December 20, 2008

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance
Minor in Film and Digital Media
Cum Laude

There and Back Again

Alrighty, this is it kids. I'll be leaving the St. George at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Lots and lots of butterflies! New York City has been wonderful.

Today I did my final Christmas shopping at the Union Square Christmas market. It was packed!

I found some wonderful (and unique!) gifts though :)

Going home to drop off my purchases, I decided to walk back to the apartment from Burough Hall (only 5 blocks or so). Brooklyn Heights is a beautiful area no matter what season. However, I must admit that Christmas suits it quite well.


Erica, Roberta, Bethany, and I are the last ones still here from the Baylor group. We decided to celebrate our last meal together and eat at Koi in the Bryant Park hotel. It was extremely nice and well worth the more expensive price. Afterward, we went through the park for photo ops.

Unlike the Rockefeller tree, you can get right up to the Bryant Park one! Lovely!


Ice skating! Unfortunately, I never got around to going. However, you can see just how packed the rink is right now!


I love Bryant Park!

So ends my New York City experience for now. I'm excited to see my family, drive my car, and have access to good Mexican food again. However, as tough as my internship was at times, and as burnt out as I got from working full-time and taking classes, I don't regretcoming here. New York City turned into home and I will miss it.

Last-minute adventures

This is my next-to-last post in the lovely city of New York!
Here's an update on my recent adventures:

Thursday, I went out with Ayan, Roman, and Jamie from work. We met up at an amazing pub called McSorley's which was established in 1854- they only started letting women in the bar in the 1970s. Civil war soldiers who were regulars at the pub would hang a wishbone on one of the chandeliers, and when they came back they would take it off. There are still 20 odd, dust-covered bones just dangling there. Also on display is a chair Abraham Lincoln sat in when he visited McSorley's. I wish I could have taken pictures but it was jam-packed, and I didn't want to look too touristy. By the way- the pub sells dark or light beer, 3 kinds of sandwiches, and a cracker/cheese/onion plate. That's it. Awesome.

After having a pint or two, we made out way to Veselka- the both longed for and dreaded Ukranian restaurant. And then, dear readers, I ordered a cup of borsht. The dreaded, lumpy, red, beet-ridden stew so prized by my friends Roman and Ayan.

I tentatively tried a spoonful after being reprimanded for poking it To my utter surprise, it was good! The beets were balanced with an oddly sweet flavor from the broth and meat, kind of like sweet and sour sauce. I throughly enjoyed my cup, though not as much as Ayan enjoyed his bowl.

After Veselka, we met up with some of Jamie's friends and played a little pool. I was extremely sad to say goodbye to those three- they've been awesome friends and coworkers!

The next day, I got up early and took the Long Island Railroad out to Port Jefferson, where Caitlin and Kevin live. The train ride was quite fun, and I got to see a lot of the countryside which was very New Englandy. Lots of hills and forest with quaint little towns tucked into the pockets. I had to switch trains at Hicksville.

Yup, an actual town called Hicksville!

Caitlin picked me up from the Port George station and then took me to lunch with her friend Adrienne. Afterward, she took me on a tour of Stony Brook and particularly the theatre department. She's currently working on her Master's in Dramaturgy, which something I'm certainly looking at attaining. We met up with her husband Kevin that night and went to dinner before heading back to their apartment for game night. Kevin's game nights were some of the highlights of my time at Baylor, so needless to say, I was quite excited. We picked up the tradition double-stuffed E-fudge cookies and then played Muchkin- an RPG game that makes fun of RPG games.

Caitlin, their friend Joe, Kevin, and Munchkin!

I got back yesterday afternoon and immediately began packing up. Around 8:00, I headed out to Queens for a Christmas party with some ol' theatre pals: Haley, Blair, John, Audra, and Haley's friends Luke and Meredith. We all brought finger foods, and Blair, being the amazing cook she is, made lamb and potatoes. Yum!


Today I finished packing and cleaning and am about to head out for the rest of my Christmas shopping! I'll try and update once more with pictures from Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, etc.

Over and out.

So close

Alright folks, I'm in my final days as a NYC resident (at least for now). My schedule is freakin' awesome though:

Tonight (Wed): Final 7:00-???, afterward is the traditional karaoke party in Little Italy

Thursday: Ice skating in Bryant Park whenever I wake up and get ready, last-minute Christmas shopping, meeting up with my Teatown pals for Ukranian food and drinks.

Friday: Taking the Long Island Rail Road to Stonybrook where I'll meet up with Caitlin and Kevin, sit in on a grad class, go to a play reading, and catch up with them

Saturday: Take the LIRR back to the city where I'll start packing up. Later that night, I may be going to a Christmas shindig with all my theatre alumni friends who are still here.

Sunday: Pack, clean, enjoy my last day in Brooklyn, maybe get dinner with Mary and Haley.

Monday: My plane takes off around 10 and I'm home in Waco by 4:30.

Wow. It's ending very very quickly! I'm glad to be going home, but I'm sure in a few weeks I'll be missing city life and my friends here. I'll try and update at least once more with pictures of NYC decked out for Christmas! See you soon!

Let me introduce my new boyfriend, Mac.

Yesterday was my last day at work, so I celebrated my going out and buying a new MacBook afterward! :) I went to the big glass Apple Store on 5th Avenue which cram-packed with holiday shoppers. The store is amazing though- there were long tables filled with people taking a photoshop tutorial from a MacGenius, dozens test-driving the new MacBook and MacBook pro, and of course many more looking at ipods, iphones, printers, etc. It is MacHeaven. Anyway, I went over the the Concierge who signed me in for my appointment. That's right- you can make an appointment to have a one-on-one session with an Apple Employee who's working up to be a MacGenius. My guy was quite nice and showed me the different features of the MacBook and seriously discussed the benefits of it over the MacBook white. He had just bought his own new MacBook last week and thus had no problem convincing me. At this point, it helped that my friend Ayan from work showed up and soothed any qualms I had by his awe of the metallic sleekness of the product...My Apple Employee helped me install Microsoft Word, gave me his business card, and off I went! It's quite nice- miles faster, sleeker, and much more durable than my PowerBook. Yup- I'm in love :)

Reflection

I'm taking a page out of Lauren's...blog ;) and listing a few things I'm thankful for:

Wonderful brothers, sisters-in-law that couldn't be better, kind and generous parents, a smart and adorable new nephew, cold weather that makes your nose red, warm coats, fun hats, a snuggly blanket, good books, art, friends, easy travel that allows me to see those dearest to me, crackling fires, playful cats, crunching leaves, mashed potatoes, hershey bar pie, big hugs, and street musicians.

Theatrical indulgence :)

So Meredith (my good friend from theatre) left New York a week or two ago, and I haven't been doing many fun things on the weekend since. It's just hard going to shows or nice restaurants by yourself. Not that I don't have lovely people from the program to go out with, but they aren't really interested in play or theatre-type things. So yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet, pull myself together, and go see a show.

Immediately following work, I hurried across the street and huddled in front of the new TKTS booth (half price on day-of tickets) and finally decided to see The Seagull by Chekov. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Chekov-- I found The Cherry Orchard a bit dry. However, I decided to take a chance and see it anyway. I'm so glad I did, because it was fantastic! As it turned out, Mackenzie Crook (Gareth from the BBC Office and the wooden-eyed pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean) played the lead (Konstantin) and Kristin Scott Thomas played his mother (Arkadina). Crook was pretty good, but Thomas was amazing! Such a wonderful performance!

The play was 3 hours long, and afterward I stood in front of the theatre pondering whether to stand by the stage door or not. 3 or 4 other brave souls were baring the cold, so I went over and joined them for a bit. Mackenzie Crook was one of the first ones out and was about to leave but looked over at us. I gave a big smile and said "hello" so he came on over and signed all our playbills and encouraged us to go get warm somewhere. He was very nice and even more thin than I thought he'd be! A few more cast members came out and signed and then Kristin Scott Thomas who also told us to go and get a warm drink somewhere. I took her advice and left as I was freezing! However, I now have an awesome playbill:


This morning, one of my friend knocked on my door and informed me the post had just arrived, and she'd seen a package for me. I ran downstairs and lo and behold:


I dressed and donned my new shoes before heading to the outdoor market. I picked up pumpernickel raisin bread and chocolate-covered almonds to bring to Thanksgiving as well as a few more odds and ends.


Now it's time to hit the books and write another paper. Major senioritis is beginning to hit...I really just want to go ice skating...

Subway

Today I was running errands around town for my boss. I dashed onto the 1 train for one short stop and sat down in a nearly-empty car. Across from me, a small old man was pouring over a charcoal drawing he was creating of a girl sitting a few seats down from me. The man looked like he might have been either homeless or very poor, as his clothes were patched and he only had a stump of charcoal pencil and a few random sheets of paper. He had such a quiet dignity while delicately shading in the girl's face. I've gotten New York-ish in that I usually don't talk to strangers while travelling, but I couldn't help exclaiming how fantastic his sketching was. The girl just smiled and said he started it 2 or 3 stops ago after asking her permission. Once we reached my stop (and the girl's too) he carefully folded another sheet of precious paper on top of it (I think he got it from an office, as there were graphs on the back) so it wouldn't smudge. I hope I see him again. I want to take him some more paper.

It's the Final Countdown

So yesterday marked one month until I leave NYC to head home to Texas. I think it's time to make a list of things I still need to do/see! Here's what I have so far, please feel free to comment **coughcough** with more suggestions. :)

Spend an afternoon ice skating in either Central Park, Bryant Park, or Rockefeller Center.

Take the boat ride out to Statue of Liberty.

Visit McGee's (the bar from How I Met Your Mother).

Go up to the Bronx, just so I can say I've been there.

Go to Staten Island...because who visits Staten Island?

Play the keyboard from Big at that huge toy store I can't remember the name of.

Ride the Roosevelt Island tram.

See the Seinfeld restaurant.

Enjoy at least one more non-Disney Broadway show! :)

Converse, I salute you

"Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. You have been the one for me..."

As aptly quoted by Michael Scott, I must now say goodbye to you my low-top, size 8, black-and-white converse. You have been good to me. Withstanding numerous nights out with friends, crew calls, evenings backstage during theatre performances, and campus walks, you have provided my feet with ample support and nostalgic style. For this I thank you, but now must humbly order another pair to succeed you. Even as I say goodbye, I am yet certain your scent will linger in my shoe drawer for weeks to come.

R. I. P. 11/15/2008

Official New Yorker

"NEW YORK - A highly contagious stomach flu is circulating through New York City.

The Health Department has issued a statement reporting that visits to the city's hospital emergency rooms have increased by 19 percent over the past two weeks, to about 400 a day.

The stomach flu is caused by a norovirus infection that is prevalent in late fall and winter. Health officials say the good news is that norovirus infections are usually not serious and most people recover within a few days. "



Well, dear readers, this makes me an official New Yorker! I came home an hour early from work yesterday and was the sickest I've been since elementary school :P Fortunately, I have lovely friends- Artie brought me soda and Lauren brought me crackers and medicine. I'm feeling a lot perkier this morning but am planning on staying in and napping or reading. At least I'm getting it now and not right before Thanksgiving though!

Plugging along

Okay, I need to stop thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas because it's making me more and more homesick! I've already started buying Christmas presents, simply because it makes it feel closer :) Work doesn't help either, because we have 3 new clients- one is going to Texas next week, the other is from Dallas, and the third has actually been to Baylor. Wow.

2 weeks and 2 papers to get through before I'm in Boston...

By the way, here's a pic of me and my roommate Lauren. I realized we haven't taken a picture together, so we quickly solved that problem:

Do the Monster Mash

Halloween was an experience! I didn't want to go out and buy anything, because a) everything here is overpriced and b) by the time I thought about a costume, there were lines outside of all the costume shops. Oy. Anyway, I ended up just using what I had here (which isn't a whole lot) and went as a gothic zombie thing. Basically, I wore my black "leather" boots, black tights, a dark dress, and contoured my face to hollow it out (yay theatre makeup experience!). I set out to the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade by myself and was immediately overwhelmed by the sea of funky people when I got out of the subway. It wasn't until that moment, that I realized how many people lived in New York City, because half of them were right there. Consequently, it was hard to see the parade because of all the people! I saw a few cool things like giant skeleton marionettes with the wearers manipulating the arms and heads. My favorite was a group of 5 or 6 people who made 15 foot wings made of different shiny materials. They were doing a synchronized dance while they went down the street which was awesome! You can kinda see it in this picture:


I quickly got tired of wading through the crowds and met up with Artie and Navine at a club by Union Square. A handful of other people from the group met up with us a little later and we had a nice time dancing and having a few drinks. By midnight, I was dead tired and completely done with large groups of people. Artie and I went back to Brooklyn and that was my Halloween!

Artie and I making our "I'm a monster!" face:


Today was perfect. I woke up late and went to brunch at Clark's cafe across the street with my roommate Lauren, Erica, Janelle, and Roberta. We all got huge breakfasts of waffles, bacon, ham, and eggs and it was delicious! Afterward, I set off on my own to go to the Trader Joe's. We have a brand new one a 10 minute walk away and it's the coolest place! The ceilings must be 30 feet tall with huge windows and a chandelier (it looks kinda like a small Grand Central station actually). Anyway, a lot of the foods are organic (which I don't care that much about). However, all of it is tasted by the company first, and they only sell the products they actually like. Consequently, everything I've bought there is delicious! For instance, today I got dark chocolate almonds. The chocolate is some of the best I've had and the almonds are ginormous! Afterward, I just walked around the area for an hours or so and took a few pictures. There is mostly pedestrian traffic in the historic downtown area, and the streets had that quiet clearness caused by the fall weather. I got back, put away my groceries, turned the AC on high, and curled up beneath my fleece blanket for a nap :) Tomorrow I must do homework, but today was well worth it!
The Brooklyn Courthouse:


View all the way to one of the bridges:


Starting to get some lovely fall foliage:


Here's what I'm really looking forward to:
Thanksgiving with Nate, Lauren, Noah, Mama, Papa, and maybe Andrew(?)
Christmas Eve: Putting together puzzles, playing Carcassan or Settlers of Catan, watching A Christmas Story and White Christmas, stuffing stockings, and most importantly seeing all my siblings at once :)

Yay! Big update time :)

Jordan and Ginnie came and visited us last week and we had a fantastic time! I don't quite recall the order we did everything in, but we saw The 39 Steps together one evening. It's a melodrama by Alfred Hitchcock and is pretty dang funny. They had a lot of sight gags that were extremely creative, and I think the two chorus guys played around 20 characters! We also went to Serendipity where we enjoyed the famous frozen hot chocolate and a variety of sundaes. Another evening we went to Dyllan's Candy Bar where we ran into Mary and John Michael (Baylor Theatre pals).
Their last day here, Ginnie decided to go see In the Heights (which won best musical at last year's Tony Awards) while Jordan and I saw Chicago. It was surprisingly a good bit different from the movie. However, Cellblock Tango and Razzle Dazzle 'Em were outstanding. I'm glad we saw it! Afterward, we met up with Artie and walked around midtown together. We randomly found a wonderful soap store that had the best scented soap I've ever smelled as well as body scrubs, perfume, etc. Everything is homemade in Israel and then shipped straight to the store. They have huge blocks of bar soap with a list of ingredients and effects. I bought a chunk made with avocado and olive oil that smells fantastic and is supposed to be an intense skin moisturizer. Christmas presents anyone? :) Anyway, afterward we got PinkBerry's (an awesome frozen yogurt place) and sat and chatted for a while about college, work, the future, etc. It was awful nice just to sit with good old friends for a while. And that was that. It was much harder to say goodbye than I thought it would be.

This past Sunday I went to All Angels, and Episcopal church my RA attends. Janelle, Sarah, and I all went and it was phenomenal. The church itself is very simple-- it has wooden floors, cream walls, diamond-paned windows and a simple cross that matches the floorboards. That's kind of how the church personality is too-- simple, clean, and pretty. They have the traditional scripture reading, old hymn, and the Lord's Supper, but also have a modern praise team intermixed. The Sunday I went, they even have a female church leader share the message. I really enjoyed it, and the people were extremely friendly without being pushy. I'll certainly go again.
When church was out, Sarah, Janelle, and I went to Central Park and ate lunch by the lake. When we finished, we walked some of the trails and saw some pretty spectacular scenery. I need to get in the habit of taking my camera more so I can post some pictures! Oh, here's one Janelle posted of facebook:

This was a tough week at work. It's hard working with some of the people there...they're just not very understanding and yet are extraordinarily driven. It's a blame game when things go wrong...Based on what I've experienced, New Yorkers are workaholics and yet most don't even enjoy their jobs. I'm ready to move on to something else. At least I'm learning what I do want from a job by being shown what I don't want though. Only 5 weeks left.

Southern Hospitality

Sorry for the long wait for an update! I'll definitely post a good long one sometime this week. However, for now I'd like to share a discovery I recently had: I'm a Southerner. I never really considered myself one, even though I was born and raised there. I don't have much of an accent, think the Confederate flag is a bit trashy for everyday use, and don't drive a pickup truck. However, now that I'm gone, I realize it was an awesome place to live. Little things like the Tex-Mex, good guacamole, fields, quiet, countryside, not waiting in a 20 minute line for everything, a more enjoyable pace to life, non-workaholics, etc. Don't get me wrong- I really enjoy NYC. However, I have come to the realization that I won't live here forever. I might come back after graduation and work for while or go to grad school, but I think home will always be the South.

To be continued...later this week.

Wake me up, before you Gogh Gogh

Quite a good weekend:
Friday night I was completely worn out from the week! However, I grabbed a dinner of pizza and frozen yogurt with some of the other girls on the trip. The venture was especially interesting because 30 Rock was filming by our favorite pizza place just a block or two down the street. They had the streets blocked off, a huge crane with lighting equipment, and a large truck for pedestrians to wait behind while they filmed. We even got to see Tina Fey! After the excitement, I hopped into bed and was asleep by 11.
Saturday, the class went to the MoMA. Special exhibits included Van Gogh and Kirchner. Going into the jam-packed Van Gogh area, I expected Starry Night to by far be the most moving peace. However, I found myself completely in awe of Starry Night over the Rhone. The paint itself is so glossy that it actually looks like the water in the harbor is rippling. Dr. Kickasola has mentioned the issue of "aura", whether there is a difference in seeing an original painting and in seeing a copy on someone's dorm room wall. I'd mentally shrugged it off, but now must admit that seeing the Van Gogh's was simply incredible!.

After the MoMA, I wandered around a street fair with Janelle and Bethany before making my way to Union Square to meet up with Mary. Haley (from Baylor Theatre) invited us over to her place in Queens for dinner and a movie. It's a great thing Mary met me, because I doubt I could have found it without her! Haley's apartment is one of the last stops in Queens, but it's well worth it because it is a gorgeous apartment-- 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den, a kitchen, and hardwood floors. Wow. Haley cooked Mary, Mary's adorable dog Brooklyn, Jenny, Audra, and I a scrumptious dinner of Texas stew followed by blueberry dumplings. Yum. We watched an old Clark Gabel romance and talked about theatre, shows, pets, and how to start a life in New York. It was wonderful.
Today I slept in fairly late since I got back from Queens in the wee hours. I puttered around the apartment for a while cleaning, showering, and watching a few episodes of Freaks and Geeks. Later, Artie and I web-cam chatted with Matthew, Emily, Jordan, and Ginny for quite a bit. I'm so thankful for the techno-magic of Skype! Afterward, I tried working on my paper and succeeded in a little bit of research.

This weeks looks swell! The paper is due Tuesday and I have work all week, but Jordan and Ginny will be getting here on Wednesday. I may skip class on Wed (we get one free) and meet up with them for dinner...I'm really looking forward to showing them around!

Spellbound for horses?

Sorry about the awful title, but....

I saw Equus tonight! Meredith got us awesome tickets- only $60 for orchestra seats to Broadway's hottest play :) Richard Griffiths was fantastic and I was impressed with Daniel Radcliffe. It was definitely not an easy role, but he was quite convincing. Kate Mulgrew (aka Janeway from Voyager) was also solid. The set design and lighting designs were amazing! Also, the nudity scene was really not as big a deal as the media made it. I'm not a huge fan of nudity on stage, but I think the script definitely justified it. Anyway, I was happy to get to see it with the revival's original cast!

It is high time for an update!

I had a terrific trip home this weekend for Megan's wedding. I got in on Friday around 11am and was out running errands by 1. I did some shopping and then stopped by the theatre. That was probably the best part of my trip besides the wedding. I got so many hugs! The new seniors seem to be doing wonderfully and my professors were delighted to see me and asked about the program. I mentioned graduate school to Totie-B and she's wiling to help me with my applications. Anyway, afterward I went to the rehearsal which went quite smoothly. We had dinner afterward at Baris, but by that time I was completely zonked with exhaustion. However, after dinning I swung by the theatre and saw part of their musical Urinetown. I ended up being very glad I did, because it is extremely good. The design are very well constructed, the staging and choreography are great, and the cast could not be better. Well done.

The next morning, I woke up early and went to brunch with some work friends. It was nice catching up with all of them and getting some good home cookin' at Cracker Barrel. Eggs in a basket are divine. Then I went and ran yet more errands before showing up at the zoo to get my hair done around 1.

All of the bridesmaids and Megan just chilled out, chatted, and got ready at our leisure. Megan looked totally gorgeous in her gown and the bridesmaids dresses turned out really well. They were a warm chocolate brown, cocktail length, with bronze beading. The ceremony itself took place on one of the decks at the zoo. There was a lagoon area below with a waterfall in the background and trees hanging over. It was quite pretty.

The reception was at Red Man hall and was lots of fun. There was barbeque, margaritas, and dancing. I left around 11 to go home and pack up to go back to NY!

I think this was the first time I went home on a trip...an odd experience. It was wonderful seeing so many friends though, and I'm delighted that Megan is so happy with JD :)

Working Girl

Here's my bedroom! My bed is the one with the cow reclining on the brown cover. Artie and I were able to find the same cuddly blankets that Matthew and Emily have! They're wonderful :)


Here's a bit of Times Square on the way to my building. I decided not to stop to take one and just took this quick out-of-purse one, because tourists who block the sidewalk and take pictures are really annoying to Times Square business people. You can't imagine how many tourists block entire pathways just to get a "good view" of the M&M jumbo screen...


Oh look! It's my desk!


Lots of papers and sticky notes- must be a busy day! By the way, most of the rooms in our office have nicknames given by Roman (one of the employees). I've been trying to convince him that the front desk should be called The Bridge, since so much information goes through me. I'm campaigning by making sure my desktop and screen saver are Star Trek related.



The lobby area- all of the offices branch off of here. I really like the shades of purple and all the comfy couches.


Lunchtime! That means a trip to my favorite street-meat cart on 45th. Only $4 for salad, rice, meat, and steamed veggies. Yum!


It's Ayan! My favorite (and only) fellow intern. He's sad because he has no work to do . Oh well, he can pretend he's Jim, flirting with Pam on his breaks :)


And last but not least, my plant which keeps me company through the hours spent at Teatown. I think he deserves a name...any ideas?

If only I were Catholic...

...I probably would have worked myself out of a few years of purgatory yesterday ;) Just kidding. Yesterday I served bagels and cream cheese to the Pope's maestro. He's the first person to be knighted by a pope since Mozart- pretty cool! I think he thinks so too.
I told Artie about this, and he claims that in one swoop I worked my way up to a golden scooter with a Jesus bumper sticker in heaven. Heck yes.

Let's see, it's been a busy week. Work has started picking up a bit, but I'm feeling a little bit better about my competence. There's still a lot to remember and get used to, but it's slowly clicking.

Our class pitched our ideas to Animal Planet yesterday, and it went quite well! The Creative Direct was so gracious. She listened to all of our ideas, gave us all feedback, said our pitches were just as good as professional ones, and that she'd be in contact if they wanted to use any. Then she pulled out awesome super-soft t-shirts for everybody :)

I bought my plane tickets for Texas this week and am getting quite excited about going home for a weekend! Megan's wedding is going to be a blast, and I'm looking forward to seeing some theatre friends and old work friends.

I'm taking my camera to work today, so hopefully I'll get a few pictures of my work and Times Square for ya'll!

"The world is round. Get over it!" -- Violet Weston (August: O'Sage County)

I saw August: O'Sage County last night with Meredith. It won the Tony award last year for Best New Play, and it completely deserved it! It's probably the best thing I've ever seen. It's an extremely dark comedy about a family that literally has you laughing and crying at the same time. So good.

Shows I need to see:
The Seagull
Hedda Gabbler
Equus(?)
A Man for All Seasons

It's awesome- Broadway is reviving all these old plays I studied the past couple years in school!

Huzzah!

The opthamologist turned out to be excellent! He thinks my persistant redness is an allergic reaction to the medicated drops I was taking for conjunctivitis as well as possible seasonal allergies. He gave me new drops to soothe my eyes, and I should be fine in 2 weeks at most. Yay! I'm relieved :)

Dr. Terror

Tomorrow is the big appointment with the opthamologist...

on the bright side, I'll finally find out why my eyes have been red for almost a month...on the dark side, what if I have a serious eye condition??...on the bright side I will probably be offered a solution to said condition...on the dark side, what if it involves surgery??

I honestly shouldn't be worried. My vision is fine, my eyes clear up for a few hours when I put drops in, and they're not even gross and gunky...still...

Just a small taste of what is running in my overly-dramatic mind right now. Sigh. It stinks going to a new doctor in a new city in a new state by yourself for the first time. I just have to remind myself that I'm an adult now. I can do this.

So please say a prayer for my hypocondriactic self (however it's spelled)!

Whoops! Apparently my blog wasn't allowing non-bloggers to post. Hopefully, I just fixed that problem :)

Anyway, the past few days have been fantastic!

Yesterday, I went to church at Redeemer and thoroughly enjoyed the pastor's talk on the Benediction. The people seemed quite friendly and there were many my age.
I spent most of the day reading and running errands. There's a kick-butt used bookstore across the street from a Starbucks not three blocks from me! I picked up a Paula Vogel play and some Chekov for only $4! For both!

Later in the evening, Artie and I were both bored but couldn't think of anything to do before bed. So, we ended up knocking on Chris's door and running away. After our second attempt at annoying him, he came out after us. We ended up talking in the hall for a bit with some other Baylor peeps when somehow yodeling came up. Chris entranced us all with a short display of said talent, complete with jumping and leg slapping. See, Chris is Austrian and it seems he has many odd and random talents including cow tipping, he informs us. We've been joking that Chris is a bad "father" to us because he's not at the dorm with us very often. To make up for this, Chris plunged into his room saying that "daddy was going to reward his kids" and came out moments later singing and dancing and playing an accordion! He serenaded us for 20 minutes or so while heads kept popping out of doors all the way down the hallway to see what the commotion was about. That was definitely the funniest moment yet on the trip!

Today was a normal, busy day at work. I learned about certified mail and return receipts and spent a good deal of time calling Verizon to come fix our phone lines. After work though, Meredith gave me a call because she was temping just down the street! We met up and went back to Brooklyn where I showed her my apartment, went to an awesome burger place, and then went and chatted at the promenade. I love that girl- it's helped so much having her and Artie around. Just plain good friends I feel completely comfortable around :)

Alrighty, time for homework and bed.

Weekend Adventure

Today was exactly what I needed!

I woke up around 10 this morning to sunlight pouring over my bed. I actually got up before my alarm, which is always nice because it's just so much more peaceful.

Anyway, we had a class-required field trip at PS1 (an extension of the Museum of Modern Art in Queens)from 12-3. It turned out to be pretty fun! The exhibits are a bit beyond post-modern art, and may be the next artistic phase that they haven't come up with a name for yet. It's very experiential.

My favorites were called "Beauty" and "Take Your Time". When you enter "Beauty" it looks like you're entering a pitch-black room. However, after turning a corner, you're struck with a gorgeous rainbow across the center of the room. Misters are set up in the ceiling with a light flowing through it. It makes a rolling, flame-like rainbow. You can walk in it, blow on it, etc. Very cool. "Take Your Time" is a large empty room with a wooden floor and a glass ceiling. You can lie down and look up to see yourself, but then realize that the mirror is actually rotating. Once you get used to it, you start noticing that the edges are slightly warped and it looks like there are ripples in the world. It's probably the closest you'll get to an out-of-body experience, but is surprisingly peaceful!

After PS1, a bunch of us walked down to the East River with Joe to see the junk ships. These are a handful of boats a few artists built from recycled materials and have been sailing around Manhattan. They're pretty hilarious looking, though some are actually livable! One in particular seemed like a floating tree house.

I was exhausted by the time we got back from the museum and lunch, so I took a nice long 2 hour nap. When I woke up, Caroline and I went to my favorite cupcake place which I was introduced to back in June. I ended up buying half a dozen and bringing them back to the St. George in order to create new addicts in the group ;) My favorite is called Ooey-Gooey and is dark chocolate with almond frosting. Yummy!

Now I am off to bed! I borrowed a few plays from my RA Chris so I'm going to indulge myself with one for a bit. Goodnight!

Oh, and Lauren- I'll buy some batteries for my camera tomorrow and try and post a few pictures.

7th Anniversary

I got on the 2-3 this morning wondering what to expect from today. There were a lot less people on the subway- pretty much everyone had a seat, which never happens 7-9 on a week day. When I got off at Times Square though, things were just as boisterous as usual. Tourists walking into the middle of the street to take pictures of the huge M&M characters while angry taxi drivers cussed a blue streak at them.

Work was typical- I mailed a lot of things, ran some errands, and started looking over a company proposal.

After work though, I struck out on my own and decided to take the R close to the WTC. When I got out, the sun was beginning to set and I could already hear bagpipes. Almost everyone in the street was heading the same direction. Soon we reached the surrounding buildings where flags were draped everywhere and it was extremely quiet. I reached a side street and looked down to see perhaps a hundred men in pure Highland garb warming up their bagpipes. Dozens of firemen in uniform were milling around while others took pictures and some just stood and watched. I shouldered my way through and found the street strung with huge banners with all the names of the people who died, places to write messages, flowers, and flags with badges pinned to them. The pipers began and people cheered while they marched down the narrow path. The street went up to one of the gates leading into ground zero before veering down another side street. They paraded up and down and then stood still to play"America" and "Amazing Grace."

After the moment of silence, I walked on and around most of the area. People were lined up everywhere to look at the site, and almost all were utterly silent. Again, flowers and pictures were threaded through the gates. By this time, the sun had set and the beacon lights had been lit. They're actually a block or two down the street from the WTC, but I walked down as close as I could. It's extremely impressive- perhaps 30 lights are arranged in each of two circles on the top of a large parking garage. The beams shoot incredibly far up and are a gorgeous pure blue. I meandered around for a while and then came back home.

Joe said we should try and take part today, because it's like nothing else--he was right.

The dread pirate ship "Fedex"

This morning I had the strange experience of walking to work through Times Square (my office is just off of 46th and 6 Ave) and seeing Good Morning America live on one of the ginormous tvs, before looking over to my right and seeing Good Morning America filming a few feet away. Only in New York?

Today I took my few first stumbling steps into the shipping world. Believe it or not, I've never had to mail anything besides a letter before. I normally order things on line and automatically ship it to where I want to go. Today however, I learned the difference between a letter, large envelope, parcel, and large parcel according to USPS. I also learned how to print out FedEx labels online and how to call for a bike messenger in NYC. It's been a big day. :)

Feeling adventurous at lunch after my battle with the USPS website, I tried my first meal of street meat. I've eaten the odd hot dog and pretzel, but have never had the courage to buy a full-on mess of who-knows-what. The Times Square area is full of these tiny tin carts, billowing out meaty smoke, with bright signs bosting the best gyro this side of Broadway. Despite my qualms, the meal I was served was absolutley delicious! Yellow rice, jalapeños, chicken meat, gyro meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and white sauce mixed together made the best and cheapest ($4!) meal I've had thus far. Yum.

The Creative Director of Animal Planet spoke to us during class today, and it was incredible! Alexis spoke at length about how she got where she is today- a Christian and a highly successful artist. It was encouraging to hear how God drew out gifts she had no idea she posessed and took her to the most random places and jobs. She said that everytime she thought she was making a huge mistake, she found that it turned out to be the best choice. For instance- right out of graduate school, she decided to move to Russia for a few months. She ended up staying there for 8 years and working in film (which she had no background in). I mentally realize that God is directing me and has a plan. However, it's comforting to hear from someone who has experience that it can seem like the plan is crazy and failing, but God still has it in control. Thank goodness, because I certainly don't! :) Anyway, our class is working on a project with Alexis and Animal Planet that has to do with some of their new shows. Exciting!

Italians, Internships, and Infections of the eye

Welcome to my blog everyone! I decided since all my siblings are now in different states or different countries, I should keep up a blog in order to share my happenings. So, I'll do a quick update on the past 3 weeks and then hopefully will update regularly :)

I finally got to New York on August 25, after a slightly stressful day. I was supposed to leave earlier that morning, but had been struggling with an eye infection and woke up to discover it had traveled to the other eye. However, another bottle of medicine was ordered, I was able to move my flight back a few hours, and safely arrived late that evening.

I stayed the week with Meredith, one of my great friends from theatre. The second night, we saw [title of show], an extremely witty musical about two guys writing a musical. The two writers do in fact play the two main characters. It's terrific!

My internship at Teatown started on the 27th, and has been going pretty well so far. I'm basically the receptionist and do most of the duties done by Pam in The Office. However, my company is also working on a few screenplays, so I've gotten to read and help edit/give creative input. There's one more intern named Ayan and he and I get along great. He also watches The Office, Arrested Development, and Project Runway! :)

The next weekend, I moved back to Brooklyn Heights (where I lived in June) and helped Chris (my RA from the summer) get things ready for the other students. All 17 arrived the next day including my awesome roommate Lauren and Artie (a very good friend from Baylor).

Monday was Labor Day, so Artie and I went exploring. First, we went to the West African America Day Parade. There were people everywhere, with guys selling Jamaican flags and whistles, a few homemade floats, cooks selling chicken and rice, loud music, etc. We ate lunch there and then went on to find Artie's office in Manhattan. It turned out to be extremely close to the Empire State Building, so we went ahead and bought tickets to the top. It was amazing! I didn't do it the last time I was here because the tickets are kinda expensive, but it was well worth it. The day was extremely clear, so we could see quite far.

The next week was the first week of class in addition to my internship. We meet Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 7-10, so those days are a bit of a marathon. The classes are quite interesting though: Communication and Culture, and Art and Mass Media. Joe (my professor) has also included a lot of field trips and guest speakers to keep things lively.

This weekend, the entire Baylor group decided to go to a karaoke bar in Little Italy. That place had no idea what was coming...it was completely empty when we got there, and by the time we left, having spent an hour singing country songs in dedication to our beloved state, it was packed full. Artie and I had a pretty sweet rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. The bartender seemed eager to have us back again :)

I met up with Meredith the next day and went to the Museum of Natural History. We only went through about half of the exhibits before we glazed over a bit from all the information and displays, but it was fantastic. The dinosaur exhibit, in particular, was quite enjoyable. Afterward, we shopped around Union Square and then had dinner at a cute diner Mer really likes.

Yesterday I was back at work, and today I'm stuck at home with a recurrence of the lame eye infection. I'm a bit worried since I'm away from home with this, so prayers would be much appreciated!

More to come!