"Sometimes it's not where you're going-It's who you're with"

"Let's get crazy, talk about our big plans. Places that you're goin'. Places that I haven't been."

Three girls + A closet sized bedroom with cartons of Chinese food scattered around the floor = The perfect formula for the "what do you want to be when you grow up" convo-that still doesn't get old, even at 22.

***

I have a fascination with places. I know what you're thinking, don't we all? But my fascination is more about the power a place can have over you. Like somehow, it is the key that unlocks every wonderful, sad, horrible, great, beautiful thing that happened there. And it brings you right back to the people you were with.

Lately, I've been in the wonderful habit of being exhausted until the point when I actually get in bed. Like tonight.

Tonight I'm thinking about this place. It may be far less glamorous than New York, but let me tell you-this weekend for the 4th of July there will be a happenin' parade, complete with fireworks over the bay and beer for sale-compliments of the local church.






I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel the world, live on both coasts, and yet, I still don't think I've ever felt truer, more genuine happiness than in Door County, Wisconsin of all places.

I've heard that if you are truly content with yourself, than you will be happy anywhere. The place won't matter. I think I need to dive back into my 16 year old self and think about why I loved that place so much, because that is the kind of feeling I want to have wherever I end up.

One obvious key element is to find yourself surrounded by wonderful people, and so far, no matter what country, coast, or city, I think I've been pretty darn lucky.


On a far less philosophical note, do you think they make the serving size "3" on packages that contain mini, individually wrapped candy bars because they know it is absolutely impossible to eat only one?

Wishful Thinking.

I want to be a writer observing life in NYC while ALSO living in Dublin where I can drink Guinness and listen to great music ALL the time...but I also want to sip on wine while walking through the beautiful streets of Florence and still be able to jet over to Brussels (Belgium OR Wisconsin) for some waffles and frites and STILL-I want to lay on the beach in LA while the loving the presence of films being made and endless opportunities.

And every now and then I just want to sit at Shades of Brown in Tulsa, Oklahoma and sip on ridiculously high-calorie-frozen coffee with my little sis.

Who can make this happen for me? :)
How can a girl ever choose just one place?

Maybe I just have to wait for the place to choose me....

doc U-ME ntary.

I keep forgetting that for the sake of school credit, I'm supposed to be logging what I do at work each day!

Today was pretty interesting. I was given a break from transcribing...Praise the Lord...and I got to watch and organize footage for a documentary on a jazz music festival that takes place in the south. I loved this and it was a great excuse to sit back and enjoy some relaxing melodies on the piano.

I think one of the most interesting concepts regarding the documentary process is the way the story or the theme is constantly changing. When you are documenting real life, you can only plan so much. Stories will occur on their own. The tricky part is looking for the important ones. And then you have the issue of major life changing events that happen, say an oil spill for instance, and suddenly your footage could seem out of date if it doesn't hit on the recent issues. It seems like a bit of a race against the clock.

Here's some food for thought. If a documentary was made about your life, what would be the theme? What people would be the major characters in your story?

In my best "Carrie" tone of voice, I can't help but wonder what the "footage" of mine would show if I fast forwarded it to six months from now. This has definitely been the reigning thought encompassing my mind lately.

Anyway...

On the way home from work, I'm pretty positive I saw Christian from Project Runway ...you know, the "fierce" one. That made me smile just a little! Gotta love working in the Garment District!

Tomorrow is my day off. Woohoo!
Morning goal=4 mile run along the Hudson. I really need to get after my training schedule for the fall! Also need to go to Century 21 to return the jeans I feel guilty for buying. Yes, even at the discount price, I'm still having buyers remorse. That's definitely the Oklahoma girl in me.

After that, I'm thinking that taking a blanket to Central Park and camping out for the day sounds perfect. All I need is my ipod, a PBJ and I'll be good to go :)

I can't wait for my little sis to get here! I do the love the city, but there are definitely some things at home I've been missing lately.

When in Rome...or NEW YORK!

I'm going to try and avoid writing the epic entry that I could about the past week and instead leave you with my list of events that occurred that could only happen in New York City:
(Forgive the terrible grammar that will probably follow while I try and remember everything...)

-A free Bret Michaels and Miley Cyrus Concert, courtesy of Good Morning America, at 7 am in Central Park. As much as I don't want to say this, I was pretty pumped when they sang Every Rose. Honestly, when else would this ever happen? FOR FREE?
-A trip to Magnolia's Bakery to have an orange-pineapple cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Mmmmm.
-Pizza by the slice in the West Village before tracking down a movie set and then stalking it for hours. (The film was Something Borrowed starring Kate Hudson)
-Dinner with the girls on the Upper East side
-An encounter with several ambulances and a cherry picker and wondering if someone is going to jump...only to realize it is yet another TV set.
-A trip to the beach in Brooklyn followed by a trip to Coney Island where none other than the famous "Mermaid Parade" was taking place. Basically this is like Mardi Gras for people who want to dress like fish and mermaids...and call it "art." In the pictures below you will see signs from some of the preachers who showed up. Apparenlty that doesn't only happen in Oklahoma!
-A visit to the original Nathans for hot dogs :)
-Adventures in Chinatown for bargain shopping
-Lunch while overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge
-Sitting on the steps of the Met with your friend while imagining Blair and Serena doing the same ;)
-Amazing Chinese food for half the price of anything else in the Upper East side
-Seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night (for free) at the Museum of Modern Art

(Let me add that all of this was with one of my best friends from home and some new great friends in NYC...couldn't get much better!)

And the icing on the cake was the Yankees/Mets game on Sunday...just being in the stadium alone was amazing..but finding out our seats were right behind home plate about 20 rows up...unbelievable. Didn't even mind the pouring rain in the 7th inning..it definitely added to the experience. There is something magical about the Yankees, despite the fact that I normally have a soft spot for the underdogs...(sorry Case!)

And finally..topping off the weekend in Washington Square Park followed by dinner in the East Village and a night visit to Times Square.

Holy Cow. I'm worn out just re-reading that.

That was all last weekend. Tonight I went with the girls to the Film Forum in Soho. It is an incredibly awesome little theater that screens old films and independent ones. We saw Breathless, which was obviously wonderful. I fell in love with that film all over again. And I just love the fact that on a random Wednesday night, there was a decent crowd at this little theater celebrating this wonderful film.

Only in the City :)


















So my HTML coding skills are failing a bit-but that picture above the one of Miley and Bret is over the movie set! And the statue is Alice in Wonderland from Central Park. And the man on home plate-well, I'm sure you know who that is!



Might I add-this is also the same city where you can discover mysterious blood has dripped on your friend in the subway..creepy? Yes. Also in the subway you can find yourself pulling away from the platform while staring back at your friend who got left behind. Gotta be aggressive!



PS.I'm starting to get really excited when people stop me on the street and ask for directions. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll actually be able to help them!

New York-You know you make my heart skip

Today was lovely.

Work consisted of more transcribing....I'm well over one hundred pages now.

I found out this evening that one of my short stories is actually going to published! That was an unexpected, fun little surprise.

Tonight was fabulous. I ventured with three friends to the Upper East Side and then to Dylan's Candy Bar. I'm so lucky to have met these girls! I am honestly so relieved to have gone from being completely alone in this city to meeting some really great people! NY is feeling more like "home" everyday.

It was so wonderful to walk on beautiful streets that are actually quiet. I think I had forgotten what "silence" sounds like over the last few weeks because it is a foreign concept over in mid town. Oh the Upper East Side...sigh...

If you ever make it to Dylan's, I highly recommend the Candy Bar Explosion ice cream. :)

I can't wait for the next few days. Kylie coming to visit + Friday night out with the girls + Beach? + Yankees/Mets game on Sunday = a very promising weekend.





Blake likes jelly beans and Penn likes Reeses Pieces :)





I think now is a good time to document, in writing, that Paige and I have officially decided to do the Tulsa run this year :)

Simple pleasures

THEY SELL TAB COLA BY THE CAN AT THE BAKERY/DELI I GO TO FOR COFFEE EVERY MORNING!! I just discovered this today...what a miracle..considering Oklahoma discontinued it for those of you who don't understand why this is a big deal.

And....the bike/running trail along the Hudson River might be my new favorite thing about this city. I wonder how many "new favorites" I will accumulate by August?




Nothing like an evening jog heading downtown along the river :) Did I mention the weather was perfect today?

train stations.

I love train stations.
And in some ways, even the subway.
I love meeting friends there. I love the bittersweet feeling of saying bye to someone you're on a train with when you have a different stop than them...especially when it's a friend you know you won't see for a long time.
I love the movement in the station.
I love watching other people meeting each other.
I love Penn Station where the subway meets the Long Island Railroad.
..It's all kind of like that scene in Love Actually where people are greeting each other and parting ways in airports...that's basically how I feel about the train stations here.


Today started out as a bit of a sleepy, long work day and ended really great.

For sake of my my class credit for my internship, I have to throw a few things in here about what I did at work today, although it's about the same as it has been. I transcribed for hours today. I feel as if I am getting to know Stacy Head and other city council members in New Orleans on a personal level after watching footage of them for hours on end.

At one point I had to run an errand for one of the producers and I just had to laugh, because today is probably the first day I didn't really dress up for work and its also the first day I got to go visit a different office. Let me say though, they told us to dress casually, and every day that I've dressed up I've been a little out of place. So I finally decided to wear jeans like everyone else and then ultimately, still ended up feeling unprofessional. Go figure.

After work I met up with a friend from high school who happened to be in town because he's singing at Carnegie Hall tomorrow, no big deal. It was such a nice night. We explored Greenwich...at least I think it was Greenwich...partly on accident thanks to my lovely direction malfunctions and then grabbed some coffee and took it to Washington Square Park for the evening. So far, that is my favorite place in the city. I LOVE it. I could sit there for hours....I'm also a big fan of Think Coffee just down the street from there. The employees are super nice and the environment is just great. I think that's going to be my writing spot for the summer.

I set a goal for myself today of writing several freelance magazine articles this summer, just for more practice. After some research, I think my first query will go to Girl's Life Magazine. If you were 12, what topics would interest you in today's world? I think it will be a fun challenge.

Tomorrow, I have got to get up and go running. I think I'll head to the trail along the Hudson. I'm hoping that by typing this right now, I'll be able to guilt myself into getting up at 7...we'll see!

Oh before I forget, I have to write this down because it honestly made me crack up in a very odd sort of way. When I was walking to meet my friend tonight, the parking attendant at a lot down the street yells to me, "Hey lady! Do you have someone to love you? I would love you all day long!"

Ridiculous, I know. Despite the fact that comments like that don't usually merit eye contact, I actually found myself smiling/laughing at him simply because of the way he said it and the fact that I will likely pass him multiple times a week, all summer.


Wow...there are a whole lot of "I's" in this post. Oh well, guess that's why its "my" blog.



Love, love, love this place.

This one's a novel.

Listening to: Yellow..Coldplay

Disclaimer: Long-winded attempt at deciphering my own thoughts to follow.



Well I think its safe to say I made up for my extremely sedate and relaxing 24 hours on Friday through out the rest of this weekend.

On Saturday I went with my friend Andrea (from Germany) down to the Staten Island Ferry, which is free by the way, and gives you an incredible view of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan from the water. The weather was perfect and the boat wasn't even too packed. We had a fantastic view from the top deck. It was about an hour trip round trip and so worth it. (I mean it's free-come on!)

That night we enjoyed a few drinks from our roof top deck while listening to Empire State of Mind, on repeat more times than I should admit. Totally cliche, right? I don't even care. Sitting there looking right at the real Empire State building is still an unreal feeling.

Today I went with three other lovely Oklahoma Girls downtown to Century 21. That store is insane. It's floors filled with designer stuff that is seriously marked down. I was a little overwhelmed.

On a side note...and maybe this is a little too philosophical or weird...but Century 21 is right next to the World Trade Center site. Literally, right there. It's kind of a strange feeling to be doing something so completely trivial right in the same spot that such a horrific tragedy happened. Even though it was almost ten years ago, I still can't comprehend what happened there. I feel like with every second I spend in this city I become protective of it, and more proud to be an American. Honestly, I used to be so obsessed with moving to Europe...but spending time here makes me feel good about where I'm from.

To put a positive spin on that whole train of thought though, I guess you could also look at activity around the WTC as a sign that life is still thriving there. There are huge, wonderfully successful businesses next to that site and families walking in and out of stores, people enjoying coffee...just small signs that life continues.

Whew. Not sure where all that came from.

This afternoon I went with a good friend to Union Square which is a really great area. The rain kind of forced us to pick a place to eat pretty quickly, and we happened across a place called the Coffee Shop...but its actually a restaurant/bar. The food was really great...imagine this: a grilled mozzarella, tomato, basil, pesto sandwich...mmm. I read later that place is actually kind of well known, and we didn't know that at the time-so I guess we lucked out.

I love that people really enjoy their Sundays here. I mentioned in a previous post that people are "really in to brunch." And I think it's great. Honestly, it's so nice to have a long lunch/brunch with someone and to not be in a hurry for once.

All of my experiences so far have left me feeling both completely overwhelmed and blessed at the same time. My friend asked me today what my ideal job would be...ya know...in the dreamland sense. And honestly, three years ago I would have said English teacher. One year ago I would have said screen writer, music supervisor, producer, etc. Today, I really don't know. Honestly. I know that no matter what my 9-5 job turns out to be, I will always love writing. That's the only for sure thing I know right now. I am definitely at a re-evaluating point, but this where the "trusting the universe" thing needs to come in to play.

Part of me feels that I need to spend every waking minute trying to put myself in the best possible position to move back here in January after graduation.

The other half of me acknowledges that of course planning ahead is important, but I also know I need to slow down and just enjoy every single moment. I'm spending the entire summer in New York City. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. I think the biggest challenge I will have this summer is just letting go and having faith that it will all work out just as it should.

The funny/cool thing about faith is-you've still gotta have it even when you're happy. I'm so content with where I am right now, yet it's gonna be a struggle to focus on trusting I will end up here if I'm supposed to.

Anywhooo...if we don't stop to slow down occasionally, we could miss something really great, right? And that sure would be a shame.

Alright, time for more "Crackberry" pictures. The first three are from the Staten Island Ferry and the last is a view of a random street in the meat packing district via the High Line.

Zzzzz.

After a busy week, I've realized sometimes the best gift you can give yourself is a day of doing nothing. After a whole lot of sleep on my day off yesterday, I'm feeling like myself again. Thank goodness the girls were all feeling the same way. A movie night was perfect...(don't see Killers by the way...not worth it..)

New York is definitely the kind of city where you have to remind yourself to slow down occasionally.

Looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

Happy 50th to my pops ;)

Cheers!

Taking notes..

A few things I've learned in the past 24 hours.

1. You never know when you might accidentally walk onto a tv set. (Anyone heard of the show White Collar?)

2. There is such a thing as good coffee for a dollar...you just have to search for it.

3. There is no such a thing as a quick run to the grocery store. It can take two hours when your boss sends you across town to pick up crates of tea....that you then get to drag through the subways on a rolling cart.

4. Restaurants here do not like to split the bills up. And, the staff may sneak a tip into your bill total, even when you have a small party. SNEAKY

5. The art of carrying/dodging an umbrella on a rainy day takes much skill and concentration.

6. People here are seriously in to brunch on Sundays...which I rather enjoy.

7. I discovered that there must have been some kind of sealant on my flip flops...because when it began to rain..they foamed up on the walk home. No joke-my feet/shoes looked like I had just stepped out of a bubble bath.

8. You can order Chipotle online and have it ready to go when you get there-no waiting in the lines on your lunch break ;)

Insomnia

Listening to: "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls.


My body still does not know what the heck time schedule it is on.

Tonight I was about to pass out at about 7...and now that it's almost 11 I'm wide awake, after laying in bed for an hour. AGH. So, once again...to the blog.

Sunday was awesome. I went with my friend Abby and explored even more of Chelsea, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places. I love the neighborhood around there. We went to the Highline..which is this amazing above ground walkway/park..it's really hard to describe so I'll post pictures eventually. It was hilarious though because a storm was blowing in and I swear, never in my life have I been caught in such intense wind gusts. They actually put Oklahoma winds to shame. Abby and I finally reached a point where we had to stand still and just wait for the wind to slow down because we were literally falling over!

The rest of the afternoon consisted of visiting the Chelsea Market and Macy's. Macy's may be considered way touristy to New Yorkers and while I never go to the one in Tulsa..there is still something slightly magical about the one here. It was a drizzly afternoon, so wandering around the nine floors with Abby was the perfect thing to do. We finished out the day with some hole-in-the-wall Chinese food...yummm.

Today at work I did more transcribing and organized hundreds of in-voice orders by numerical order. Very intern-typical work. It was neat to see the hundreds of different places that order the documentaries that the guys make...it really showed me how many people they are reaching across the country.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with 3 other Oklahoma girls and we're going to check out some event where they close off the streets on 5th avenue and open up a bunch of the museums for free. Apparently it's a huge block party!

So the best part about today-(besides the super cute firemen outside my building)--I GOT AIR CONDITIONING. It's worth every penny. Yeah I gave in, just like I knew I would.

"I Have a House in the Hamptons...."

Ah New York...it's everything you think of and so much more.

Finally had a great three mile run in Central Park yesterday morning...and I discovered the perfect "post-run" and "post-subway ride" snack: a banana. Simply because, being a slight germ freak, I don't have to actually touch the food I'm eating after having put my hands on gosh-knows-what in the subway. So after my run I stopped in a market and grabbed a banana and then sat in the park for a bit.

I'm already positive that park is going to be like my second home. It's so much more fun to run when there is an incredible energy all around you. I felt like I was running a 5k because of all the people running beside me-ahh, I LOVED it.

In the afternoon yesterday I met a really nice girl from Germany who is working here as a journalist...she's 21 and already written for Cosmopolitan and Maxim in Germany...not bad. She invited me out with a couple of her friends for the night and I have to say, it was a pretty legit first night out on the town.

We went out to the Meatpacking District, an area I hadn't seen yet. I think it's safe to say that it lived up to its reputation. The streets were filled with people and as nerdy as this sounds, there was a lot of cool architecture.

We started out at the Standard Hotel beer garden....and yes, keep in mind I was with two German girls...fitting right? The place was packed and the stereotypical long wooden tables made it conducive to talking to the people around you, which was fun. People were generally pretty entertained by the fact that two German girls and an Okie were hanging out together in the city.

One of the most amusing parts of the night was when a group of seemingly friendly guys sat down at our table and instantly started pulling the "I Have a House in the Hamptons" card.

That's definitely not a line you hear at a bar in Oklahoma.

"I've known you for five minutes, of course I want to come to your house in the Hamptons."

Anyway, after that we went to a club, Tenjune, also in the Meat Packing District. One of the girls had a connection with a promoter, which was great because it was the kind of place that we wouldn't have gotten in otherwise.

Tenjune is everything you would expect about a stereotypical, pretentious NYC club. Although, I'm not going to pretend I didn't have fun. We didn't have to pay for a thing, which was great. It was pretty small and swanky on the inside and the dance music was actually great in my opinion , although I don't think my German friends liked the mix of sped-up oldies and American hip-hop.

The club was filled with well-dressed people and one of our friends had a table, which was also really great. Even though the vibe on the outside is pretty pretentious, on the inside everyone was having a great time and no one really cared whether you were wearing Chanel or not...which brings me to---

The fashion in this city.

Oh my God. I get it now. You read about it. You see it on TV. You watch Carrie's obsession with it on Sex and The City-but all the while, you wonder whether it's really like that. It's unbelievable. The cool thing is though-there are so many people and so many styles, that no one is really out of place. You see it all but people here are way more daring with the way they put things together and I am totally sucked in now. I could have just sat and watched people all night long. And the SHOES....*sigh.*

(Do I sound like an inexperienced Okie yet?)

Round two of funny lines from guys came at Tenjune when we met a bunch of Red Bull reps. "Come to Red Bull Airways! We can hook you up!" I think they must have said that line about ten times, minimum. OH! And some guy who works for Red Bull in Costa Rica..gives me his card..."If you're ever in Costa Rica...."

So-Red Bull and the Hamptons.....mmmhmmm.





That light blue in the background-that's the sun coming up...when I got home for the night.



Love.

Beware of Window Cleaners

I'm sitting at a coffee shop near NYU, called Think Coffee, and everyone in here is reading or writing, so I decided that I would too.

It's a very cool, artsy kind of place with great iced tea and lemon bars. I think Ryan Adams is playing in the background. The crowd here is very intense though, these NYU people aren't messing around.

The universe was good today. I got up and headed to Central Park for my first official run through the park. Unfortunately I had to wear a back pack because I didn't have anything else to put my MTA card, phone, water, etc...so my run became a walk eventually. I went home and ordered one of those runner packs from Amazon to fix that problem in the future.

The park was absolutely beautiful and it was so nice to find some shade. I may go there again tomorrow or try the park out along the river for a morning run.

The cool thing was that on my way to the park I was listening to The Swell Season...that band from Ireland I mentioned in a previous post. I figured their music would make for a good mid-morning soundtrack. Anyway, when I got home I spent some time looking up events in NYC on this website called Time Out New York. I ended up finding out that The Swell Season is playing a FREE show at Prospect Park in Brooklyn at the end of July. Coincidence? I think not. I can't even believe it really...definitely something to look forward to. :)


I had a very stereotypical "big city" experience earlier today. Having just taken a shower from my run, I came back to my room to get dressed. Literally two seconds after I put my clothes on, I see this blue machine moving up my seventh floor window. Suddenly the window-washer man is being pulled up by past my window as well. You can imagine the heart attack that gave me considering what he wold have seen had he been hoisted up even thirty seconds earlier....

Well, after doing loads of walking trying to find this coffee shop and finally getting here, I have now worn myself out to the point of needing to go back to the W for a nap.

Think I'll hang in Chelsea tomorrow, maybe go by the sample sale in the Market.

Ciao.

Edit-Friday Night Recap

My experience tonight is worth getting off my chest, more for my sake than for the entertainment to those of you who have been reading this.

So after being here almost a week, I decided I really needed to get out and have a beer or glass of wine. I know a few people in the city, but not many, and so I decided to try and be confidently independent, alone on a Friday night. Around 8 I tried convincing myself that I would walk to Chelsea and grab a beer at a little pub or bar.

After walking around for about thirty minutes, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't help but be a little too insecure about what it might look like if a 22 year old girl is out by herself, on a Friday night nonetheless. It seems like something that is so much easier for a guy to do. He can grab a beer or dinner at a bar and no one says a word. But if a girl does it, people wonder about her intentions...at least that's my perception.

I was heading back to the W when I realized it was only around 9 pm. "I'm in New York for goodness sake, I can't go home now," is what I told myself. I decided to go for yet another walk. I ended up at Times Square again, mainly because I knew it would be safe because there are so many people out. In all honesty, it's a crazy feeling to be in such an extremely crowded area and be alone at the same time. Kind of a weird oxymoron of a feeling.

I really didn't want to be in the crowd so I headed to a side street where I found a restaurant/bar that I went to with the girls over spring break when we visited New York. It's a pretty-family oriented place so I decided to stop in for some dessert. The hostess suggested the bar for me, since I was alone. (Ha). So I went and ordered a glass of wine and feeling the pressure-somehow ended up with an ice cream Sunday. Talk about a sugar rush. I was doing alright, and proud of myself for my independence...until the manager (old enough to be my dad) got off duty and decided to join me. He was nice at first, just making casual convo about baseball and such. And then he started doing the "touchy-feely" thing while talking to me. Needless to say, the minute he got up to check on something, I got my check and took off. I thought I was in the clear when I ran out to get a cab until I nearly ran into him having a cigarette...then I had to say bye. Great.

So-baby steps. Gotta find a balance between being an independent woman and also staying in my comfort zone.

I much prefer hanging out in more "neighborhood-type" areas like Chelsea and Greenwich, but I think it will be awhile before I have the confidence to go out there alone for a beer. Maybe I'll try it again on a week night, early, around happy hour.

Guess we'll see!

The (un)Glam life.

It's kind of amusing to think that within the same hour that you walk by a red carpet, less than block from your apartment, you can also return home from a trip to K-Mart after having purchased the ONE fan that comes with the wrong instructions when you decide to put it together in your bedroom with no air conditioning. Whew-that was long winded.

Let me explain-

I walked to work this morning and discovered that a little less than a block from the W, crews were setting up for a red carpet event to take place in the evening. After a little investigating I figured out it was for the Hip Hop Honors, still cool even though I can't tell you one rap or hip-hop song that's on the radio right now, unless you count the Black Eyed Peas. I was just entertained by the fact that something with a red carper was going on practically right next door.

To bring me back to reality a bit, I realized today that I can't go any longer with out another fan. I am determined to not pay for air conditioning, I feel like that's a cop out at this point (We'll see in a week when I'm taking this statement back.) Anyway, I spent 20 minutes at K-Mart trying to decided which ten to fifteen dollar fan to buy-like they could really be that different for that price range, right? Well-evidently I came home with the one that has instructions clearly not made for the fan I chose, and thus, it will not go together. It's missing a part, or not made correctly, or something. Go figure. Back to K-Mart..for my 4th trip this week.

Okay, A)Who would have thought they have K-Mart in NYC? and B)In Oklahoma, we should never underestimate the privelage of driving to the store. I am again having deja vu about my time in Europe, carrying a bag of groceries across town every few days...and finally C)When they say cost of living is more here, they aren't kidding...even down to the little things. Prices on things like shampoo and body lotion are outrageous! Earlier today I bought a diet Pepsi expecting it to be a buck, and it was $1.75...ouch.

Work was fun today. I love the guys I'm working for. They are true New Yorkers, as in, they really love this city. They get so excited every time I ask about things going on and places to go. They told me to check out 23rd in Chelsea so I walked there after work. I also really like the other interns. One is from London. One is from Jersey and the other is from France. Makes for a fun variety.

I really enjoyed walking around the Chelsea area. It has much more of a neighborhood feel than the commercialized/business area where I live in mid-town. I'm excited to go back and try some of the cafes in Chelsea. I liked the crowd there, seemed less touristy and more young and urban.

So for the past hour I've been watching the first half of Dear John-yes, 24 hours later-it is still not finished downloading. Maybe that's a good thing though-it cut out right when the tears started to come haha. By the way it takes place in Charleston which looks like the most beautiful place ever-no wonder so many of my friends love it there so much!

Well now I am finding myself with three days of exploring and freedom ahead of me..in one of the most amazing cities in the world. I do believe I will start it out by a visit to Central Park in the morning. Maybe I will even pull out the real camera this weekend :)


During my evening stroll the other night...I'm finding the Walgreens sign kind of amusing and gross at the same time.



There's a red carpet hidden in there.



Some girls were screaming behind me at this point...I'm assuming something cool was going on in that blurriness.


PS -At this point, my attempt to quit Facebook is an epic failure. It's too easy to get in touch with people who are living up here. AH. fail fail fail.



Cheers!

NO ORANGE!

I was going to skip out on the daily blog tonight, but after the W's slow internet decided it wouldn't allow me to rent a movie off i-Tunes before bed, I'm back to blogging to try and fall asleep.

Work was solid again today. I went to Cafe Metro for lunch. It was one of those places where they had different counters for pizza, Asian food, salad, pasta, etc., etc. Well-I had a huge craving for pizza and it was hilarious when I sat among the crowd of girls around my age all eating salads while I devoured by super delicious pepperoni pizza. It was well worth it.

I did more transcribing at work today. The footage is very intense in regards to political and social issues in New Orleans. Would you believe that in about five hours I was only able to transcribe about 25 minutes of footage? And apparently that was moving fast according to another intern! The footage is heavily laden with dialogue and movement. I don't know how the producers keep it all straight.

I think that having to transcribe actual words from real people will be such a great exercise for sharpening my own writing skills in terms of script writing for the future. In fiction writing, dialogue is a tough, tough thing to master and what could help me more than having to analyze real life dialogue for hours at a time?

The search for a close park to run in continues. I talked to the guys at work since they are obviously familiar with the area and they told me to head to the river, so that's what I'll be doing tomorrow morning hopefully! They also informed me of free movie nights on Mondays at Bryant Park. I really want to check that out one night! Apparently hundreds of people go.

Tonight at the W, I couldn't help but laugh at the dining situation. It's funny because they have little labels near all of the main courses and desserts that list the calories in the food. Helpful I suppose, but it just seems so stereotypical of a place that houses all girls and women. Then again, I heard NY has some kind of rule about certain restaurants having to inform customers of the calories in the food. Can you imagine that in Oklahoma?

It was also funny when I went through the line and grabbed a piece of lemon cake off the tray and then asked the lady for an orange. And in broken English she replied, "NO ORANGE!" And I said "Huh?" And she she replied again, "No orange, you got cake."
Apparently the secret rule is fruit or dessert-you better pick one.

After dinner I went for a walk and made my way up to Times Square. I don't think I could get sick of walking around this city. I love being out and feeling a part of things. The walk just reminded me, again, how lucky I am to be here.

I got my first real dose of the city smells tonight as everyone was putting out their garbage from the day. Now that I'm sitting here in my room I'm beginning to wonder what I might have stepped in because it seems some of the smells have followed me back.

It is insanely hot in the W. There is air conditioning in the TV room and maybe a few other select rooms, but definitely not in the dorm rooms. It's crazy because it only got up to around 80 today, but it was nearly as miserable as when it is about 95 in Oklahoma. I guess it must have something to do with how compact everything is in the city. Looks like I'll be making a trip to K-Mart to buy another fan!

I had a good talk with a friend from home today about how crazy it is to really be out "on my own." This time its not like study abroad, where you instantly bond with the other students because you know you're stuck together for a summer. This time, my summmer and how it plays out is really up to me. It's a crazy, scary, exciting, mysterious feeling altogether. I think this is definitely the right time for me to have a challenge like this, considering come next January, after I graduate in December, I might be making a more permanent move somewhere. This summer is just what I need to toughen me up.

I'm excited for the weekend and time to do more exploring. I'm really craving a good long run in Central Park :)

Time remaining on i-tunes movie rental download: 33 hours.

Bucket List

1. Go to one of the free Monday night movies at Bryant Park.
2. Go the to the top of the Empire State Building...because I was too cheap to do it in the past...and preferably at night.
3. Visit Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and maybe check out a local band while I'm there.
4. Try and student rush a show I might not normally be able to get tickets to.
5. Find the stoop in the Upper East side where they filmed Carrie Bradshaw outside of "her apartment."
6. Explore more places on Long Island.
7. Go to a Baseball game.
8. Do a five mile run through Central Park.
9. Avoid Starbucks at all(or most) costs in an attempt to find the best tiny, local coffee shops.
10. MEET PEOPLE.-This should be number one.
11. Go to a pub..at happy hour...by myself.
12. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.


to be continued...and suggestions are always welcome! I think I fixed the comment section to where you don't have to be a member...

A working gal

"and I'm feeling the pull
dragging me on again
and I'm feeling so small
against that big moon sky tonight"
-Listening to: "Feeling the Pull" by The Swell Season (If you do one thing today download this song by this wonderful Irish duo)

Today was my first working girl day in NYC. I can only hope that this is the first of many many to come in the future.

I didn't have to be at the office until 10 a.m. Seriously? I didn't know jobs existed like that. However, the fact that I was wide awake at 5 a.m. this morning didn't exactly allow me the chance to sleep in. In New York, the morning sun likes to come blaring through the window at about 5. I didn't mind it too much though, I'm not a huge fan of sleeping in anymore anyway.

The office I work at is right by Fashion Ave and the Garment District. It's an exciting area to be a part of on a work day. The location is only ten minutes from the W, which is extremely convenient. I felt that the vibe was one hundred percent different today, the first work day of the week, in comparison to the weekend. I actually liked it much better today.

It was exciting to be amongst the people who were on their way to work. The weekend was filled with mostly tourists wandering the streets, but today the real New Yorkers were out. Papers were for sale on street corners and men in business suits pushed past me, coffee in hand. I love knowing that I get to be a part of that working crowd, at least for a couple of months.

The movement and energy I felt around mid-town today was similar to the energy that I love so much about the financial district. I was glad to find it here too. Being located near such huge tourist destinations I didn't know whether I would be able to distinguish between the commercial tourism and the local working crowd, but today I could.

I arrived at work ten minutes early, the same time as one of the producers and another intern. He was shocked that we were there "early." It made me chuckle, again, to think that I seem to have the one internship where they don't expect you to be early and you don't have to be there until mid-morning.

The three producers and other two interns in the office are all incredibly nice. It is a very relaxed atmosphere on the 16th floor overlooking midtown. I spent most of the day transcribing footage for their latest project. While I can't go in to much detail about the content, I can say it relates to the politics and racism in New Orleans and it was absolutely fascinating. I cannot wait to learn more about the process that goes into making documentary films. After one day of working in an office responsible for creating award winning ones, I already have higher esteem for these types of films than I did even when I woke up this morning.

During my lunch break, I went with Kristen, another intern, to grab a sandwich. She pointed out that directly across the street from our office is the place where the contestants on Project Runway go to get all of their fabrics, so that was my fun fact of the day. Speaking of fashion, it was fabulous to see all of the different looks people were sporting to work today, especially being near Fashion Ave and the Garment District.

After a solid first day at work, I went back to the W and found myself crashing at about 7 pm. Ever since I have been in New York, my body seems to have no idea what time zone it's in. I know that a one hour time difference from home isn't enough for me to really feel, so I'm assuming it must just be some kind of adjustment to living a completely new lifestyle. All I know is that I'm ready for bed at about 8 pm and completely wide awake when the sun is coming up. Needless to say, I'm trying to fix this issue-so I had a nice big cup of coffee after dinner and decided to take a stroll down my street around dusk. I felt kind of ridiculous when I considered the fact that a "stroll" down my street consists of passing places such as Macy's, Madison Square Garden, and all the while enjoying the grand presence of the Empire State Building towering above. Can you tell I'm still a bit awe-struck?

I've also decided I have a strange love for Penn Station. While I'm not a huge fan of the subways, this station isn't too bad because it is also where the Long Island Rail Station is. There are always pretty decent musicians playing in it, so it's kind of fun to walk through it. On Monday when I was down there some one was playing an instrumental version of My Heart Will Go On. No joke-it was great.

Anyway, tonight on my walk, it was just beginning to get dark enough for the huge LED sign at Macy's to illuminate the whole intersection on the corner with the colors of the advertisements. In a twisted, technology-induced way, it was kind of cool.

Well, that's the end of my rambling for the day. I didn't manage to get around to taking many pictures today, so I will leave you with the not-so-attractive picture of my damaged feet.

This is New York baby...