screen. Right in front of you. Makes you kinda love this New York place.

Dinner at Frederick's Downtown was a part of our plan to experience New York Restaurant Week. I can't say it turned out quite as well as we had hoped: the restaurant was hard to find, a bit snooty (despite how gorgeous we all are), and wanted us to starve for a good 20 minutes. It got better though once we did receive some sustenance. After that point our spirits lifted and we were enjoying ourselves again.

For a little while. After dinner marked the beginning of the foot fiasco. We took a cab home because all of our feet were achin from the many hours of walking throughout the day, but it was dear Candace that was really in trouble. The Dr. is still out on the diagnosis, however, it's serious people. To the point that Saturday and Sunday weren't the easiest for her. I won't dwell on that though, I doubt she would appreciate that.

Saturday we ran down to Times Square and bought last minute discount tickets for Chicago! I was a little stressed out by this method, even though it was my own idea, but it worked flawlessly. Half price tickets and our seats weren't bad! Chicago was fun! We were in the Ambassador Theater, not the biggest theater by any means. I was a little bummed that Linds and Can missed out on the BIG broadway experience, but Chicago was still definitely a good show.

The evening was spent, just Linds and I, at Caroline's on Broadway for dinner and a comedy show. The comedians were all fantastic. I had never been to a real comedy show before and will absolutely be doing that again. I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. So much laughing that I resorted to wiping the uncontrollable tears from eyes with an extra dinner napkin. Classy, I know. It without a doubt makes the list of the best nights I've had here.

Sunday began with brunch at Tavern on the Green. I was going a little crazy beforehand as I worried over reservation issues and being late and the sky deciding to open up and rain as we were leaving. Those things compounded didn't make me very happy. Thank heavens it all worked out though. And brunch was delicious, totally worth the stress! We stuffed ourselves well and then took a little stroll around Central Park. We had a nice break on a few fence posts while we listened to an excellent jazz band perform in the park. The rain had passed and a cool breeze made the excursion delightful.

In an effort to keep Can off her feet as much as possible, we hit the theater for another musical! Only this time, not broadway. Mamma Mia! off broadway may not be as good as the original, but it was still very good in my book. I tend to love most musicals though (with the exception of Hairspray!) so it doesn't take much to please me. Especially when it's ABBA. I mean, who can resist ABBA?

After our dose of Meryl and Pierce we relaxed, eventually leading to a massive take-out order consisting of Mexican, Chinese, and Italian (i.e., pizza) food. The contents of which we all found highly satisfying...

The ladies left this morning. And I've been exhausted all day, so I'm going to bed right now! This post will have pictures added later. I was just very silly all weekend and perpetually left my camera on it's charger at NYU. Once Lindsey uploads her pics I'll steal a few for the blog!

My Own North vs. South

While I've been in NY people are constantly asking me "where are you from?, do you like NY?, do you want to move here after college?," etc. These questions have really got me thinkin about home/Texas and here/NY... And thus, I have compiled a list of things that I have come to miss the most during my month in New York. Now, this isn't meant to be an insult to NYC, I'm having a fabulous time here, and there are certainly some things that I've grown to love while being here. This is just a list of 10 things (#1 being the most important) I'm so accustomed to at home that without them I'm like an addict going through withdrawals.

1. The things my family make extra special: My Dad's hugs/My Mom's "tickly-back"/Coffee morning, noon, and night with Anna/Inside jokes accompanied by uncontrollable laughing with Tess (and so much more from each of them, I'm very blessed in this area)

2. Quiet, sitting outside and hearing nothing but birds chirping and the wind blowing

3. Driving, few things beat driving with your favorite tunes blastin

4. Stars, you would think they were a myth if you grew up in NYC

5. Grass, endless fields of green

6. Potentially hearing country music at any time of day

7. Wearing jeans to practically any occasion (and it's socially acceptable)

8. Smiling at people and people actually smiling back

9. Men openning doors, offering their seat, just being a gentleman

10. Really good Mexican Food/Salsa (the old Pace Piquante sauce commercials turned out to be so true in this case)

while I'm at it

So my posting with the inclusion of Mario Lopez triggered something that I forgot to share last week. Sorry y'all, last week really was a bit of a blur.

This post only applies to anyone that watches What Not to Wear on TLC, otherwise, you won't get this. Back story: I have been contemplating getting my hair cut while I'm here, which means I need to find someone or someplace to do the job. I had noticed that on street level in the identical building across from KB (my work building) is a salon named Arrojo. Very sleek, very professional, very appealing.

I googled the salon (this was last Monday), I had been mispronouncing the name, and had therefore never realized that it was none other than NICK ARROJO'S very own salon! Right across from my own building is a razor wielding celebrity stylist. I was floored and now I love Varick Street that much more. Unfortunately Nick isn't in my budget but the very knowledge of his very near existence has made me a little silly. Every day when I walk by I look through the windows, in a very discrete manner I guarantee (haha), hoping to catch a glimpse of the one and only Nick Arrojo. I actualy saw him Wednesday of last week! Totally made my morning/maybe even my day. Certainly made it more than cup of coffee.

whatta whirlwind

Thursday thru Saturday was a complete whirlwind. It was almost like when you are in Disney World or some place like that, where you feel like you must do EVERYTHING and have only a very short amount of time to do it in. I know that I've figured out a lot of things navigation-wise since I arrived 6 weeks ago, but I still don't consider myself 100% confident in making my way around NYC. I mean, this place is full of surprises, always boasting some new sight I hadn't seen before, which makes it hard to feel like you KNOW a place. She is always showing me something new, kinda overwhelming, but in the most exhilarating way.

Sorry, I digress. My point is to tell you about the insanity of being a tour guide in a city you are still getting to know. As I mentioned, I had visitors this weekend: Mr. Nathan Miller and Mr. Justin Croft. Both descending on the Big Apple with little time and a lot on their to-do list. Thursday contained Union Square, Restorante Il Cantinori (so delicious!), Greenwich Village, Chelsea Pier, and the Statue Liberty. Not bad for one evening if you ask me! Too-bad for Justin I still had to work on Friday so he was alone, but still alive when I got-off, so it couldn't have gone that badly.

Friday evening we caught The Dark Knight and both agreed with the critics: it's INCREDIBLE. That movie is truly the best movie I've seen in a LONG time. I recommend it to anyone. Even if you aren't the biggest superhero movie-watcher, doesn't matter. Nothing short of brilliant.

After the movie we headed down to Times Square, because if you haven't seen Times Square at night, you haven't seen it at all. It's just totally different to see it in all of its majestic ad illuminated glory. I can't imagine a more iconic place in NYC. For dessert we grabbed some PinkBerry as we waited for Nathan's bus to arrive. And finally, my dear Nathan was here! How I love my twin brother!

By now it was late, but we had to map out our Saturday, because there is no way you can be a tourist in this city without a plan. There are just too many options so I don't advise ever coming here if you don't know what you want to see. I made it very clear to the boys that we HAD to make a plan if we were going to make the most of their 48 hours, no lollygagging! Not while they were here, no sirree! Here's another plug: http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork (the ONLY way to travel in NYC unless you want to waste money on cabs)!

Saturday's Itinerary: Central Park, China Town, Little Italy, Brooklyn, Coney Island, Washington Square Park, Chelsea Pier/Statue of Liberty, Times Square

We departed from Union Square and hit Central Park. Nathan was super excited mostly because apparently a lot of Cloverfield was filmed there. We walked around a little, gave Nathan a chance to take some pictures underneath a bridge while reenacting an expression of terror, he looked exactly like the kids from the movie. He's gonna be famous. China Town and Little Italy are next door neighbors, not next door to Central Park though. Took us a little while to get over to that side of town, but it's always worth the ride when you are going to two new countries!

Walked through China Town, ran in to Zaran Fabrics, Real Housewives anyone? We stopped in Little Italy for some "authentic" Italian cuisine, which I thought was very good, but we definitely had to wait a very long time for it. We were all pretty famished at this point so not being fed immediately was slightly hard to endure, hence this expression of starvation/anger from Nathan:

We were refueled after leaving Giovanna's, noticed we weren't too far from Coney Island so took the train even farther away. Now Coney was crazy. People EVERYWHERE, beach covered by bare skin and umbrellas... The fact that it is the hometown of hot dogs made it all better though, for the boys anyway. Despite that we had eaten a mere hour before, they hit up Nathan's Famous Hot Dog stand and ordered two dogs each. If you didn't know, Nathan's Famous Hot Dog stand on Coney is the home of the equally famous hot dog eating contest on ESPN annually.

And I am not joking about this, y'all. Now the boys were really full (I think...) so we walked the beach briefly and hopped back on the train to Manhattan. The train was excellent for seeing Brooklyn, which killed two birds with one stone. Once back in Manhattan, we took a short break, and then hit Washington Square Park, where they filmed a lot of I Am Legend, so again, Nathan was very excited. Despite that we were starting to get achey feet, we walked down to Chelsea Pier and the boys got a view of Lady Liberty. It was at this time that we agreed it was time to eat again and hit up Tortilla Flats, my suggestion of course! Unfortunately we ended up waiting about an hour, but the food was so worth it. Never disappoints. And then for the Grande Finale: TIMES SQUARE for Nathan! It really never gets old, well I guess it would if you don't like bright lights and can't stand crowds... However, even for someone who might not have been very impressed with Times Square, that person couldn't possibly deny the splendor of the upcoming event. As we are walking back to Union Square, I randomly pick a street, and turns out we are the back side/exit of one of the Broadway theaters. A hoard of people, mostly girls, are giggling with cameras ready, I knew something was going down. Justin's opinion was "they are waiting to get into the show," I knew there was no way a show was starting at the present hour, someone was coming OUT of the theater, and it was someone good. Moments later, the back door swings open, several huge bouncer-esque men come out, followed by none other than Mario Lopez! That's right, my first celebrity sighting! Now I know he's no A-lister, but that doesn't mean he's not way famous. A successful day? I think so!

Sunday's Itinerary: Harlem/Rucker Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange

Sunday offered a little less time for us so we had to go to Harlem first. Rucker Park, located in Harlem, is the supposed home of street basketball, Nathan so graciously informed me. According to the web, lots of basketball greats played there back in the day and still come randomly, which gave us hope that we would see someone ridiculous ballin', but unfortunately when we reached the court all we found was a bunch of girls. Oh well, that didn't subtract from the excitement of being extremely, shall we say, aware of our "cracker"-ness. I decided it would be wiser to capture our visit to Harlem while we were still underground, before the sun could reflect off our skin, i.e., the picture:

Harlem was quickly followed by Ground Zero, Wall Street, and the Bull! I wanted to see the Bull Statue so badly. It was too bad that hundreds of other people wanted to see it too so I didn't get the best pic, but I still got to mark it off my list of things so see.

Then time to eat! Now, the boys had been nagging me all weekend to pick fast food (those 2 are so cheap!), I wouldn't give in. Aside: I made a resolve when I arrived here that I would not eat anywhere that is a chain/a place that I can eat back in Texas. Those two cheapies went to Burger King while I grabbed some delicious food from a toss bar next door and they joined me there. Then the day was wrapped up with a trip into the Virgin MegaStore and then it was time to say goodbye.

The whole weekend was jam-packed and I'm still exhausted a day later. Not to mention the minor cold symptons now pulsing through my head.

But it doesn't matter one bit because Lindsey and Candace will be here THURSDAY!!!!!!! Oh, the madness to come and I can't wait for it :)