Filed under: Goodbye
It feels strange to say this, but this is my last post about New York while I am in New York. I fly out tomorrow at 8 a.m. from JFK and I will touch down in SeaTac at 11 a.m. I can tell having the summer off from school has rotted my brain, because I first thought it was only a three-hour flight. Then I remembered this fandangled thing called “time zones” and that I will need to bring enough reading material for six hours.My camera and such is packed away so I will have to update with final pictures when I am home. Not like you guys only read this for the pictures…right? Here is a recap of my last few CRAZY days in NYC:
Wendesday For the last week I have been feeling a bit under the weather. Orientation Week left me exhausted, and I am sure walking the length of Manhattan didn’t help, either. On Tuesday I started to get very bad stomach cramps and by Wednesday morning I was feeling very lethargic and nauseous. My boss told me to go home and rest and a few hours later Regina came by my room to check on me and decided I should go to the Health Center at the university (yes, even though this is a medical school at a hospital, they have their very own health center!). The doctor told me I should go to the ER instead because I had exhaustion (who am I, Lindsay Lohan?) and I was dehydrated. I apparently contracted some viral disease from all the new students who moved in on campus and so I needed some rest and some IV treatment. I spent six hours with an IV drip. My staff came by to say hello and keep me company, which was very sweet. I felt better by the time I was released that night and I have just been keeping up with the fluids and eating pretty much just oatmeal, bananas, and crackers.
Thursday The next day I had my going away party at Student Life. Meg ordered food and we took a staff picture and I had to say goodbye to everyone. I know it seems like I haven’t been having the best time in New York, but I have really grown quite attached to the people here. I decided early-on with this blog not to write about my internship or work (it’s just a little unprofessional), but I am leaving behind some very wonderful people who have made a very big impact on me. The ladies in the Student Center (Meg, Marilyn, Regina and Stacy) were my saviors this summer. I absolutely adore them and I know we will be in touch through the years (especially when it comes time for me to apply to higher education grad programs!).
Anyways, at the end of my party, Meg hands me a blue box with a white bow on it. Yes, the blue box. From Tiffany & Co. Inside was a beautiful silver heart necklace. From Tiffany’s. I couldn’t believe it! It is just too beautiful. I was expecting, like, a card signed by the staff and maybe a hug or two, but not a necklace from Tiffany’s! Wow!
Friday Today I went into Manhattan for gifts for friends, family and my staff next year. I went to Times Square (the best place next to Chinatown for New York memorabilia) and got some nice postcards, magnets, etc. Then I walked uptown to the Upper West Side and stopped in a deli for lunch. And you will never believe who was in line in front of me- Jay-Z! (Jay-Z is a very famous rap artist and hip hop legend). He was there with some other intimidating-looking dudes (body guards? friends?) who were telling several other deli patrons not to take pictures, but I was able to politely introduce myself to Jay-Z and tell him I am a big fan of his music and that I thought he was brilliant. He smiled and said, “B, thank you. You’re beautiful” and gave me a hug! I almost passed out! He bought his sandwich and left in a black SUV. Ah!
That brings my celebrity encounter list this summer to a grand total of six (Donald Trump, Conan O’Brien, Liev Schriber, Uma Thurman, Kevin Smith, and Jay-Z). Not too shabby!
I am sure I will have more to say about my trip when I return home to Washington. It is going to be very strange to not live here anymore. To not ride the subway. To not hear ambulances go by all night. To not have humidity. To not hear reggae when I walk down the street. Yes, strange, strange indeed. I have hated and loathed this city, but I have also loved and admired it. I remember my first night here, sitting in my room with my suitcases still not unpacked, starring out the window in amazement and anxiety. It looked so big, so massive, so impossible. And today as I walked around midtown, I felt triumphant. I did it; I survived the city (and Flatbush) for three months. A small accomplishment for many, I’m sure, but to me it feels significant. This was my first real summer away from home (I go to college two hours away from home with my older sister) and so I am proud that I took a chance and came here and lived here and experienced here. I think I made the most of it and I learned a lot about the city life, New Yorkers, and myself.
So it is with both a heavy heart and a happy one that I say goodbye New York, goodbye Brooklyn. It’s been a laugh.
Filed under: Week 10
My final weekend in New York City. What did I do? Nothing. I went to the bookstore and read in the cafe, I did some preliminary packing, and I lazed about in my pajamas. To most, it might sound like I squandered away my last free days in the city, but I thought it was most enjoyable. The weather is preparing me for my return to Washington; it has been overcast and raining all weekend.I am delighted that I only have four more days of my internship (Thursday is my last day and I depart Saturday morning). Make that three and a half. I have finished most of my projects and I just had some loose ends to tie up. Nothing too stressful before I fly home (I should save my stress quota anyways for the airport secuirty lines!). The ladies at Student Life are throwing me a going away party on Thursday, which is sweet. I will miss those ladies. They have taken care of me this summer and it will be strange not stopping by every day for my 2 p.m. handful of peanut M & Ms and office gossip. Sigh.But the flip side is that I am returning to Washington, to my family, friends, and cat (I wonder if Wilma missed me). I am very excited for RA training to begin- my new staff is amazing and I love where I will be living in Buchanan Towers. My future RD has asked me if I want to help her with in-hall training and I am psyched. This year I am looking for any opportunity to gain more experience for graduate school. I am thankful this summer to establish a good relationship with my supervisors so I will have even more letters of reference for my grad school applications.
I arrive at SeaTac at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Aly and Nick will be there to pick me up (knock on wood). Then I will be whisked away to my hometown of Silverdale, Washington, for the weekend to see Mom and maybe Chris if he can pry himself away from his girlfriend. I don’t know what the agenda is, but I would like to relax, catch up, watch Project Runway with the fam, and do several loads of laundry. On Monday afternoon Nick, Aly and I head back to Bellingham. We plan to stop at the outlet mall on the way there because I would like to buy a nice pair of running shoes. And a pair of puddle-jumping rain boots, if I can. That will be my big splurge of the summer (all the costs I’ve incurred here have been little things like subway fare that has really added up over the months).
Resident Advisor training starts on Sept. 12 and I move into BT on the 11th, bright and early in the morning. I am excited to unpack and set up my room and reunite with old friends. If anyone will be in Bellingham between the 5th and 11th, call me on my cell and maybe we can see a movie or go for coffee. I will be bored during the week before doing door decs and preparing for the fantastic year ahead of me.
Also, I am creating a blog for my senior year of college. I have found this blog to be very helpful in keeping in touch with family and relatives and I enjoy having a space to reflect on my life. My senior year is going to be full of grad school and graduation madness, and hopefully, fun. I will post the new blog address later this week.
Filed under: Week 10
Okay, I know. I know. I’m late. I should’ve wrote this post a week ago. And I should have wrote many other posts throughout the week to go with it, seeing as I only have one meager week left here in Brooklyn.Last weekend I did in fact accomplish my summer goal of walking the entire length of Manhattan island. Yes, that is right, I walked 14 miles, 230 blocks, and for six hours just to say I did. Ignoring all conventional wisdom, advice from my family and friends, and the little voice in my head telling me not to, I began my journey…
10:05 a.m. I embark on my quest. I walk about a half a block before realizing I’ve forgotten my sunglasses and ID card needed to get into the building after I return. I rush back to my room, scouring my room for these two artifacts. I only manage to find my sunglasses and decide I better just hope the door is open when I get home in the evening. I leave again.
10:28 a.m. I arrive at Winthrop Station and wait in the disgusting heat waiting for the Manhattan-bound 2 train. My face drips with sweat, which I partly attribute to the sauana-like conditions of the underground subway and partly also to my fear of what lies ahead: an hour long subway, two transfers, 85 degree heat, and 14 miles of walking. Is it too late to turn back now? Well, I already paid $2 for the subway so I decide to press on. 10:36 a.m. I am still waiting for the train. It occurs to me that the subway is a lot like hell: both are hot, humid, underground, and full of bad people. A few minutes later the train arrives.
11:11 a.m. I transfer to the A Train, also known as the Smelliest Train in the City.
11:53 a.m. I arrive at the 207 Street station, the last station. It hits me then that I will be walking more than 207 blocks (for those who are not familiar, the “grid” system starts at 14th Street and ends at 207th Street. Lower Manhattan is just a confusing maze of streets. It just does its own thing). I have to walk up another 20 blocks north to reach the top of Manhattan, so I do.
12:05 a.m. So far, upper- upper Manhattan is nothing to brag about. It’s quiet and looks a lot like Brooklyn. Two Hispanic men start to sexually harrass me in Espanol and I reach back to my two years of Spanish in college to tell them to knock it off (or maybe eat thier vegetables, I’m not sure, it’s been awhile). Washington Heights (upper Manhattan) has a huge Hispanic population, I learn today.
12:35 a.m. I enter Fort Tyndon Park, the start of famed Riverside Drive.
12:42 a.m. I have to use the restroom.
12:47 a.m. I encounter my first hill. I also encounter my first thoughts of quitting. It’s hot and so far I haven’t seen anything of interest, just rows of bodegas and laundromats. If I wanted to see that, I should’ve stayed in Flatbush.
1:05 a.m. I decide not to quit and I buy an energy bar at a Key Foods. Something tells me I will need all the engery I can get.
1:30 a.m. I pass 161st street and I feel somewhat accomplished. Only, you know, 161 blocks left.
2:00 p.m. I arrive at Grant’s Tomb. It’s quiet and pigeons are everywhere. It’s a very nice monument and I start to plan in my head how I might get myself a monument of my own when I pass…
2:40 p.m. I arrive at Tom’s Restaurant (of Seinfeld fame) for lunch. I call Nick while eating an egg-white omelet and toast. My feet welcome the thirty minute rest. The inside of the diner looks nothing like it does on Seinfeld, but the food is good. For a diner.
3:11 p.m. I stop in a Duane Reed Drugstore for some agua. A security guard approaches me and asks me if I am Polish. I say that I am not and he continues to tell me I look Polish and he’s seen other Polish people in the city and they look like me. Polish people aren’t know for their breathtaking beauty, so I nod politely and buy my water and leave.
Others have tried to make the same journey before me but only the strong survive…
3:27 p.m. For the first time in this trip I have to re-tie my shoelaces. I made it 150+ blocks without my shoe coming untied. I feel accomplished.
4:00 p.m. My fellow pedestrians I notice are starting to get more handsome and well-dressed. I must be in Chelsea.
4:30 p.m. I encounter some wildlife and almost get eaten by a shark! Whew, that was a close one!
5:15 p.m. I have reached the end of the grid system. Now it’s up to me and my trusty map to navigate through Greenwich Village on the last stretch of my journey.
6:00 p.m. Help, I’m lost! The streets keep turning east and west and sending me in every direction but south, prolounging my journey’s end. I finally find Broadway and decide it’s my only hope…
6:13 p.m. I get asked for directions from a tourist and I actually know the answer! I send him to Bleeker Street, feeling smug and proud.
7:15 p.m. I did it! I finish at Battery Park City on the very southern tip of Manhattan. I would like to dedicate my trek to my loyal green tennis shoes, who have had a very tough summer in New York City. I never could have done this without you.
7:30 p.m. I enjoy the scenery before hopping on the train home to Brooklyn.
Goodnight.
Filed under: Week 10
The boat cruise last night was so, so glorious. It was a perfect evening- great weather, good friends, and one heck of a view. We boarded the Circle Line boat around 6:30 p.m. and sailed around for a good three hours, passing by the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Jersey and Manhattan skyline along the way. The view was breathtaking and being on the water reminded me of taking a ferry ride in Seattle.
Warning: Images may make you want to buy a plane ticket to New York City. View at your own risk.
Filed under: Week 10
Today is the last day of this Orientation of epic proportions. I am beat. My day pretty much starts at 7:30 a.m. and I run around all day getting this and that, herding students into auditoriums, serving food (I’ve been promoted to the kosher table!), answering questions, decorating for social events, and much more scut work. Around 7 p.m. we have social events for the students (luaus, dinners, dances) and I usually escape to the gym to go running before coming back and helping the staff take everything down. Tonight will be the longest night yet- after the White Coat Ceremony (a formal ceremony in which the students take the Hippocratic Oath and receive their first white coat) everyone boards a boat to take us around the island of Manhattan. I anticipate that I will get many, many pictures tonight to post and of course I will share them with you all!
Filed under: Week 10
This is the most hectic week of my young life! It’s Orientation Week (yes, a full week!) for new students to SUNY Downstate, and I am one of the coordinators, so I have been hustling and bustling. I haven’t had a day off since the 5th of August, and I’ve been working 12-14 hour days! Thankfully it will all be over on Friday, but until then, I am enjoying welcoming the new medical students (who all look half-excited, half-scared-out-of-their-minds) to Brooklyn. It wasn’t so long ago that I first set foot on this campus myself.
There isn’t much to report outside of Orientation. The gym on campus re-opened after being closed for two weeks and the weather has been so wonderful (highs of 80 degrees, very little humidity). Yesterday I went for my longest run yet- four miles! Post-Orientation, I have been invited to Long Beach to my boss Meg’s house to relax on the beach and by the pool. On Sunday I plan to walk around Manhattan. My goal by the end of the summer is to spend one day walking the entire length of Manhattan (about 11 miles). I am optimistic that if the weather continues they way it has been I won’t have much trouble accomplishing this.
I fly home out of JFK on Sept. 2 (that is, if I make it through airport security). I plan to spend a few days in Silverdale with my mom and brother (and my cat Wilma, of course) before heading back to Bellingham around the 5th or 6th. I believe RA training begins on the 11th (?) and then it just snowballs right into the new school year, if you can believe it. I am nervous about my last year of college. I hope I can graduate in four quarters (by August 2006). If I do, it will be just under the wire, as a consequence of switching my major about four times. Then it’ll be off to grad school right after! I hope I have two or three weeks off in between graduation and grad school, because I really want to travel abroad before I have to start yet another big chapter in my life (and yet another blog!).
What am I doing, going on and on about my life a year from now when I should be focusing on the here and now? It’s Orientation Week- I have no time to daydream! I hope you all are having a more peaceful week…
Filed under: Week 9
This is an extra special post, dedicated to my good and loyal friend Doug! I heart you and your swollen ankle!
Yesterday I had a pretty great day. This upcoming week is orientation week here at SUNY Downstate (yes, orientation lasts a week for the new medical students!) and I will be working starting Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. all week. So I decided this week I am just going to relax and take it easy. After work yesterday I went to Barnes & Nobles on Court Street. I love just sitting in the cafe, reading or studying for my GRE exam, and drinking coffee. It’s pleasant and very relaxing, and B&N is located right by the subway station, so it’s an easy commute. And there’s a great fruit stand right outside the store, so I was able to get some fresh produce before I left. After I left the store, I saw a boutique down the street was having a close-out sale. I got four super cute dresses for $10! I can’t believe my luck. I also remembered to buy a thank you gift for the ladies at work for taking me to dinner last week (I got a box of Godiva chocolates and I made a card that says: “Thanks A (Choco) Lot!” Haha).
Then I hopped on the subway home and saw that my mother left me a voicemail. She left a really ambiguous message: “Hey, call me back right away.” Of course, I was on the subway so I didn’t have reception until 20 minutes later, so I was panicing until I got off the train. I called her back and she said cooly, “So I got a letter from Western in the mail today. Want me to read it to you?” And of course, I immediately think the worst- I’ve been kicked out, my financial aid loan fell through, I lost my RA job… “We are pleased to inform you you are the first recipient of the Kay Rich Residential Life Scholarship!” Yay! I couldn’t be more happy! The day before I asked my sister if she knew who won the scholarship because I assumed they had already named the winner and I didn’t get it. It’s a huge relief, too, since I am having some trouble with my financial aid right now (don’t even get me started!)
Today marks one year for Nick and I. I love you!
Filed under: Week 8
Admittedly, some of the glamour of living in New York City has worn off. As a result, I have stopped taking pictures everytime I see a pigeon or a tall building, as these things don’t impress me anymore now that I am “adjusted” to the city life (and by “adjusted” I mean “forced to cope”). However, I feel I have let down my fans (the five people who read this- my mother, Erika (I miss you!), sometimes Nick, and the two people who are accidentally directed here by Google) by ignoring my paparazzi instincts and leaving my camera at home whenever I do go out. I vow from now on to make a more conscious effort to record even my most mundane adventures (grocery shopping! waiting for the subway! sweating in the 115 degree heat!) in New York City for the remaining five weeks I am here.
But I still owe you pictures from Aly and Nick’s respective visits from last week, and so I offer this priceless album in hopes you will accept my apology for my negligence. Truce?
Filed under: Week 7
Another month in Brooklyn is coming to a close, as July ends and August nears. I have now been in New York City for eight weeks. It has been the best of times, and yes, it has been the very worst of times, too. I’ve endured the heat, the humidity, the busy streets, the frustrating subways, the lonliness, the costs, and work frustrations for eight weeks- in exchange for the opportunity to live and experience the city of New York. How strange it is to live in the world’s largest city and still find a little college town of Bellingham immensely more exciting and filling. Perhaps it isn’t where you live, but who you live with- family, friends, colleagues, peers. More than anything, I have been longing for the familiar faces of my friends, to walk across campus and have the happy coincidence of running into someone I know. I am glad when I do eventually return to Washington (t-minus five weeks) I will be able to appreciate these seemingly insignificant moments. Never again do I want to feel anonymous again.
Last Tuesday Nick arrived in New York for a visit. We went to Park Slope for dinner and took a stroll around Flatbush. On Wednesday I had to work but afterwards we went into Manhattan to Wall Street and Chinatown (where I once again went to the Singapore Cafe). On Thursday we went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) and saw the works of Pollack, Van Gogh, Warhol, and Monet. The next day his older brother Alec and his girlfriend Orna came in from Connecticut to meet us in the city for dinner and drinks. The four of us got a hotel room in Times Square so we could capitalize on their time in Manhattan. We went to this very hip Mexican restaurant called Tortilla Flates and played rummy in the hotel room while eating big cookies we bought at the deli across the street. On Saturday we went to brunch (my favorite part of the week) and walked around the city for a bit before saying goodbye. Nick and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine at the AMC theater in Times Square and it was so genuinely wonderful. It’s about a dysfunctional family (by the name of The Hoovers, no joke) who take a road trip to a beauty pageant. On Sunday Nick and I bummed around before he had to fly home to Seattle. It was very hard to see him go, but I know I will see him again in five weeks. I cannot wait and hopefully these last few weeks fly by until I can fly home. Tomorrow the heatwave in NYC begins, according to all the weather channels. The heat index will be at 115 degrees tomorrow. That is disgusting. A warning has been issued from the state of New York:
AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO CLIMB TO BETWEEN 98 TO 104 DEGREES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY AND NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY TUESDAY AND AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. COMBINED WITH RATHER HIGH HUMIDITY LEVELS…THIS WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDICES CLIMBING TO BETWEEN 105 AND 115 DEGREES TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND POSSIBLY SLIGHTLY HIGHER THEN THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN OPPRESSIVE AT NIGHT AS THE TEMPERATURES ONLY DROP TO AROUND 80 DEGREES.
AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS… STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM…STAY OUT OF THE SUN…AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.
Filed under: Week 6
I apologize once again for the delay in updating. Last week, as I am sure I let everyone know one hundred times, my sister Aly came for a visit from Washington. She arrived at noon at LaGuardia in Queens and one of the ladies from the office drove me there to pick her up. We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Chinatown, where we dined on delicious food and went hunting for a fake designer purse for Aly on Canal Street. Our hunt did not take long before a Chinese lady standing outside a store whispered to us as we walked by: “Prada? Gucci?” We were taken to the back of the store, and through a concealed door, to a little closet full of knock-off Prada and Gucci bags. Aly finally picked a burgandy leather Prada bag and we haggled down the price and left. It was very thrilling.The next day we went to Times Square and Rockefeller Center. Around 3 p.m. we went to NBC Studios for the taping of the Conan O’Brien Show. We were only two rows back and Conan came into the crowd right next to us and I think Aly almost fainted. The show was very funny and very different behind the scenes. The stage was so small and Conan was so tall! The guests were Uma Thurman (who is quite breathtaking in person), Kevin Smith (meh), and the New York Dolls. The warm-up guy who entertains the crowd before Conan comes out was hilarious and he interviewed Aly and I for a minute. After the taping, we went to a hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant before heading back to Times Square. We decided to check out a comedy club, which all in all wasn’t terrible, but we did leave early to head back to Brooklyn.
On Friday we walked Fifth Avenue and went shopping. Mid-day it started to pour like a monsoon but we did not let that deter us. We saw some scenes from Sex & the City and went up to Harlem to see The Royal Tenenbaum house. After that we were tuckered out and we had to get some rest before Saturday because we had to get Aly safely to LaGuardia Airport in the afternoon. We woke up early Saturday, went to brunch (I discovered 11 a.m. is too early for mimosas!) and walked around Central Park and the Upper West Side before making a few transfers to Queens. Aly got home safely, with a few delays at the airport. I hope she had a good time- there is just too much to see in New York in only four days!
Nick arrived late yesterday and he will be staying until Sunday. We are taking things easy while he is here- he’s already been to New York twice and so there isn’t a list of stuff we have to see or do before he leaves. I know we will be going to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Chinatown, and I hope eating at a lot of good restaurants because so far every place I have dined at has been extremely good. We hope to meet up with his older brother and his girlfriend later this week for dinner and drinks (do they serve diet soda at bars in Manhattan?).
After he leaves, I will be very busy with work. New students arrive the second week of August and I am helping to coordinate their week-long orientation to SUNY Downstate. I am told I will be working about 60 hours that week, in total. I hope I get some time to relax before then, and after orientation it’s just a steady decline until September 2, when I leave for home. I miss Washington a lot and I am so excited to return to Bremerton and Bellingham. I still have a lot to accomplish this summer, but I am counting down the days until I head west.
