Rainbows and Unicorns for Everyone!!!

So basically the cosmos have all aligned to make my life the most simplistic and perfect it's ever been.  As I was looking for an apartment, and getting rather discouraged as the deadline was fast approaching and I was having zero luck at even having people contact me back... a wonderful turn of events occurred!!  Ann Marie came bounding into work about a week ago, bouncing with excitement, announcing that her roommate decided she wanted to move out!!!  Jenn (the other roommate) was a little distraught as she was telling AM about this, but AM was all, "OMG THIS IS THE BEST.NEWS.EVER!!!!! MY FRIEND CAN MOVE IN!!!! HAPPY DANCE!! WOOOOO!!!!" So yes, I will have a roof over my head. The catch?? It's not available until the 15th and I need a place the 1st, but CieCie offered to let me crash with her, and Jenn is totally cool with me crashing on the sofa until then. But then, THEN! Margaret (the girl moving out) contacted me saying she was going to be house sitting the first two weeks of September and wondered if I wanted to move in early... do I??? DO I???? YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, calming down... breathing... But seriously?! How does it get more perfect?! IT DOESN'T! (thanks for the positive thoughts and energy, Mom!!)

Now for the things I've been up to since I was last here:

1. Summer bought her ticket to come visit!!!! We are in full planning mode and I look forward to seeing her in October!!! (I may have to do a dry run getting to the airport just to make sure I can get to her...) We are going to see all the things and do all the things and eat all the things we can. I imagine there will be little sleep and lots of caffeine...

2. "The Juice Girls" went to Bryant Park for the last summer movie installation to see "Bonnie and Clyde." It made CieCie sad, apparently she was unaware of how that little love story ended...

"Juya," Kristina and Me

CieCie, Julia, Kristina (wearing all her work clothes, because it was cold...)

Surfing on the lawn...

3. Martina McBride came in with, I'm assuming, her husband.  I was talking to him about wine when I turned to include her in the conversation and realized I recognized her... I may have jumped a little.  Then I promptly went to find Lori Lynn (the other southerner) to confirm the siting...  Sure enough, it was her. And I was excited because "B," Sara and I use to dance around the living room, jumping on the furniture, singing into hairbrushes, and creating music videos (without the video) to her songs when we were little. I'm here to tell you, she's very strikingly beautiful in person. Yep.

4.  I had my first NYC Pizza experience in Brooklyn at Grimaldi's Pizzeria, located under the Brooklyn Bridge, with Julia and Heather (who's hopefully not going back to Utah in two weeks...) It was so gooood!! And really busy. Long line. Waited an hour. Learned you shouldn't talk about food when you're starving and in a long line to the food. But it was worth it. Also, it's cash only and they put you at the first place large enough to accommodate your group (often at a family table with strangers.) Also, ALSO... the whole staff is male. Odd.  But I really liked one of the guys shirts which said "Grimaldi's" on the front in "The Godfather" typeface and on the back read, "I'm gonna make you a pizza you can't refuse..." hahaha.

5. When I got on my train that evening... it smelled of mouthwash. It was weird.

6. Hoping to rope Heather into taking pictures of me (she's a photographer and I want to be made pretty.) But for now, here's a little sketch from Julia (we're going to attempt this again at a more opportune time)....

"It's as much of you as it's gonna be..."

We wait on trains a lot. Sometimes we sit. Sometimes she draws. Sometimes I take pictures. Mostly we try not to fall asleep.

p.s. I made a new friend today who told Heather and I we should start a NYCFood blog. I should eat and write, she should eat and photograph, he'd help with web design. He also told me he could just sit around and listen to me talk forever, it didn't matter what I said, so long as it was in this cute southern accent.  I think he's going to make a trip down south in search of love :) Glad I could inspire.  Also, he has some pretty awesome art projects and social media projects in the making.  It's all very interesting. 

Meet the "Juice Girls"

Clockwise from top left: Julia, Me, Kristina, CieCie!

Stopping in for an Update!

I may be the world's worst blogger. Seriously.  I can't even remember what I've shared and what I haven't, so if I get a bit repetitive, please excuse it.  Here goes.

1. There has been quite the parade of celebrities in the restaurant lately (some of which I have seen, other's I have not. Sad.)  So for the roll call: Martha Stewart celebrated her 69th birthday with us.  Beyonce and Jay-z had a little date followed by the British David Beckham (all of whom I didn't have the pleasure.)  Oh, and Susan Sarandon was in as well, I made her a Waterfelon!!! Then I sang Rocky Horror tunes the remainder of the day... Oh Janet Weiss!!

2. Some lovely work folks had a Rhône wine party (which is a little region in France that makes wine, and I believe it tends to be slightly peppery?) Everyone either brought a bottle from the region or cooked something for dinner (I did both).  I brought a white wine (a Viognier, which is my favorite) because I don't like my beverages to be room temperature as a general rule, and I made broccoli slaw with a sesame tamari vinaigrette.  What started out as a tasteful and grown up wine tasting with lovely apricot glazed short-ribs and a multitude of salads, with each wine being carefully tasted and talked about, and referenced in a book soon became a room full of drunken friends dancing around to old school 90s music.  And ending with everyone hanging out on the roof, looking at the stars and watching the cars climb over the Williamsburg Bridge towards the city.

3. During said party I met a guy who competed on an episode of "24 hour Restaurant Battle," and was having a party on the following Wednesday to watch the episode air!  Kristina, Julia and I attended and it was a lot of fun.  The restaurant Justin created was called "...& Jelly," if you haven't seen the episode google it, or find it on YouTube.  It was a very interesting idea and the food looked pretty awesome, I was pleasantly surprised how the concept was expanded to be more than the traditional ideas of jelly and butter. Intrigue...

4. The "Juice Girls" have taken to Julia's favorite bar to play trivia in Greenpoint at the Black Rabbit.  It's a lot of fun with categories that are way better than what Columbia has to offer.  For example, there was a "Name that Song" portion.. the catch? all the songs were played BACKWARDS!!! And included such gems as "You Oughta Know" by Alanis when she was angrier, and some Hootie (I TOTALLY told them it was Hootie, and I would know!)  The first night it was just myself, Julia and Kristina and we won a PickleBack shot...Whiskey with a pickle brine chaser (it's surprisingly good, seriously, try it at home.)  After trivia comes the Chat Roulette portion of the evening.  Which is sort of like a one-on-one video chat room where it randomly selects a participate and you can talk to them, or click next if you don't like them.  It's kind of scary, and absurdly hilarious. (did I mention we had a video projector to shoot this on the wall at the bar?? yeah, it was awesome.)

Some trivia facts I learned:
-Long ago, when the Bishop of Rochester's chef poisoned people, killing two, new style of execution was legalized... what was that style?? guillotine?? Nope, Death By BOILING! Yeah... Ouch.
-The largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy occurred when the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed, horrible right? But oh wait, then there was a bought of shark attacks!! How horrid. Yeah, I survived the war, my ship sunk but I managed to escape alive, then I got eaten by a shark.  Thanks.
-And some animal facts: The Goldfish is the only animal who can see both infrared and ultraviolet light.  On average, birds live a mere six months. And, AND the mosquito has teeth!! Forty-Seven TEETH!!!!! ew.

5. I found my new favorite coffee shop, thanks to the lovely CieCie.  It's just down from work, called the Grey Dog, and reminds me a lot of CoolBeans! (which makes my whole heart happy!) The menu is written on giant chalkboards, the staff is friendly, the music is wonderful, it's a happy little haven in the middle of the bustle :)

6. I recently ate a Vietnamese sandwich, a Bánh mì, with Ann Marie and Mary. It was REALLY good, especially with Sriracha!! MMmmmm, spicy! Then we went to Duck Duck, a bar around the corner from her place, where we watched the Sunday night shenanigans occur (dancing and whatnot,) and we people watched and drank Cerveza Pacífico Clara! It was good, and served with a lime. Also, it was drizzly and wet so I got to borrow Ann Marie's rain boots!!! I LOVE rain boots!

7. And lastly, the "Juice Girls" are crossing their fingers for a trip down south (as two of them haven't been because they're from the west coast, and CieCie and I want to take them!!)  The goal is to go through Charlotte (CieCie's hometown,) make a stop in Columbia to take them to my favorite places (I'm thinking the Whig, Blue Cactus and ArtBar if it's a Friday!) then onward to Charleston.  The hope is to go through Asheville on the way back and maybe stop in at River Spirit!!  For anyone wanting to take a little trip to the mountains, check this place out!! It is the business endeavor of a dear friend of mine who I'd lost contact with the last few years until this week!! So "Yay!!" and happiness for his growing establishment! Also, it's beautiful and "I want to go to there!"

I didn't have the patience to link up any pictures, so instead I left a train of things to get lost in. Enjoy!

That time someone had to teach me how to get inside the bank...

No joke, Kids.  My co-worker had to show me how to get into the bank because it's a tricky little devil.  I've always been the kind of person that goes into the bank, walks up to a teller, says, "Hey, how are you today?!" and gets a little face time.  So the idea of using the ATM to deposit money not only seemed like an alien idea to me, but I also don't trust those machines to read the check write. And what would I do if a check said 420.00 and it read 4.20... you know?! There's no security in that.  But now I'm a big girl in the big city, and not only did it take me about two weeks to even FIND my bank branch, but I also don't have time to go by during normal business hours.  So I weighed my options and decided that other friends have had success depositing money through the ATM, so maybe it wasn't really the devil trying to eat my humble dollars for lunch.

One night at about 7:30pm, I walked the nine blocks to my bank and tried to open the door to the ATM room, but it was locked.  Okay, maybe they don't let you use them off hours, I thought. Although there was a man inside but he was standing around all awkwardly so I thought maybe he had just gotten off work and was waiting for his co-workers to exit as well so they could lock up for good (seems reasonable, no?)  About a week later, I was leaving work with a co-worker (who's lived in Queens all her life) and as we made our way towards the train station she asked if it would be cool if she stopped by the bank.  "Sure!" I said.
Then proceeded to tell her how I had been trying to find the time to get to my own branch for weeks and I desperately needed to go because I had almost an entire month's worth of paychecks that needed to be deposited (so I could give it all away to the lovely people that shelter me, and put me through college.)  I also mentioned to her that it was locked last I went, so it would probably be a waste of time to try again that day, it being after five and all.  To which she replied, "Well, you have a debit card right? Did you swipe it??"
"What do you mean, 'did I swipe it?' I couldn't get through the door, it was locked!" I said.
This is about the point where she stopped and just stared at me with a look of complete shock and hysteria, "There's no way you don't have these anywhere in the South!!" she said, "You just have to swipe your debit card and it unlocks the door!!" WTF?!
Yeah, so APPARENTLY in order to cut down in crime and whatnot, you can't get to any banks ATM unless you have a card. I mean, I was stunned into silence the entire time she showed me this... seriously?! Well that's just genius!! And more over, I could have put this money away weeks ago if only I knew my debit card works much like a hotel key.  Thanks New York... Good one!
At least Melissa got a good laugh out of this....

I made it to "Shakespeare in the Park" to see A Winter's Tale with Kristina and her roommate, and although I'm sad Julia was unable to attend, I'm glad that meant I got the chance to go!! It was magical, set in Central Park at the Delacorte Theater underneath the summer starlit sky.

(above is the alfresco theater, but a different production)

THE WINTER'S TALE Directed by Michael Greif
With Gerry Bamman, Francois Battiste, Linda Emond, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Bill Heck, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Byron Jennings, Heather Lind, Hamish Linklater, Jesse L. Martin, Nyambi Nyambi, Matthew Rauch, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Richard Topol, Max Wright


 In other exciting news, we had the shoot at the restaurant on Wednesday.  It's a reality show of sorts (from the bits of information we could piece together.) But if that's the case, it's not so real.  Not only was the entire restaurant shut down for this shoot from about 1:30-5:00pm, but they also hired an actress who trained in our restaurant for a couple of shifts to "serve" the celebrities during their meal.  That's just absurd, especially since a pretty hefty portion of our staff is aspiring actors and actresses, some with degrees in theater from TISCH and other prestigious colleges. Lunacy I tell you, particularly because our staff comes trained properly, but okay crazy movie people... waste your money and here's your twelve dollar juice.

Because Sharing is Caring

Silly Animals:

Retarded Dog- the "Paint" art is the best!

Unhappy Bird

Weird things with Babies:

In a watermelon- "epic cute"

Creepy Baby Cake

Music:

Adorable and Hopeful:

First Dates Make Everyone Nervous.- and it's a beautiful feeling.

Hello Friends.

Things have been a bit busy lately, sorry for the hiatus. I think the best way to catch everything up is a little list, so here goes!

1. I'm now at full time at work, although I've actually had overtime the last two weeks (time and a half, I'll take it!)  I also managed to get off training pay early which was a fantastic little surprise!
2. I absolutely adore the ladies I work with and particularly enjoyed going to see the late showing of Inception with them (if you haven't seen it, go! My mind is blown and I must see it again!)
3. We've had quite the parade of celebrities lately, including Henry Winkler, David Schwimmer, Tom Petty, and Lucy Liu (who I believe is doing a movie shoot this week at the Elixir Bar!! And yes I'm working!!)
4. Ann Marie and I had no luck finding a place together so she is going to sublet a place month to month and I guess I'm going to stay put for now.  We'll see what happens from there.
5. Sarah Sutton and Steven Kady dropped by to visit!! We found a nice air conditioned, underground pub (because underground bars are our thing.) Then I got on the right train heading in the wrong direction and took FOREVER to get home, then went the wrong way off the subway stop, then my phone died while I was talking to my mom and she maybe had a tiny heart attack (whoops!) It's okay Mom! I'm safe! There was a police officer standing beside me, literally, I could have reached out and touched him (but that might have been weird.)
6. I still haven't gotten around to seeing Shakespeare in the Park, and I'm doubting I will be able to given all the hours I've been blessed to have (and the overtime I seem to put in as well) but maybe there will be time for other fun events.
7. Summer is (crossing my fingers) coming to visit in the Fall!! Which makes me happy because I love her and I love fall!!!! And, AND! For Christmas Erin may be sending herself to visit me!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!
8. On a more serious note, I've also realized over the last few weeks (after a long-running thought process stemming from the last several years) that you can't control pretty much anything, and accepting that is the best way to find happiness.  All you have, all you can do, is your best.  If someone doesn't like it, at least then you've done all you can and can just walk away with ease. Yep. No more control freak over here. And also, friends are amazing gifts and really the only thing worth anything in this world. True story.

Well that's all the catching up I've got time for this evening.... Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my hair for the movie shoot... hmm....

I'll be back...

"don't worry bout me. you know real life... it ain't like the movies. life is just a bunch of stories you go through and they all end sooner or later. but it's okay, i'm going to go find my next story."

Yada Yada.

There's not a whole lot to report over the last few days.  Let's see, work is going very well.  I'm actually off training pay this week ( I now need to secure five shifts a week, right now I have four.)  Ann Marie and I are on a search for a place together come August 1st.  It's a bit of a struggle finding an affordable place in a location we like, and we are trying to sublet two rooms to avoid security deposits and leases.  This actually isn't the hard part, it's finding free time to meet with potential roommates.  I think ABC is conspiring to keep us working opposite schedules.

One thing I like about the city, it inspires me to eat at home more than I did in SC.  Mostly because I don't know where anything is, and I spend copious amounts of time alone (eating out is less fun alone.)  But I do adore the produce section so that's just fine with me! Also, I was sent to Whole Foods for work and found out that apparently there is no sales tax on produce (and I wasn't the only one unaware, because no one at work knew this either... even my manager.)  Also, I found the Container Store (on a work errand) and if you've never been, and you love things to be organized (hey, I love it! Even if it appears otherwise!) This place is a happy organized and labeled haven! Which reminds me, I need to buy a pot to make pasta. And go to the Salvation Army (there were really good reviews for the one near my place!)

As for today, I found a supermarket closer to my apartment today.  It's super tiny but has all the things I need (and when I say tiny, I mean if someone has a cart, you won't be passing them down the aisle.)   And it rained a lot today, so I watched Hulu and found a TV show called "Kitchen Confidential" based on the autobiographical novel by Anthony Bourdain and they mention Jean-Georges in an episode! The End (for today.) There was going to be a picture included of my backyard covered in rain with the sunflowers shining happy and yellow, but my computer is sleepy and refusing to cooperate. Off to bed with the both of us. Goodnight interwebs.

UPDATE: Picture Upload Success.

 

New York for Free.

Just a day in the park....

Yesterday I didn't get lost on the train, even though there was a tricky stop on my three train route.  I found this Conservatory Water at a pace you'd swear meant I knew where I was going.

I watched a young girl sail this boat straight into another one while her Australian friend barked directions on how to sail which went unheard.

I had a lovely lunch with Alice and the Mad Hatter.  Walked down "The Mall" to the sounds of a piano and a saxophone, both trying to draw attention from passersby. (I'm partial to the piano myself)

I also watched people paddle around in boats beneath the weeping willow trees, watched a young family splash in the fountain, and experienced one hellaciously hot day.  Apparently New York missed the memo that SC is suppose to be hotter.

As for today, I had productive day at work with the lovely Kristina (she's from San Francisco, graduated from TISCH and is pursuing a career in acting.) And the ever chipper Cici, who hails from Charlotte and loves everyone.  She also gets ridiculously excited over the simple things, (ex: she did a happy dance when she found currants in the fridge.)  She and I will get along well, I can already tell.  Plus, the two of them went to see Beirut last night.... um, yes please.

After work I sat in Union Square for a while and after getting off the phone with Mom the gentleman beside me turned and said, "You're from the south, aren't you?"  This led into a hour and a half long conversation about the city and Eddie's take on all the things you should do here.  First off he said to Write It All Down (some advice I've already been given.) He then gave me locations to several places that offer free salsa lessons, free art shows, free plays, free movies, free Shakespeare, used books for forty-eight cents, various other dance nights that offer lessons, free exercise sessions, on and on... 

Advice from Eddie:

1. Never take a cab (they charge too much and will take you "they long way" to make an extra dollar.)

2. Always keep a $10 Metro Card for emergencies (in case your monthly expires and you are stranded late at night.)

3. Pick up the Village Voice every Tues/Wed.

4.  Run along the Pier because the air is lovely, and when you feel unmotivated to run just try to make it to the next light pole, then the next, then the...

5. Whenever you feel a little uptight and overwhelmed, go to Coney Island and ride the Cyclone, because it's scary as shit and everything will be a breeze afterward.

6. Go to clubs that don't have cover because they are always more fun.

7. Watch movies on Friday-Sunday mornings because they are $6 and you can feasibly spend all day watching everything that's out (especially if you go to a theater with a multitude of showings.)

8. Always carry a snack and a good book because it makes all the waiting go by faster.

9. Find the cheapest way to do what you are interested in when you're getting started, take pictures of everything and make no apologies for it.

10. Make a list of goals for each day/week/month so you're always striving towards something.

11. Take the bus from one end of town to the other so you can see it all above ground, get to know the neighborhoods, it gives you a visual image you can't get on a subway. 

12. Write it all down because it makes you see beauty in the small things.

13. Keep a separate journal for the happenings in the restaurant world, because it's a whole different beast... "something you could write a musical about."

Eddie told me all about the various places to dance because he thought I looked like a dancer.  He said, "you have a dancers body." Which I disagree with, but I appreciate that he thinks I look like I exercise and he was pretty flabbergasted when i admitted I had worked out, really worked out exactly once in the last five years.  He also tried to convince me I should eat duck, because it's basically a water animal...